The Perfect Liar (3 page)

"You haven't gotten her pregnant!"

"No, it's not that." He prayed it wasn't, anyway. As far as he was concerned, that was about the only way his situation could get worse. He'd 21

worn a condom, although Kalyna had insisted she was clean and on the pil . But a condom seemed like meager protection now. They'd found his semen in her body. What would he do if she wound up pregnant? "This woman's telling the police I raped her."

His mother gasped, but his father met his announcement with stunned silence.

"Dad?" Luke said.

"What do
you
have to say about that?" Edward finally asked.

"I didn't do it."

"You're one hundred percent certain?"

"Of course!"

"I raised you to be a man, Luke. To take responsibility for your actions. If you're guilty, I expect you to admit it and pay the price, even if it means prison."

Edward's code of ethics demanded he be sure before throwing his support behind anyone. That included his son. Luke understood it, so his father's words didn't hurt. They offered him the opportunity to tell someone the truth--someone who might actually believe him. "I swear it on my life, Dad."

"Then that's al that matters."

Luke laughed without mirth. "To you, maybe. But it's not all that matters to me. She's already reported it. OSI is handling it."

"They're charging you?" his mother said.

"Yes."

She made a strangled sound. "What happened?"

Luke dropped his head into his hands. "I was an idiot."

His father responded before his mother could. "You need to expand on that answer."

"I wasn't thinking straight."

"Why not?"

He remembered the call he'd received from Lil y Hughes, his best friend's mother. Because his parents were no longer at Hil Air Force Base in Utah--they'd left when Ed retired--they probably hadn't heard the news he was about to impart. "Phil was kil ed in Iraq."

"No!" his mother cried.

22

Luke sat on the edge of the couch and stared glumly at the floor. "I'm afraid so."

"That's terrible!"

It was worse than terrible, so terrible Luke couldn't accept it. He stared at the shoes he was supposed to mail to the cousins who'd used his apartment. They'd left them and a few other things behind. But he'd been caught up in this mess and hadn't made it to the post office yet.

"I'm sorry, honey," his mother was saying. "I know how much you loved Phil."

It was Phil who'd first befriended him when they moved to Ogden, Utah, halfway through Luke's sophomore year. Phil who'd convinced him to play football their junior year. Phil with whom he'd double-dated and competed for valedictorian. Phil with whom he'd gotten into trouble for starting a food fight the day of graduation, after which he'd been barred from speaking at the commencement exercises. He and Phil had even loved the same girl--but Phil had declared himself first, so Luke had said nothing. He stood as best man and watched Phil marry Marissa. Then Phil had gone into the marines and Luke had followed in his father's footsteps and joined the air force.

"When's the funeral?" his mother asked.

"It's over. He died five weeks ago. Lil y was so grief-stricken she didn't think to call me. She apologized profusely, but..."

"Why didn't Phil's wife get in touch? She had to realize you'd want to know. The three of you were inseparable in high school."

He was the last person Marissa would call. About a year after she married Phil, she'd told Luke she'd made a mistake, that he was the one she really wanted. It had nearly kil ed him to do it, but he'd turned her away and insisted she never contact him again--for any reason. He wasn't about to let their love triangle end in tragedy, the way so many did. As much as he cared about her, as tormented with jealousy as he'd been every time he saw them together, he'd wanted them to be happy. Phil had gotten with Marissa first; Luke was the one who had to suck it up and move on. "I guess she didn't think of it, either."

"So you didn't get a chance to say goodbye," his mother said.

"No." Even worse, he and Phil had argued the last time they'd talked.

23

About Marissa. As usual. Phil shouldn't have volunteered for that second tour. Luke had tried to tell him to go home and take care of his family. That Marissa needed a husband and their son needed a father, but Phil wouldn't hear of it. He was too pumped up on the war and patriotism. Before slamming down the phone, Luke had told his friend that he didn't deserve Marissa. But he hadn't meant it. He regretted that statement even more than he regretted going home with Kalyna.

