One Perfect Lie

by Lisa Scottoline

  “You’re not getting your phone or laptop ’til we figure this out.”

  “Mom, it’s my phone.”

  “Not anymore.”

  “I paid for it. I bought it with my own money.”

  “It’s under my roof, and so are you.”

  “Give it to me!” Jordan took a step forward, but Heather stood her ground, realizing for the first time that she wasn’t big enough to stop him if he needed stopping. She realized that she and her son were crossing a parenting point-of-no-return. She looked him in the eye as fiercely as she could, for a woman who was accustomed to waiting for a living.

  “And don’t even think about trying to take it from me.”

  “You’re ridiculous!” Jordan yelled, then walked out of the room.

  Heather exhaled, wondering if other mothers had their sons walk out on them on a regular basis. She picked up her own phone and redialed Mindy. It was the right thing to do since she had just yelled at Evan. The call rang and rang, then went to voicemail, so she left a message: “Mindy, this is Heather, Jordan Larkin’s mom, calling again. Could you please call me when you get a moment? It’s very important.”

  Heather hung up, followed it up with a text, then phoned Susan.

  Chapter Forty-three

  Mindy sat on her bed with her laptop, scrolling through Facebook, but this time she wasn’t posting or reading feeds. She typed Cynthia Caselli into the SEARCH window, and a long list of thumbnails of young girls, older women, and even a Maltese puppy came up. She scanned for local entries and found Cynthia Caselli, who went to Rocky Springs High.

  Mindy clicked the thumbnail. Cynthia’s face popped onto the screen, a gorgeous, blue-eyed blonde with a dazzling smile. Mindy thought of the baby and how pretty he or she would have been. Her grandchild. Mindy had looked forward to the day when she’d be a grandmother, since all of her older friends at the club talked about their grandchildren all the time. They said it was an experience like no other.

  Mindy felt tears well up, but blinked them away. She looked at the Facebook page and, unfortunately, couldn’t learn more about Cynthia Caselli, since the girl kept her page private except for the profile picture and the basic information.

  Mindy opened a new window, went into White Pages, and typed in Cynthia Caselli, which called up a list of names and addresses. At the top was Paul and Gloria Caselli, 383 Hilltop Drive, Rocky Springs, PA, with a telephone number.

  Mindy picked up her phone, then hesitated. She didn’t know why she had the urge to call. On the one hand, it was a dumb idea, and she didn’t know what she would say. On the other hand, she didn’t like being left out of the equation, and at the very least, she owed them an apology. Paul could call the Casellis lowlifes, but Mindy and her spoiled son were no better than this girl or anybody else.

  Mindy called the number, and the phone was answered after two rings by a woman. “Hello, is this Gloria Caselli?”

  “Yes, who’s calling?”

  Mindy felt her heart start to pound. She couldn’t believe that she was actually talking to the other grandparent of her grandchild, and it was strange to be connected through blood to a woman she had never met. But now that connection was gone, making it even stranger. “This is Mindy Kostis, Evan’s mom.”

  “Oh, yes, how are you, Mrs. Kostis?”

  “Please, call me Mindy. In the circumstances, I think it’s appropriate.” Mindy’s mouth went dry. Now she had to think of what to say, and it was awkward. She wished she had a drink, but those days were over, so she had to tough it out.

  “Okay, call me Gloria. Now, can I help you with something?”

  “I don’t know where to begin.” Mindy felt so ashamed of Evan, Paul, and herself. “I guess I’m just calling to say that I didn’t know what was going on with Evan and Cynthia, and I’m sorry about all of it. I am truly sorry.”

  “Well, there’s nothing to be sorry for. They’re young. It happens.”

  “It does?” Mindy asked, surprised. She would have expected Gloria to be furious with her and Evan.

  “Yes, sure. They dated awhile, and Cyn was very hurt when Evan broke up with her. But she has a new boyfriend, so all’s well that ends well. I don’t like when teenagers get serious too soon, do you?”

  “Well.” Mindy felt flabbergasted. She’d been trying to be delicate, but it wasn’t working. “I meant about the baby. I’m sorry that that happened. They didn’t tell me about it. They kept it from—”

  “What baby?”

