Liar

by Campbell, Jamie

  “I met them a few times on parent/teacher afternoons. Or sometimes his mother brought him in when they were running late.”

  “Did that happen often?”

  “No more than anyone else.” Miss Penny smiled. “We all have days when things go wrong and slow us down.”

  Leo shot Amelia a glance, silently asking if she was picking up on anything. So far, everything the teacher said was the truth. She gave him a small nod, urging him on.

  “What was your feel for his parents?”

  “My feel?” Miss Penny looked between them both, unsure where they were going.

  “Yeah, did you pick up on anything that might be going on at home? Did his parents seem to get along?” Leo asked casually, like it was part of the routine questions. He tried not to be too keen to hear the answers.

  Miss Penny put on her thinking face again. No wonder she got on so well with the kids, she mimicked them perfectly. “His dad seemed quite laid back. He never really spoke, just let his wife deal with the interview.”

  “And his mom, how was she?”

  “I think I would describe her as stressed. She seemed to have a lot on her plate.”

  “More so than any other working mom?”

  Miss Penny nodded. “She was very uptight. She used to apologize like crazy when she dropped Jordan off late. I told her it was okay and she wasn’t the only one, but she still worried about it.”

  “So was she a good mother, in your opinion?”

  “She seemed okay,” the teacher replied. Amelia heard: She seemed bad. She noted the information for later. She doubted whether Miss Penny was purposefully being deceptive, just polite.

  “Did Jordan seem affected by it at all?” Leo continued on.

  “He was a good kid. But…” She stopped herself.

  “But?” Leo wasn’t going to let her off the hook. Sometimes the details self-censored were the ones more telling. “It’s okay, everything here is confidential.” He didn’t add because it wasn’t an official investigation, even though it was the truth.

  “But I did worry about him a bit. He made friends easily but maybe a bit too quickly. He was very needy for a five year old,” Miss Penny said reluctantly. “I tried to keep an extra eye on him.”

  “When you see a clingy child, what normally runs through your mind?” Leo had a few ideas himself but was no expert by any means.

  “Sometimes it just means the child is clingy.” Amelia instantly heard Sometimes the child has serious issues. It was far more revealing than what she actually said.

  Leo nodded. “But sometimes it means something else?”

  “Sometimes.”

  She was quickly closing up, growing uncomfortable with the discussion. The detective recognized the signs straight away and wrapped it up. They thanked the teacher and left before anyone could ask why they were there.

  Miss Penny had confirmed Leo’s concerns that they had missed some vital details about Jordan’s family. He replayed the conversations he had shared with them over the course of the investigation and wondered what they had been hiding from him. At the time they seemed like every other distraught family he had worked with.

  A heinous crime such as a kidnapping brings out the best and worst in people. The strong ones rally and comfort those around them, taking care of the difficult business. The weaker ones go to pieces and can’t function, closing down because they can’t deal with anything.

  Thinking back to Jordan’s parents, the mother was definitely the strongest of the pair. She dealt with the police on an hourly basis while the father was content to sit in the background. When it came to the public pleas, they had both addressed the cameras.

  With Bree Rowland’s words repeating in his head, Leo drove the six blocks to park in Blanchard Drive, just a few houses down from the White’s. He hadn’t been there since he updated the family about Turner’s arrest. While that was only three days ago, it seemed like weeks had passed.

  “Which house is it?” Amelia asked, searching the street.

  “You can’t pick up on the psychic vibes?”

  She looked at the houses. They all seemed the same as every other one in the neighborhood. They could have all been built by the same company. She focused, trying to remember the house from the news. The parents had stood out the front when they held their press conference, the news had panned over the lawns when explaining the kidnapping.

  She saw the painted blue letterbox and knew exactly which one was theirs. “Over there.”

  A wide grin spread across Leo’s face, telling her she had guessed right. “You really are psychic, aren’t you?” She shrugged, not wanting to outright lie to him again. “I wonder what kind of secrets that house holds.”

  “You never know what goes on behind closed doors.”

  They sat in silence, watching the house but not knowing what they expected to see. It wasn’t likely they would air their dirty laundry in the middle of the street, but sometimes a visitor or a hasty exit could reveal a little piece of the puzzle.

  Amelia immediately grew bored. Even having a paper pushing job didn’t groom her for the idleness of a stakeout. She looked at the other houses, Leo had the White’s one covered.

  Judging by the number of bicycles and stray footballs in the street, she guessed quite a number of children lived in the neighborhood. Just like Leo had explained, she suspected they all played in the street on a regular basis.

  It was a quiet cul-de-sac with no through traffic. It wasn’t exactly the best street for a random kidnapping. Unless the murderer had known to come there for Jordan, he wouldn’t have just been cruising by. Or if he was, he must have been extremely lucky to have perfect timing.

  She flicked her eyes back to the White’s house, still no movement. Leo took a sip of his coffee, never taking his eyes away. He may be used to sitting in the car all day, but she certainly wasn’t.

