A Lie in Every Truth

by Jamie Lee Scott

  Almost every house had a car parked in the driveway or on the street in front of it, and they were well maintained too, even though many were older models. I pulled up to the curb in front of the house number my mom had given me.

  “He knows I’m your daughter, right? So it’s okay to call you Mom?”

  My mom unfastened her seatbelt. “He knows, but call me Lydia, so it seems more professional.”

  That seemed weird. “Okay,” I said.

  “I never told you this, but a few years ago, Edie and Clive separated for a few months, and he asked me out.”

  “Yuck.”

  Not that Clive had a third eye in the middle of his forehead or anything, but my mom used to be his estranged wife’s best friend. Who does that? Then again, maybe that’s why she and Edie weren’t close anymore. I decided not to ask.

  Lydia glared at me. “I didn’t go out with him, even though he’s not bad looking.”

  “Mom!”

  She got out of the car. “He’s no catch, though. At least in my humble opinion.”

  I unfastened my seatbelt, checked my phone, then got out and followed her to the front gate. By the time I got there, Clive had buzzed her in. This had to be some sort of 1970s or ‘80s version of wannabe New Yorkers. Buzzing someone in from your front gate seemed weird. I wondered if I felt the same when I was a kid. Back then, I probably thought it was the coolest thing ever because we didn’t have it.

  Clive met us halfway between the front gate and the front door.

  Lydia wasn’t kidding; he was okay, but not a stunner. Clive only stood about 5’9”, but his body belied his age, which I assumed to be early sixties. Muscular with taut, tanned skin that glowed. Like my mom’s husband, Luke, he kept his head shaved. A much better look than a comb over for balding men. His blue eyes sparkled when he looked at my mom. I didn’t want to stare, but as he got closer, I saw the acne scars from his youth. It surprised me Edie hadn’t made him get a skin peel. Or was it called microdermabrasion?

  “Lydia, thanks for stopping by.” He turned to look at me. “Oh my, Mimi, looking at you makes me feel quite old.”

  “Nonsense,” I lied. The years of time in the sun had taken its toll on him, but I wasn’t going to say he looked his age.

  Clive put his hand out to indicate we should sit in the garden area.

  I thought it strange he didn’t invite us into the house. But then I didn’t much care one way or the other, and the garden was comfortable and lovely.

  Salinas may have an average temperature of sixty-eight degrees year-round, but most people only garden in the spring and summer. Clive, or maybe Edie, had already begun planting annuals, and the garden had lots of color. They’d put no small amount of money into making this front “yard” welcoming. After all, it’s the first thing anyone sees when they enter the home. Sort of like a normal house’s front porch.

  I walked over to the faux wicker rocker and sat down. Lydia continued standing. The only other seat happened to be a matching love seat. I snickered to myself.

  Clive sat down, then Lydia sat as close to the opposite arm of the love seat as possible.

  I started by saying, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Clive’s eyes looked wet, but not teary.

  “We weren’t together when she died, but it’s hard knowing I’ll never see her again.”

  Lydia looked at Clive, her face a mask of neutrality, even though her words betrayed her. “Oh, really? You never mentioned it when we talked.”

  Clive continued looking at me. “I didn’t think it was a necessary part of the conversation.”

  “I’m sorry to be blunt, Clive, but this is an unscheduled meeting, and I have a lot on my plate today. Do you mind if we skip to the pertinent details? I don’t mean to sound callous, but I told my, um, Lydia we could make a quick detour.” The whole situation felt uncomfortable and contrived.

  “If I hire you, would you have more time for me?” He couldn’t disguise the pettiness in his voice.

  I couldn’t blame him. I’d been gruff. I never did well when my plans were changed last minute. No one knew that better than Charles, who did it to me all the time.

  “I’d need to know what happened and see if it’s the type of case we take,” I said, trying not to clip my words.

  Clive decided to get to the point. “Edie was found dead in her car on Old Stage Road, a single gunshot wound to the head. The police ruled it a suicide, but I’m here to tell you, it wasn’t.”