  “The baby, you know, their baby. Cynthia and Evan’s.”

  Gloria gasped. “Wait. What baby? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Mindy froze. Paul and Evan had told her that Cynthia’s parents knew about the baby. But what if they had lied to her? What if the Casellis hadn’t known? What if they were hearing it for the first time from Mindy? And now the baby was gone. Mindy didn’t know what to say. Anything she said would break Gloria’s heart.

  “Mindy? What baby?”

  “They got pregnant,” Mindy blurted out, stricken. “Cynthia got pregnant and she had an abortion out-of-state, in New York. Evan and my husband gave her the money and put her up in a hotel. I thought you and your husband knew about it—”

  “Are you serious?” Gloria sounded shocked. “That’s not true at all! Cyn didn’t become pregnant or have an abortion! Nothing like that happened.”

  “Yes, it did.”

  “No it didn’t,” Gloria shot back, firmly.

  “I’m sorry if you’re hearing this for the first time from me, but they told me you knew.”

  “There’s nothing to know. It didn’t happen. Trust me. You’re wrong.”

  Mindy didn’t understand. “I’m not, we just discussed it. They just told me. Maybe she just didn’t tell you, or maybe she told your husband and not you. That’s what Evan did, he told his father and not me.”

  “No, wrong. It’s just false.”

  Mindy felt completely bewildered. Maybe Gloria was in denial. “Believe me, I don’t mean to offend you, but sometimes we don’t know what’s going on in our own houses—”

  “Mindy, if you really must know, my daughter had a torsed ovary at fourteen, and it was removed in emergency surgery. She’s been on birth control ever since, to make sure she doesn’t lose both of them. So the odds of Cyn’s getting pregnant are slim to none. Now, I’m done with this conversation.”

  “Oh, my I’m sorry. Good-bye.” Mindy hung up, shaken. She had no idea what was going on, but she didn’t cry, and she didn’t hesitate.

  She got up, left the bedroom, and went downstairs to find Paul.

  Chapter Forty-four

  Mindy reached the bottom of the stairwell and didn’t have to go any farther, because oddly, Paul was in the family room, where he never spent any time. He was sitting on the couch and staring at the ceiling, his head resting backwards in the cushion. A crystal tumbler with two fingers of Scotch rested near his hand.

  Mindy entered the room, and Paul shifted his gaze to look at her. His gaze looked weary, exhausted, and bleary from the alcohol, but she still didn’t feel sorry for him. In fact, she felt nothing for him.

  “Paul, I just got off the phone with the Casellis.” Mindy stood over him. “Would you like to explain to me what the hell is going on?”

  Paul blinked, dully. “You called the Casellis,” he said quietly. “Of course you did.”

  “What does that mean? What’s going on?” Mindy didn’t understand the way he was acting. He seemed to be decompensating, which was completely unlike him. “Did Cynthia Caselli have an abortion or not?”

  “No, she didn’t.”

  “What?”

  “Evan didn’t get her pregnant. It was a total lie.”

  Mindy had no idea how to react. She felt dumbstruck, astonished, and shocked. “Is this a joke? Are you kidding? Evan didn’t get that girl pregnant?”

  “No, he didn’t.”

  “Did you? Did you get somebody pregnant?”

  “
Of course not, nobody got anybody pregnant.” Paul sounded almost bored, reaching for his Scotch.

  “Don’t say ‘of course not’ to me,” Mindy said calmly. She didn’t feel the need to shout, with him acting so strange. “Are you telling me that you and Evan lied to me?”

  “Yes. Well, to be precise, Evan made it up and I went along with it.”

  “What do you mean? Why? What’s going on? Did you plan this?”

  “No, we didn’t plan anything. I didn’t think you’d find the withdrawals and neither did he.”

  “Paul, why would you make up such a horrible story? I was so upset that he got a girl pregnant, that he aborted the child, our grandchild.”

  “I just told you, I didn’t make up the story. He did, on the spot.” Paul sighed. “He’s a teenager. He was making it up as he went along. The good news is he’s not that good a liar.”

  “Not as good as his father.”

  “No, not at all.”

