The Perfect Liar

by Brenda Novak

“No. I want to see the proof you claim to have.”

  Silently, she padded over to her purse and pulled out the document she’d doctored at Kinko’s. “Here you go.”

  She stood there while he examined it, but when he didn’t react, she moved closer. “It’s positive, see? It says so right here.” She brushed up against his arm as she pointed and almost couldn’t stop herself from slipping her arms around his waist. Just one embrace…

  “I want a paternity test,” he said.

  She’d expected this and had an answer for it. “Of course. But we can’t do that now, silly. Not till the baby’s born. Otherwise, there are risks. I’ve already looked into it, since you said you wanted proof.”

  “We have to wait nine months?”

  “Well…eight.”

  Shoving the paper aside, he sank into the chair she’d been using earlier.

  “Don’t you have anything else to say?” she asked.

  His eyes cut to her, and she’d never seen him look quite so malevolent.

  She pressed a hand to her throat. “Don’t glare at me like that, Luke. It gives me the creeps. It’s not my fault. The rubber broke.”

  “Sure it did,” he grumbled, and picked up his coffee cup.

  She studied the floor, trying to appear contrite. “There’s something else you should know.”

  “What’s that?” He didn’t sound interested in any more news.

  “I told Ogitani the truth. They’re dropping the charges.”

  “And that’s supposed to make me happy?”

  “I thought it might.” She didn’t mention the charges that might be filed against her or that there was a detective from Mesa flying out to speak with her tomorrow. She’d deal with that later. One thing at a time….

  “Without you, there wouldn’t have been any charges,” he said.

  “I was hurt, Luke. Can’t you understand that?”

  He sat there for so long she didn’t think he’d answer, but he finally said, “Maybe.”

  “I…I thought we had something together. I’ve cared about you for a long time, since the first few days after I got assigned to your squadron. When you walked out on me that night, it felt like…like you’d just used me and tossed me aside. And it meant so much more to me.”

  His chair scraped the floor as he pushed it back, but he didn’t get up. Elbows on knees, he rested his head against the knuckles of both hands. What was he thinking? She was pretty sure she was reaching him, but she couldn’t be positive….

  “I’m sorry,” she went on. “I’m really and truly sorry. It was wrong of me to react the way I did. I know that. And then, once I’d said what I did to the doctors, they took it from there and the police came and the situation got out of control. I didn’t know how to back out, so…so I stayed mad to keep from thinking about it.”

  He hadn’t showered or shaved this morning. When he rubbed his chin, she could hear the rasp of beard growth.

  “I’m just asking for a little understanding,” she told him, “for your help in getting through this pregnancy.” She wanted to touch him so badly it was almost as if an invisible force kept drawing her hands to his hair. But she fought it, couldn’t risk moving that fast. He was trying to be fair. She could tell.

  “It’s partly my fault,” he admitted. “I should never have been irresponsible enough to do what I did.” His gaze moved to the letter, then darted away. “Somehow we’ll get through it.”

  “I really appreciate that,” she said softly.

  He took a deep breath. “And, if this is my baby, I’ll do everything I can to support it. I want you to know that.”

  “Thank you.” Her voice was a whisper now. “You’re going to be a great father.”

  She thought the compliment might evoke a smile, but his head sank even lower as he covered his face. He wasn’t watching her; he was somewhere inside himself. Kalyna lifted her hand. She was just about to risk placing it on his shoulder when a knock interrupted her. “Luke? Luke, are you there?”

  It was Ava Bixby.

  29

  While she waited for the ATM to dispense the three hundred dollars she’d just pulled out of savings, Tatiana rubbed her sweaty palms on her shorts. She was going to do it; she was going to California to see Kalyna. She had to do something. Mark nearly had the police convinced that he wasn’t the one who’d killed their mother. He came across as so sincere with all his claims of loving Kalyna, of being wronged by her, that he’d nearly convinced Tati, too. That photo had really thrown her. But she refused to let him persuade her. Now that she’d had more time to think about it, she remembered how creepy he was. He was a decade older. It was partly his fault Kalyna had gotten into so much trouble in her teens. And that hitchhiker? There was no way Kalyna could kill another person, especially at such a young age.