  No one ever wanted to believe their spouse or child could take their own life, but I waited him out. There’s always a first.

  “Look at the police report. It doesn’t add up.” He looked at Lydia now. “You knew her, do you think she’d want to die that way?”

  “What way?” I asked.

  “With her face blown off. I’m not sure there was a vainer person on the planet than Edie. She’d have taken sleeping pills or slit her wrists.” The urgency in his words made me believe him.

  “Not many women choose a gun as the method of suicide,” I said. “And I understand your distress, but there are women who’ve accidentally shot themselves and died. Do you think that’s the case?”

  He shook his head so hard I thought he’d hurt himself. “She didn’t own a gun. Hated them. Our son died in a hunting accident at the age of fifteen. After that, she became anti-gun, anti-hunting, anti-violence.”

  “She was anti-gun, but what about you?” Lydia said. “You and my ex-husband used to go to the shooting range.”

  Clive nodded. “That we did. I did own a gun. I mean, I do. It was my gun they found in the car.”

  “What you’re saying is that even though your wife hated them, you had one anyway?” I said.

  He crossed his arms. “I did.”

  “Do you think the police did a thorough investigation?” I asked.

  That was a stupid question, since I wouldn’t be sitting in his yard on a foggy day talking to him if he did.

  “What do you think?” he snapped.

  I looked at my watch. Not because I meant to be rude, but because this wasn’t a part of my day, and Clive wasn’t being very nice, even though I’d taken time from my busy schedule to come by his house. I had places to go, coffee to drink.

  “You know what? Never mind. You obviously have too much going on to help out an old family friend.” Clive jumped up from the love seat and walked to the gate. Opening it, he said, “Sorry I wasted your time.”

  Jeez, I just looked at my watch to see the time.

  Lydia stood and walked over to Clive. “It’s only been a few days, and you’re still raw about this. I understand. Even if you weren’t living together, she was your wife. And you have many years of memories. Don’t take your grief out on my daughter.”

  I saw the first tear roll down his cheek and drop to the sidewalk.

  “Clive, I really do have to get going. I have meetings all afternoon, and we’re shorthanded at the office. But if you come by my office tomorrow and bring anything you think will help me, I’ll see what I can do. I’m sorry I don’t have time to do more right now.”

  I barely saw the nod. “I’ll be there. What time?”

  I rose from the chair and pulled my phone from my pocket to look at my calendar. I really didn’t have a spare moment for over a week, but I could go in early. “Can you be there by seven in the morning?”

  He pulled the gate open a little more. “I can.”

  As I walked through the gate, I said, “Bring everything you can think of, even if you’re not sure it will help.” I handed him my business card with the address of Gotcha Detective Agency, just in case he didn’t know where we were located.

  I heard the gate slam behind us.

  Three

  Mimi

  As soon as we got back in the car, my mom glared at me. I glared back. “What?”

  “You weren’t very nice to Clive.”

  “He creeped me out,” I said.

  “How?”

&nbs
p; I thought on it as I drove back to the office. I couldn’t put my finger on the exact thing making my skin crawl, but something bugged me.

  “When I can pinpoint it, I’ll let you know,” I said. “In the meantime, I’m going to look Edie up in the public records and call Nick to see if I can get any information on the investigation.”

  “So you’re going to take Clive as a client?” Lydia asked.

  “I’m still thinking about it. I’ll see what my workload is like when I get back to the office. I also want to see what he brings me in the morning.”

  Every business should be so busy they weren’t sure if they should take new customers or clients. In our case, if we took on too many, we wouldn’t be able to give them the service they deserved. My agency wasn’t inexpensive, and we charged a hefty fee up front. No sense in taking on clients who weren’t going to pay. I hoped Clive could afford our retainer.

  Lydia turned in her seat. “Speaking of morning, what were you thinking?”

  “What?” I looked at her. Her quizzical facial expression made me grin.