  Mindy didn’t like the way he was acting, almost comatose. She began to feel a tingle of fear. Something was terribly wrong with him. “Paul, tell me what’s going on.”

  “You need to sit down.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do, just tell me what you did.”

  “Mindy, this is bad. This is as bad as it gets. I suggest you sit down.” Paul’s unfocused gaze met hers, and something told Mindy to follow his advice. It wasn’t a power struggle anymore, because Paul was acting absolutely powerless.

  “What is it?” Mindy asked, sitting opposite him on the chair.

  “I was trying not to tell you because I thought I had it handled. I thought it would blow over, but that’s not happening. You’re going to find out sooner or later because I’m going to be indicted next week. So there you have it.”

  “Indicted?” Mindy gasped.

  “Yes, I’ve been the target of a federal investigation for the past six months, from the IRS and the FBI. Not one, but two federal agencies. Two.” Paul held up two fingers like a victory sign.

  “What are you talking about?” Mindy felt like she was in a bad dream. This didn’t make any sense. It couldn’t be possible. He could still be lying. She didn’t know who he was anymore. Her husband, the stranger.

  “I’m about to be indicted for Medicaid fraud, money laundering, and income-tax evasion.”

  Mindy felt the blood rush to her head, as if she would faint. She leaned on the soft arm of the chair.

  “Would you like a drink? I know you drink.” Paul held out his tumbler of Scotch, smiling crookedly.

  “No.” Mindy found her voice, choked. “Is this really true?”

  “Yes. Next week, I’m going to be indicted.” Paul didn’t bat an eye. He stayed preternaturally calm, almost mechanical. “I took the money out of Evan’s account. He didn’t even know about it. I needed a criminal lawyer who specialized in white-collar crime. They wanted a retainer. I couldn’t write them a check because I knew you would see it, and our assets are about to be frozen when the indictment is filed.”

  “Paul, no.” Mindy reeled. It was too much to take in all at once. Part of her still wasn’t sure it was true. She felt gaslighted. “Are you lying again? Is this real?”

  “Mindy, my dear, this is as real as it gets. They’ve been making my life a living hell every day since they sent me the target letter, you don’t even know. That’s where I’ve been, all these times I’ve told you I’m working late. I’ve been meeting with my lawyers and the IRS and FBI, trying to hammer out a deal.”

  “What did you do? Did you do these things?” Mindy struggled to process the information, all at once. If he was telling the truth now, he wasn’t having an affair. He was doing something much worse, but all he felt was self-pity.

  “Yes, I did these things.”

  “What, exactly? How?” Mindy couldn’t wrap her mind around what she was hearing. Paul was a selfish jerk, but he never did anything illegal, that she knew of. And they had plenty of money to pay taxes with.

  “I’ll simplify it, because my lawyers aren’t here to cite chapter and verse. I don’t have to worry about your testifying against me at trial, even if you divorce me, because we’re not going to trial. And you’re in the clear, though you did sign our returns.”

  Mindy felt stunned. The words made no sense. In the clear. Trial. Testify. Her life was coming apart at the seams. She was too stricken to speak so she let him continue.

  “Long story short, we’ve been charging for tests we don’t perform and surgeries we don’t perform, and we put the claims in and we keep the money. Of course we have to hide the money, which at this point is almost $7.2 million, and we’ve been dividing it equally among the three of us.”

  “Seven million dollars?” Mindy began to get her bearings, hearing the number. The money made it real. It was real. “Where’s it all going?”

  “Our share is over 2 million, and we’ve been spending it on this very couch, our club membership, Evan’s BMW, and the Caymans’ vacation, which really was fun, I have to tell you.”

  Mindy had no idea why he would do such a thing. Money had never been a problem, so she didn’t know why he would take such a risk.

  “Mike, my beloved pal, told his lovely wife, Linda, and Linda made him tell the feds, who offered him a very sweet deal. In return for that, he became what’s known as a CI, or a confidential informant. He’s been wearing a wire under his lab coat for the past six months.”

  “Mike, your partner?” Mindy had always liked him and Linda. They’d been friends since Mike joined the group.