  Movement caught her eye across the road, she quickly turned to see what it was. Expecting to see a bird or the mailman, instead she caught the flutter of a curtain. Someone was watching them.

  “Leo, over there.” She pointed to the house. The curtain opened again and a little face peeked out the side. “It’s an old woman.”

  “Gotta love a stickybeak,” Leo replied as he opened the door and stepped out.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Going to speak with her. If she noticed us, I’m guessing she notices everything that goes on in this street.”

  He headed toward the door, Amelia quickly got out and followed him. She wasn’t going to miss out on any of the action. It had to be more interesting than staying in the car.

  CHAPTER 7

  “I already told the police I didn’t see who took that boy,” the woman said with attitude. She was easily in her seventies and wore her grumpiness with a sense of pride. It was clear she would not be bullied or coerced into anything. Still wearing her nightgown even though it was approaching evening, she didn’t let them any further into the house than the foyer.

  “It’s not about the kidnapping,” Leo explained, trying to keep his patience intact. “I was wondering if you noticed anything strange about the White family either before or after the kidnapping?”

  “You think I have nothing better to do all day than watch my neighbors?”

  Amelia almost laughed, clearly that was the case, but obviously the woman didn’t want to admit it. She tried to listen extra carefully, certain the woman was bound to lie at any moment.

  “I’m sure you have plenty to do. However, I was hoping you may have noticed something in passing.”

  His charm was starting to work, the woman was thinking it over instead of rearing up and going on the defensive. If you watched carefully enough, you could almost see the cogs working in her brain.

  “I may have seen something,” the old woman finally answered. She leveled her gaze directly at the detective, as if challenging him to say something and dissuade her from speaking. He just nodded. “It happened a few wee
ks ago, before Jordan went missing.”

  “And what happened?” Leo had his notepad out, pencil poised to take notes. He never trusted his memory when it came to witness information, he needed every detail to stare back at him in black and white.

  “I saw Renee White having an argument with a woman. They were yelling at each other, right there on her front stoop for the entire neighborhood to see.” The woman shook her head, scandalized. “That would not be proper back in my day. She should have taken it inside and done it in private.”

  “Did you know the woman she was fighting with?”

  “Never seen her in my life.”

  Amelia kept her ears open for the lie, but she was telling the truth. The old woman didn’t recognize the other woman, she was certain of it.

  “Can you describe her?” Leo persisted, pencil still poised. Ideally, he would have her sit down with a sketch artist, but clearly that wasn’t going to happen without the police department’s resources at hand.

  “She had brown hair and wore a black dress.”

  “Did you see what kind of car she drove?”

  “A black one.”

  “The make?”

  “How do I know?” The woman was growing grumpier the longer she spoke. If that was at all possible. “Cars are all the same to me. As long as they get from point A to point B, I don’t care.”

  “Okay, I’m sorry.” Leo flashed his charming smile again which seemed to appease her. “Was there anything distinguishable about the woman?”

  “She looked rich.”

  “Rich?”

  The woman nodded. “She had lots of gold jewelry on and the car was a fancy one. She had money and liked everyone to see it.”

  Leo wrote the details down in his notebook. “Did you hear what they were arguing about?”

  “No.”

  Amelia’s ears pricked up as she heard Yes. It was time she jumped into the conversation. “Are you certain? Perhaps just a snippet here or there?”

  “I told you I didn’t hear anything.” I did hear something. “What does this have to do with anything anyway? I thought that matter was all closed?”

  “We are putting together details for the case,” Leo lied. Amelia clearly heard We are preparing our own case. It was the first time she had heard him lie and it surprised her the way he had done it with ease. It was a little disappointing.

  Caught up in her own thoughts, Amelia tried to push them aside. She didn’t want the woman to get off the hook when she was keeping information from them. She jumped in. “The White’s house is just over the road, I’m really surprised you didn’t hear anything about their argument. Especially if they had their voices raised.”

  The old woman didn’t appreciate the comment, giving her the evil eye. “I may have heard one or two things.” I heard several things.

  “It would really help if you shared.” Amelia smiled sweetly, trying to use her own charm. It didn’t exactly work, the woman looked at Leo before replying.

  “The rich woman was upset about something. She said ‘it wasn’t right’ and that Renee needed to keep her mouth closed.”

  “And that’s all?” Amelia pushed harder, not removing her smile.

  “She kept saying it over and over again.”

  “Nothing else?”

  “Nothing, okay?” Amelia couldn’t hear a lie, finally she had gotten everything out of the old woman. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do.”

  They both thanked her, took down her name as Violet Stream and left the woman to spy on her neighbors in peace. Returning to the vehicle, there was still only silence and stillness at the White’s house.

  The sun was just starting to go down for the afternoon, casting long shadows over the street. If they stayed there any longer, the occupants would start to return home for the evening.

  As they drove away, Leo glanced at his passenger. “You knew the woman heard something, was that part of your gut feelings?”

  “You could say that,” Amelia replied. The longer she spent with Leo, the guiltier she felt about lying to him. If he accepted psychic abilities, perhaps he would understand about her real abilities too? Perhaps. Or perhaps not. She changed the subject quickly before he could ask any more questions. “Is Renee White Jordan’s mum?”