  “Seven in the morning? You are so not a morning person. You’ll be more cantankerous than you were with him just now.”

  I scowled at her. “I was not cantankerous. Besides, I’m not old enough for you to use that word to describe me.”

  She sat back in her seat. “Don’t kid yourself.” Pulling her phone from her pocket, she started texting, and proceeded to ignore me.

  I decided to be even more cantankerous, cranked Pandora radio and sang at the top of my lungs. She rolled her eyes and ignored me. When Billy Squire came on, I cranked up the volume and belted out the words to Everybody Wants You.

  It’s not like this experience was anything new. Irritating my mom started at an early age, like before birth. I didn’t want to leave the nice warm confines and be born, so I waited until there wasn’t any room for me. Born two weeks late. Can we say colic? Yep, that was me. I could outcry the loudest baby anywhere. And brat? That she didn’t dump me off at some orphanage, saying she found me on the side of the road, was a miracle. I could argue with her like I planned to be a world-class debater. Never in my life have I been accused of being quiet. Even being painfully shy in school, my voice carried. She became numb to my ways by the time I finally left for college.

  I sang and drummed my fingers on the steering wheel for the rest of the drive. She sat quietly, as if nothing were out of the ordinary, playing on her phone. Candy Crush!

  As always, I parked in the Gotcha lot and we entered the house, which was home to Gotcha Detective Agency, through the kitchen. Lydia veered left and headed down the hallway. I walked straight into my office.

  Charles sat at my desk. And across from him, Piper Mason. She stood when I walked in.

  I practically ran to her and wrapped my arms around her for a hug. She hugged me back. Then I stepped back and looked around. “No rug rats?”

  Piper used to be a homicide detective with the Salinas Police Department. When she and her life partner, Simone, decided to get pregnant, she stayed on with the police until she could no longer work effectively. Charles and I met Piper when she worked with Nick. It had been ages since I’d even thought about her.

  She looked as fit as ever: tall and slender, with enough definition to look strong and still look feminine. She’d cut her blonde hair into a pixie and colored it platinum with a hint of violet. Or the violet hue could be from the bluing used to keep white hair silvery white. Who knew? I liked it regardless.

  “This isn’t a social call, so no kids,” she said. “Besides, we all know how much Charles likes kids. My boys would drive him up the wall.” She winked at Charles, then looked me up and down. “You look fabulous. How are the wedding plans coming along?”

  If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me about my wedding plans, I could pay for the stupid wedding. That sounded bad. And I hadn’t done a single thing that remotely resembled planning a wedding since I said, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  “They’re coming along great,” I said, and made a mental note to at least get a subscription to a bride magazine or a Martha Stewart magazine. Did she even have a magazine anymore? Pinterest, yeah, I’d look on Pinterest for wedding ideas.

  Heck, one minute I wanted a huge wedding, to let the world know I’d moved on and was blissfully in love. Then I thought about the work and the money and decided a justice of the peace would be just fine.

  “Great, if she plans to get married in the next millennium,” Charles said. “She’s a procrastinator. I’d bet my car they get married in Vegas.”

  The last thing I imagined was getting married in Vegas. Nope, no way. No little white chapel for me. And no Elvis impersonators. Just give me my marriage license and let me say “I do” in the courthouse, although a honeymoon in Vegas wouldn’t be out of the question.

  I shot Charles a look. “Sadly, he’s right. With Cortnie taking her maternity leave, and the caseload piling up, the wedding is on the back burner. In fact, I just came from a meeting. We may have one more client as of tomorrow.”

  Charles grinned. He liked money. I did, too. We had employees to pay, so money was a good thing.

  “Nick said you were busy and had just lost an employee.” Piper sat back down. “He called me last week.”

  Charles and I raised our brows, looked at each other, then looked at Piper.

  “I didn’t know you two had been in contact,” I said. “Are you getting ready to come back to the department?” After my initial jealousy of Piper, I’d grown to adore her, especially after I realized she had zero interest in Nick.