  “Yes. They’ve also been tapping my cell phone and my office phone, and by the way, Carole was in on it too. We needed her cooperation to fake the billing. That’s why we hired her and that’s why I bought her the jewelry. To keep her happy and quiet. I know it’s not her birthday.” Paul sipped his Scotch, then made a clicking sound with his teeth, knocking it back. “Mike gave them the whole case. We would’ve gotten away with it—we were getting away with it—but he handed it to the feds on the proverbial silver platter. Which also happened to hold my head.”

  “Paul, did you really do these things?” Mindy asked in disbelief.

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Why?”

  “Money, primarily. The money is just too good. And frankly, I’m angry.”

  “You’re angry about what?” Mindy shook her head, dumbfounded. “You have everything. We have everything.”

  “I’m angry at managed care, or rather, mismanaged care. I’m sick of being told what tests I can run, what procedures I can bill for, what drugs I can order, and which drug companies I can use.” Paul glowered. “So I found a way to get them back. I’m making up the money I would have been earning if they hadn’t been interfering with my cases.”

  Mindy heard the self-pity eke into his voice and she began to grasp the implications of what he was telling her. “So what are you saying? You’re going to prison?”

  “Yes. I’m going to make a deal, Min. I’m going to plead guilty. I’ll get twenty-two months.”

  “You’re really going to jail?” Mindy felt incredulous.

  “Yes, and the government is taking everything. Everything we own, everything in this room.” Paul gestured around at the furniture. “It’s going to be sold to pay the fines and make restitution. It’s being seized, the whole house, the cars, everything we own.”

  Mindy felt her lips part in shock. Her hand went to her chest. Her heart thundered. She understood everything now, but she didn’t care about the house, the car, or the couch. The only thing that concerned her was Evan. “What does Evan have to do with this? You didn’t mix him up in this, did you?”

  “No, he’s in the clear.”

  “What do you mean ‘in the clear’? Why did he make up the story? What happened?”

  “After I got the target letter, he heard me talking on the phone, trying to hire a lawyer. He overheard the whole conversation and he asked me about it. I didn’t mean for him to know. I thought it would never ge
t this far, I didn’t think they could prove their case. I didn’t figure that Mike had turned into their partner, instead of mine.” Paul shook his head, clucking his tongue again. “And I was so good to that jerk. I took him into the group when nobody else would have him. He’s not that good a surgeon. He’s practically a butcher, I’m telling you—”

  “So then what happened with Evan?”

  “Well, I suppose I confided in Evan from time to time, and he wanted to know. He saw what I was going through, and believe me, he’s as angry about this as I am. He saw what they were doing to me.” Paul sipped his Scotch, draining the tumbler. “It’s been a nightmare, honey. You have no idea how much power the government has, and when it turns on you, you don’t stand a chance. Not a chance.”

  “So you’ve been confiding in Evan all this time?”

  “I needed the support, frankly.”

  “Your son isn’t supposed to support you, you’re supposed to support him.” Mindy felt anger burn, like hot steel. “You shouldn’t have told him, you should have told me.”

  “I didn’t want to worry you—”

  “Stop lying to yourself. You didn’t want to face me.” Mindy controlled her temper. Paul didn’t matter anymore. Only Evan did. “So you let your son pay for your lawyer? You let your son take the rap for you? You let him lie to me? You let him hide what you did from me?”

  Paul sighed heavily, shifting his gaze back to her, unfocused. There was no love in his eyes, nor was there any remorse. “I was about to tell you the truth, and if you think back, you’ll remember that. I started to tell you, but he cut me off and he came up with this crazy story about an abortion, and I thought, why not go along with it? But I’m going to have to plead guilty. So you’re going to find out sooner or later and you’re finding out. Sooner.”

  “Where did Evan go?”

  “I don’t know. I have no idea.”

  “Is that really true?”

  “Absolutely. Probably with his friends or one of his girlfriends. Our golden boy. He leads a charmed life.”

  “Does he?” Mindy said, rising. She began to panic. It was dark and they hadn’t heard from Evan. She couldn’t imagine him driving around for so long, and he had to be shaken to the core. He had lied to protect his father, who didn’t deserve him. Or her.