  Unfortunately, Detective Morgan didn’t seem to view Mark’s story with the same suspicion. He was suddenly talking as if it had to be Kalyna. Mark had allowed the police to come in and search the moment they knocked on his door, and because they hadn’t found anything belonging to Norma, they were turning their sights elsewhere. Tati had heard Detective Morgan tell her father just an hour ago that he’d contacted the base and asked security to be on the lookout for Kalyna. The second she showed up for work, they’d nab her and hold her until Detective Morgan could arrange a flight out to California to question her.

  Tati had to warn her. She’d tried to do it by phone—but Kalyna wasn’t answering and, thanks to all of Tati’s previous messages, her sister’s voice mail was full.

  “She didn’t do it,” she muttered to herself. Tati knew her sister had emotional problems. Kalyna had always been different—impatient to get what she wanted, careless about her mistakes, quick to blame others for whatever went wrong in her life. She could be disappointing and difficult to deal with. But she was the only blood relative Tati knew. Tati didn’t want to lose her, especially now that Norma was gone.

  The whir of the cash machine stopped. She grabbed the bills, before she could change her mind, and shoved them in the pocket of her shorts while hurrying back to the Oldsmobile. She’d had to take her father’s car because she didn’t have a vehicle of her own. But she couldn’t drive the Olds all the way to California. The hearse was still in the shop; Dewayne would be left without any transportation. So she’d park his car at the airport, where he could have someone help him pick it up. She’d fly to Sacramento, then rent a car.

  Doing it this way was costing her almost every penny of what she’d saved so far for the cruise she and her parents had planned to take next summer. It was to be their first family vacation. But her mother was gone, and this was more important, anyway. She owed it to Kalyna to have enough faith to track her down and save her from herself.

  Tati hoped she wouldn’t miss her mother’s funeral in the process. She figured she’d be okay, as long as she could make it back by Wednesday. They hadn’t even done the autopsy yet.

  The entire car shook as the engine roared to life. Her father was so proud of his eight-cylinder. He was a simple man, a man who worked hard and had few pleasures. Life hadn’t been easy for any of them. Why couldn’t Kalyna understand that? Why did she think she was the only one who’d suffered?

  Being careful not to scratch the car on either side of her, Tati backed out of her parking space and headed toward Sky Harbor International Airport. She didn’t want to make this trip, especially alone. She didn’t get out much, even around town. And she knew her father wouldn’t be pleased when he learned what she was up to. But Kalyna couldn’t handle this situation as carelessly as she’d handled problems in the past. This was serious. If she wasn’t careful, she’d go to prison for the rest of her life for a crime she didn’t commit.

  A Verizon store came up on Tati’s right. Tempted to stop, she slowed down. She didn’t have a cell phone. She’d never been able to justify spending the money. The landline at the mortuary was adequate for someone who worked the hours she did. But now that she was f
lying to California, she should have some way of staying in touch with her father and Kalyna—if Kalyna ever picked up—shouldn’t she?

  She thought so, but…how long would it take to buy a phone? If it was more than a few minutes, she’d miss her flight.

  A car honked behind her. Then the impatient driver swerved around her, making a rude gesture. She had to make a decision; she was holding up traffic.

  Giving the Oldsmobile some gas, she passed the store. She could get by without a phone for the time being. It wasn’t as if she needed help finding Kalyna’s apartment. Using the address her sister had dictated to her after Christmas, when Kalyna had called to have Tati mail the hair dryer and shoes she’d accidentally left behind, Tati had downloaded directions from MapQuest before leaving the house.

  Willing herself to relax, she leaned back as she drove. Kalyna would be okay, she told herself. Everything would be okay.

  She just had to talk to her sister before the police did.