  “I’ve been thinking about going back to work. I’m not a stay-at-home mom type of gal. I’m going nuts. Simone is ready to move me out of the house and raise the boys herself.”

  “That bad?” Charles said. “Is it the kids? Or just being home all the time.”

  Charles’s love of kids (not) came through loud and clear when he said, “Is it the kids?”

  “A bit of both. I thought Simone would be the one to go stir crazy and want to go back to work, but she’s been working for six months now and hates it. She’s ready to be a stay-at-home mom. Me, not so much, so it works out perfect. I go back to work, and Simone stays home.”

  “What does this have to do with Nick calling you?” Charles asked.

  She looked at me and smiled her thousand-watt smile. “I’d been by the station and talked to him when I thought I might be coming back. Then Simone nixed that idea. When he called, he said you might be hiring.”

  Charles jumped up from my desk. I jumped at his quick movement.

  “You can’t be serious,” he said.

  Piper nodded her head slowly, not sure what to think, I’m sure.

  I walked over and leaned against the front of my desk. “We do need another agent. What type of work are you looking for?”

  “More important, what type of hours?” Charles asked.

  Piper took a deep breath before answering. “Full-time investigator. I can get my P.I. license in a heartbeat.”

  “When can you start?” I asked.

  Charles put his hands up. “Hold on. It’s not that easy. Are you sure this won’t interfere with your family life? Does Simone know about this?”

  Piper crossed her legs, and I noticed her tanned ankles as her skull leggings crept up a bit. I wanted time to tan. As it was, my tan came from an expensive tube of lotion.

  “Simone and I have talked this out for hours on end. She doesn’t want me to go back to work as a cop. She said she can’t take the sleepless nights worrying about me, since we barely get any sleep as it is. But I liked my job, and after I talked to Nick, I realized investigating could be a great career. After discussing it with Simone, I decided to stop by.”

  I sighed. “I think I love you.”

  This meant our assistant, Uta Huber, could cancel the job ads we’d posted on all the career and private investigator sites. She could also call the prospective employees and cancel the inte
rviews. I hated interviewing new employees almost as much as training them.

  “You realize the hours won’t be nine to five? We work all kinds of crazy hours around here. Sometimes that includes weekends.” It was like Charles was trying to dissuade her from working for us.

  “I know that,” Piper said.

  “And you’ll likely have to work as a decoy. That means dealing with men in a romantic way. Sort of,” Charles added.

  “Yes, I know what a P.I. does, and I especially know what this agency does. You also investigate murders.” She sat up straighter in her chair.

  “Not if we don’t have to,” I said. “But then again, we may have a new case involving a death. Husband swears his wife was murdered. I’ll know for sure if we’re taking the case tomorrow.”

  Piper pointed, poking herself in the chest. “I can help with that.”

  She could also talk to Nick without it turning into a fight. At least it wouldn’t kill her love life. I couldn’t see anything wrong with hiring her.

  “When can you start?” I asked.

  Charles sat back down. “What she said.”

  Piper jumped up. “Seriously? You don’t need to do a background check or anything like that? I can start right now.”

  Charles waved at her to sit back down. “As long as you’re here, you can fill out the necessary forms, we can start a background check, and you can start work in the morning if you want.”

  I pushed off the desk. “I’ll go talk to Uta and have her put together a file for your paperwork.”

  “This is awesome. I think you may have saved my marriage.”

  “You two got married?” Charles asked, looking slightly offended. “I don’t remember seeing a wedding invite.”

  “It was a civil service with our crying boys in tow. I can’t imagine you missed anything.”

  A civil service seemed like a good idea.

  “Let’s go back to Cortnie’s old office. You can get set up in there for now,” Charles said.

  We all walked out of the office together, stopping at the front desk.

  “Uta, I’m not sure if you’ve met Piper Mason. She used to work with Nick in homicide. She’s now going to be working for us,” I said.