"How does his death relate to this...Sergeant--what's her name?" his dad asked.

"Kalyna Harter. I went to a local bar that night to get my mind off the fact that I'l never see Phil again, and she showed up."

"Go on..."

"She kept hitting on me and..." Guilt bit deep. He hadn't raped Kalyna, but he'd made himself vulnerable to her. Now her accusations would reflect on his entire family. "I...It was a mistake."

"So you slept with her," his father said.

"I slept with her, but I didn't
force
her."

"Why would she lie?"

"That's what I can't figure out. I mean, I know she was angry that I wouldn't stay the whole night. When I left, she made some pretty ugly statements, but--"

"For example..."

Luke didn't want to repeat them. He hadn't been with her because he wanted to pursue a relationship, which was the only honorable reason to get that intimate with a woman. But then, he'd thought she understood it was strictly casual. If he'd been interested in her, he would've asked her out on one of the many occasions she'd hinted that she wanted him to do so.

"She accused me of using her, that sort of thing."

Edward sighed loudly. "Sex means something to a woman. You can't sleep with her and expect it to be taken in stride. I taught you better than that."

His mother rushed to his defense. "Ed, he'd just heard about Phil! He was grieving, looking for a diversion."

"That doesn't give him the right to hurt others."

"This is the first call we've ever received like this!" she argued. "You 24

know Luke's not a womanizer."

The last thing Luke wanted was for his mother to fight his battles.

"Dad, I didn't think it would hurt anything, least of all
her.
She was the aggressor. Once we got to her place, she offered to..." He considered trying to explain what a three-way was and decided against it. Old-fashioned, religious and disciplined, his father would never unders tand a woman like Kalyna. "Never mind. She's unbalanced, okay? That's what I'm trying to tell you."

"You're going to need a top-notch lawyer," he said.

"I already have one."

"What can we do to help?" his mother chimed in. "Would you like us to come up there and be with you?"

"No, Mom. This is Jenny's last summer at home. She'l be miserable if you pull her away from her friends, and Lord knows you can't leave her there alone." Jenny hadn't been hanging with the best crowd.
Beach bums,
all of them,
his father said. Luke thought she was too pretty for her own good.

"It might not be convenient, but we can make arrangements," his mother insisted. "We're your family. We'l do whatever it takes."

Luke leaned his head back. He was stil in trouble, but his parents were standing behind him. For now, the moral support was enough. "Don't do it yet. It helps just to have you believe me."

"Of course we believe you!"

"I hate the thought of Jenny hearing about this," he grumbled.

"We won't tell her." It was his mother who made this promise.

"Someone else could. It'l humiliate all of you."

"No, it won't."

"I'm sure some of our friends wil wonder if it's true."

"The only ones who'l wonder are the ones who don't know you very well," his father said.

Luke gazed up at the ceiling. "I think most people try to give the woman the benefit of the doubt. I always have."

"That shows you're a good man," his mother said. "What does this Kalyna look like, anyway?"

His stomach churned as he pictured her, naked and in bed, glowering 25

up at him as he dressed. She'd been unhappy in the end. But she'd been very vocal about letting him know she liked everything before that point.

And he hadn't used her. He'd been sincere in his desire to please her during the time they were together. He'd thought it was a give-and-take, a mutual escape from regular life.

He closed his eyes as if that might dispel the vision of her screeching obscenities at him. "I suppose some guys would say she's pretty."

"What do
you
say?"

"I can't see it. Especially now."

His call-waiting beeped. Surprised, he sat up straight and held the handset away from him so he could check caller ID. It read
Unknown.

"I'd better go. I'm getting another call."

His father caught him before he could hang up. "How are you for money?"

"I'm fine."

"The legal fees won't be cheap. Not for something like this."

No kidding. Luke had already written a ten-thousand-dollar check--

what his attorney required as a retainer. Fortunately, he earned a decent salary and his expenses were low. He had a nice car, a BMW M3, which felt like a jet on wheels. He had a hefty monthly payment for the pleasure of driving it, but most of what he made went into savings. "I'l let you know if I need anything."