  The sight of Ava wearing no makeup and a hastily donned pair of cutoffs with a plain T-shirt and flip-flops should’ve reminded Luke that he’d been with prettier girls. Instead, it reminded him that she looked the way she did because she’d just been with him on the bank of the river. And that made his heart pound. Why, he couldn’t say. A few minutes earlier, Kalyna had all but beckoned him to the bed, and it hadn’t affected him in the least. But Ava showed up in some baggy old clothes that did absolutely nothing for her thin figure and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  Wishing he could turn off whatever she did to him just as easily as she’d sent him away this morning, he set his jaw so she wouldn’t guess at his true feelings and blocked the doorway with his body. “What do you want?” he asked.

  Her gaze shifted to a point behind him, and he knew she was looking at Kalyna. “I was afraid…I wanted to be sure you were okay.”

  “I’m fine. We’re both fine. Kalyna has called Ogitani and told her the truth. They’re dropping the charges.”

  Ava hesitated briefly. “So I’ve heard.”

  “That means you don’t have to worry about anything. Your job is done. But thanks for coming by. I’ll put the donation I promised you in the mail.” He closed the door, then sucked in a quick breath to absorb the sting that resulted from treating her so coldly.

  “You okay?” Kalyna had moved. She now stood right behind him.

  Straightening, he managed a nonchalant shrug. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Her eyebrows gathered. “I know you weren’t in a good mood to begin with, but seeing Ava didn’t seem to help. You—you weren’t really yourself with her.”

  “What do you mean? I just told her where we’re at with the case.”

  “I guess. For a minute, it seemed…” She gave an awkward laugh. “I don’t know, like you cared about her.”

  “Well, I don’t.” At least not deeply, he told himself. He’d known Ava for barely a week. He respected her; that was all. She was deep and real and concerned about others—and he enjoyed being around her. No other woman he’d met could compare. But if she didn’t feel the same, he could walk away. Marissa was the only woman he hadn’t been able to forget. He’d feel better in a few days.

  “Maybe you’re tired,” Kalyna said. “Why don’t you get some sleep?”

  He crossed to the window. Ava was climbing into her bright yellow, rattletrap Volkswagen. Would she ever call him again? He couldn’t see why she would….

  “I have to go,” Kalyna said.

  That was a relief.

  “But I’ll take your laundry. I have to do mine, anyway. And helping you out is the least I can do for…for what I’ve put you through.”

  Luke caught only bits and pieces of what she said because he wasn’t really listening. He didn’t realize she’d asked him a question until she fell silent, then prodded him, saying, “Luke? Did you hear me?”

  “What was that?” He turned to look at her.

  “I said I’ll do your laundry when I do mine today, okay?”

  “No. Don’t touch it. I’m fine.”

  “Please? Let me make it up to you. I’m trying to be nice, Luke. Why won’t you—”

  He raised a hand to stop her. “Fine. Whatever,” he interrupted. As long as she left him alone for a while, he didn’t care. What did it matter if he let her do his laundry? He couldn’t get rid of her, anyway. She was pregnant with his child. She’d be part of his life forever.

  “See you later,” she called.

  He was still staring out the window. “Later,” he echoed. Then the door opened and shut, and finally—finally—he was alone.

  With a sigh, he walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. Phil’s letter lay right in front of him. The letter he’d never answered. Why hadn’t he written back while he had the chance?

  He thought of Marissa. She was trying to cope with Phil’s death, not only as his wife, but the mother of his child. Would the situation be different if he’d declared himself before she married Phil? Would she have married him instead? Would they have a kid or two?

  If so, he wouldn’t be looking at sharing a child with a woman he disliked, and Marissa wouldn’t be going to bed alone at night.

  He considered calling her. In the past it’d been difficult, painful at times, to hear her voice when he called to talk to Phil. Through the years, he’d missed her smile, lamented the loss of their friendship as much as any deeper relationship. But today…today the only person he wanted to call was Ava.

  Picking up Phil’s letter, he read it again—but this time, even though he had nowhere to send it, he wrote his best friend back.

  And apologized.