  “Yeah. His parents are Renee and Kale White, married six years.”

  “I guess we just have to find a rich woman and we can close this case,” Amelia said sarcastically, wishing it would be that easy. There couldn’t be that many rich women in Scribe county, at least it cut down the majority of the population.

  “Yeah, it would blow everything wide open.” He laughed. “I wonder what they were arguing about?”

  “Something Renee knew and needed to keep quiet about. What did you say Renee did for a living?”

  “She’s a nurse.”

  “Hardly a dodgy industry,” Amelia sighed. If Renee was an insurance assessor, lawyer, or policewoman, it might be easier to understand she would have things to keep secret. Nursing was one of the most trusted professions in existence, her job was unlikely to have anything to do with it. Unless… “Maybe one of her patients confided something in her?”

  “Anything’s possible,” Leo agreed. “I’ll need to look into it a bit further.”

  “Two weeks isn’t enough time to do this.”

  “I know,” he sighed. If he didn’t solve the case before returning to work, his time would run out. The commissioner would no doubt keep a close eye on him and his caseload when he was back at the station. He wouldn’t have any time to continue the search for Jordan’s real killer.

  Across town, Leo pulled up outside Amelia’s home and cut the engine. He went to unbuckle his seatbelt when she stopped him. “Thank you, there is no need to walk me in.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  “Really, it’s okay,” she assured him. But it was too late, Lane was already standing outside the car. She hadn’t exactly told him what she was doing, hoping she wouldn’t have to. She didn’t want to answer all the questions Lane would throw at her.

  The moment Leo saw Lane, he got out of the car to shake his hand. “Hi, you must be Lane.”

  “And you must be the guy Amelia hasn’t told me about,” he replied. He was trying to keep the anger out of his voice while he shook his hand, all the while shooting a glare at Amelia.

  She ran around the car, trying to do damage control. “Lane, this is Detective Leo Michaels. Leo, this is my partner Lane.” The three of them stood there awkwardly, neither knowing what to do or say. Amelia just wanted it over with. “So thanks for the lift, Leo. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, of course. I’ll pick you up at eight.” Leo nodded, flashing a smile at them both. He retreated back to his vehicle. “It was good to meet you, Lane.”

  “Yeah, you too,” Lane mumbled. Amelia heard No, it wasn’t. She figured he could have been thinking a lot worse.

  They stood on the sidewalk until the car was out of sight before turning to the house. Amelia walked fast, hoping to avoid any conversation. But it wasn’t going to happen, Lane would make sure of it. He closed the front door and let her have it.

  “Why the hell is a detective dropping you home?” He demanded, remembering to breathe.

  “I’m helping him with an investigation.”

  “How the hell are you doing that? Do they need something archived?”

  She knew she was in the wrong by not telling him what she was doing, yet Amelia forgot about all that. All she could think of was how dare he question her like that. Wasn’t she an adult?

  “You don’t need to make it sound like I’m so useless,” she yelled back. “I’m helping them a lot, I’ll have you know. I’m helping them catch a murderer.”

  “You didn’t answer my question. How did you get yourself tangled up in a murder case?” The nostrils on Lane’s nose flared in and out as he took deep breaths. He knew she was easily defensive about everything but couldn’t help get frustrated.


  “I saw something,” she lied, not seeing a way around it. She couldn’t tell him about her abilities or the fact Leo thought she was psychic. It would just dig her deeper into the hole she found herself in. “We’re trying to find the person I saw.”

  Lane was skeptical but he knew better than to accuse her. He tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “And how did you ‘see something’?”

  “While I was driving.”

  “You saw a murder happen?”

  “Something like that.” Amelia looked at the floor, wishing he would just drop it. She wished even more that she could go back in time and tell Leo to drop her at the corner. It would have avoided the whole conversation. Lane never had to know what she was up to.

  Lane watched her carefully, knowing all her tells. She could never hold eye contact when she was lying. She was the worst liar on the planet. He usually found it endearing and cute, but at times like this he just wanted to shake her. She was playing him for a fool and he hated it.

  Still, instead of growing angry, he found himself disappointed more than anything else. “Jeez, Amelia, I thought we were over this.”

  “Over what?” She knew exactly what he was talking about but didn’t want to admit it. How many times had they argued about the way she kept details to herself? How many times did she have to hear about the ways she let him down?

  “It’s that damn wall again,” Lane continued, not letting her off the hook. “Every time I think we’re over it, you shoot it up around yourself again. I never know what you’re up to and who you’re up to it with.”

  “It’s not a wall, Lane. I just didn’t think it was important enough to worry you about. It’s nothing, really.”

  “You’re working on a damn murder investigation with the police. You really think that’s nothing?”

  She looked at the floor again. She didn’t want to be having an argument, but she didn’t want to back down either. Lane wasn’t her keeper, he wasn’t her parent. She had every right to keep her business to herself. Sharing a bed didn’t change that. “You can’t tell me what to do.”