"Fight for your reputation, son," his father said.

Luke had every intention of fighting--for his freedom, as well as his reputation.

After telling his folks goodbye, he switched to the other line. "Hello?"

"Luke?"

It was a man. "Yes?"

"Pledge McCreedy."

His attorney. But why would McCreedy be calling him so late at night?

A surge of hope shot through him. Maybe the case had been dropped. He hadn't been violent, hadn't harmed Kalyna in the slightest. He couldn't believe she'd be vengeful enough to keep this going. "Tell me you have good news."

26

There was a brief hesitation. "The opposite, I'm afraid."

Luke braced himself. Was Kalyna pregnant? "What now?" he asked.

"There's a woman from The Last Stand--"

"The Last What?" McCreedy hadn't said "pregnant." Yet. Luke jumped to his feet and began to pace in an effort to disperse some of the nervous energy pounding through him.

"The Last Stand. It's a victims' charity in Sacramento. You haven't heard of it?"

"No."

"It's run by three women who investigate various cases, retest evidence, offer counseling, self-defense classes and money for attorney's fees--whatever they feel the victims who come to them might need."

This wasn't what Luke had expected. He would've been relieved, except that his attorney seemed so concerned. "What does that mean to me?"

"More than you might think. Sergeant Harter has enlisted their help. I just picked up the messages from my answering service. An Ava Bixby from The Last Stand has been trying to reach me."

"And?"

"Let me put it this way. She could go to the media. Any exposure you get there would almost certainly work against you. These women are viewed as champions of the weak and afflicted, which would add to the appearance of guilt on your part. They could dedicate time and resources to helping the prosecution build its case. From what I've seen, they're absolutely dogged once they have someone in their sights. They could even drag the local police into this, a possibility that brings the potential for a second trial."

Great. Kalyna winding up pregnant wasn't the only way his situation could get worse. "How do we stop them from getting involved?"

"I don't know that we can."

"But I'm innocent."

He'd muttered those words to himself, but apparently Mr. McCreedy heard him. "Al my clients are innocent, Captain Trussell."

Yeah, right. McCreedy believed Luke was innocent because he was being paid to believe it. He looked no further. And why would he? Not all 27

his clients could be innocent. Believing any of them to be guilty as charged would risk a conflict of conscience. Provided he had a conscience. "What is it Kalyna Harter wants?" Luke asked. "My head on a platter?"

"I don't know, but if you can come up with her motivation, I'm all ears.

We have to provide a plausible reason she'd lie--something we can prove--

or we won't have much of a case. It'l be your word against hers, and all she has to do is break into tears to appear authentic."

"I don't know why she hates me," Luke said. "I didn't stay as long as she wanted me to and it pissed her off. That's all I can guess." He also hadn't been able to repeat to her what she'd said to him before he got out of bed.
I love you...
He'd assumed she was joking. They worked together, but there was no love involved. "So what can we do about Ava Bixby?" he asked.

"Pray she runs low on funds and has to close her doors. Soon."

Luke shook his head. Now he had a victims' charity after him, hoping to see him swing for a crime he didn't commit. "Would it help if I talked to her?"

"Definitely not! That's why I'm calling. She may try to get in touch with you, but don't speak to her. She's on their side."

Luke massaged his left temple. He wanted to declare his innocence to anyone who'd listen, which made it difficult
not
to talk. But ever since base security had banged on his door, he'd found himself standing in a legal minefield. It was best to listen to someone who knew how to navigate it.

Or he might not make it through.

28

"M
s. Harter, can you please state your full name?"

Kalyna smiled calmly at the female lawyer, a major from the Office of Special Investigations, who'd been assigned to prosecute Luke Trussell.

She'd spoken to Rani Ogitani on the phone a few times, but this was their first face-to-face meeting. The woman seemed brisk and efficient--

emotionally distant but certainly capable.