  It wasn’t easy to tail Ava. Especially once they entered the delta. There wasn’t enough traffic to go unnoticed. But Kalyna had two things going for her. As far as she knew, Ava had never seen her car. And she wasn’t expecting to be followed.

  Actually, Kalyna was pretty sure she had three things going for her. She suspected Ava was too preoccupied to notice anything short of an earthquake. Something had happened at Luke’s, something to upset her. While they were waiting at a stoplight, Kalyna had seen Ava wiping her eyes, and those tears confirmed what she’d sensed when she’d seen Luke and Ava together—they cared about each other. How, Kalyna couldn’t imagine. They’d met so recently. It didn’t seem fair. But in the three months Kalyna had known Luke, she’d never seen him treat a woman, or anyone else for that matter, so rudely. Unless provoked, he was always friendly, always smiling.

  Except when he’d seen Ava in the hall. Kalyna had felt her own stomach knot with the tension that’d entered the room as soon as he opened that door. His body language, his voice, the look in his eyes—it’d all changed so drastically. And then there was that moment afterward, when he’d ducked his head as if Ava had slugged him. Kalyna had known instantly that he longed to go after her, and she’d barely been able to breathe ever since.

  After what she’d been through, she couldn’t let Ava get in the way. Not again. She finally had a chance with Luke. He believed she was pregnant, believed it could be his child. He was letting her do his laundry. That was a start. Eventually, she’d win him over, prove she could be everything he’d ever want in a woman—if she didn’t have to compete with Ava. She didn’t want Ava calling or showing up and ruining everything. She couldn’t bear the thought of Luke daydreaming about Ava when he was supposed to be thinking of her.

  As they passed over one bridge and then another, traffic all but disappeared, forcing Kalyna to hang back until she could barely see Ava’s car. She lost her when Ava made two quick turns but she got lucky. One road had a sign that indicated it was a dead end, which sent her down the opposite one, and she caught a glimpse of the bright yellow Volkswagen just before Ava parked next to a pickup truck by a pier.

  At the end of that pier was a houseboat, but Kalyna couldn’t go any closer. After pulling off the road, she hid her car in a copse of trees and got out.

  Crying always ga
ve Ava a headache. She hated it—the blotchy face, the clogged sinuses, the swollen eyes. She tried to remain as objective as possible about her work and religiously avoided anything else that might cause tears, like sad books and movies. But she’d thought Luke’s life was in danger, so she hadn’t been able to dodge coming face-to-face with him. And once the tears started, she couldn’t fight them.

  Finally letting herself go, she’d blubbered during the whole drive home. She cried for her mother, and her father, and Bella, and all the cases that hadn’t ended the way she’d hoped since she’d begun working at The Last Stand. Most of all, she’d cried over Luke. Over what she wanted and what she couldn’t have. Over her own shortcomings and what she perceived to be his. She’d assumed she could stand in her shower and recover for as long as necessary, maybe even take the day off. But when she got home, she didn’t find the privacy she was expecting. She found her father waiting for her.

  “No way,” she muttered as she got out of her car. Although she’d studiously avoided glancing at herself in the rearview mirror because she didn’t want to see how pathetic she must look, she knew she wouldn’t be able to hide the fact that she’d been crying. She also knew he wouldn’t be impressed. He wasn’t the type who appreciated displays of emotion; they made him even more uncomfortable than they made her. And here she was, fresh from the biggest crying jag she’d ever had. “This oughta help our relationship.”

  “You talking to me?” How he’d heard her, she had no idea. The wind must’ve carried her voice, since he wasn’t that close. He was already on the houseboat. When she pulled up, he’d been sitting in one of her patio chairs on the deck, but now he stood at the railing.

  “What are you doing here?” she called back.

  “I came to see my little girl.”

  Ava felt the lump in her throat swell again. She wasn’t his “little girl” unless he wanted something. What was it this time? Did he need her to dog-sit Carly’s spoiled poodle again? She hated that dog almost as much as she hated its owner.