The Perfect Liar (Last Stand 5)

No pregnancy! Kalyna couldn't believe it. She'd never had so much unprotected sex in her life. It had to result in a child. When she was younger, she'd gotten pregnant so easily.

"Is something wrong with me?" she asked. "Is there some reason I can't have a baby?" She was feeling the urge to hurt herself again. Why wouldn't God give her a baby?

Because she was bad. But He was the one who'd made her this way.

She'd never had anything she wanted, nothing. Why couldn't He at least let her have Luke?

The doctor removed the stethoscope from around her neck and put it in the pocket of her coat. "It's hard to tell with such a cursory examination.

You should really see an OB/GYN if you're interested in having a child. And don't worry, even if there are problems, there's so much they can do these days."

But by then it'd be too late.

If only she'd gotten pregnant. Then Luke would've given her another chance. He was that kind of guy. And one more chance was all she needed to prove how perfect they'd be together. No one could be more devoted to him than she was.

"You can go ahead and get dressed," the doctor said, and left the room.

Kalyna slowly stood. What now? It was only a matter of time before Ogitani dropped the case. Her own father would testify against her. So would Ava. That bitch had ruined everything, talking to her mother and her sister and Luke. It wasn't supposed to happen like that....

Ava was the one who'd taken Luke away from her.

I hate her. I hate her with a passion. Kalyna had no hope now. None.

But on the way out they handed her the printed results of the tests they'd performed, and she realized she might've given up too soon. The sheet read negative, but that one word wasn't anything a little Wite-Out and a copier couldn't fix.

Luke had asked for proof that she was pregnant. So she'd show him falsified lab results. Granted, the ploy would only buy her a few months.

After a while, it'd become obvious that her stomach wasn't growing.

But a few months was better than nothing.

Ava's stepfather had docked the houseboat where she'd left it.

Although the smell of his cheap cologne lingered, he was gone--thank God.

She didn't want to deal with him. Not when she was going on so little sleep.

And not when she had Luke with her.

Well...actually, she never wanted to deal with him.

Once she'd retrieved the key from under her potted hydrangea and let them in, she found a note on the kitchen table, but it was getting dark so she had to turn on a light to read it. "Thanks," it said in Pete's rapid scrawl.

Someone else, presumably his new girlfriend, had written underneath:

"Thank you so much for allowing us the use of your houseboat. It was a wonderful adventure, one my son won't soon forget."

"Too bad she didn't leave her number," Ava muttered.

"Who?" Luke asked.

"Liz...Smeltzer, if I'm reading her signature correctly."

"Your stepfather's girlfriend? You'd really warn her off?"

"In a heartbeat." She put down her briefcase and took out her laptop.

"Don't tell me you're planning to work some more," he said when she booted it up.

"I'm thinking of doing a few things, like calling Kalyna's sister."

"Any chance she knows where Kalyna is?"

The computer clicked as it ran through its opening sequence. "She might be in touch with her, but even if she's not, she could become an ally."

"To us? How do you figure?

Ava took her seat at the dining room table. "When I talked to her that night at the restaurant, she seemed so different from Kalyna. I got the impression she didn't really want to speak poorly of her mother. Now that this has happened, she might be upset enough to say what she really feels."

Luke put his duffel bag by the couch. "She could also call and report everything you say to her sister."

"I think that's a gamble we have to take, don't you? It's possible she suspects that Kalyna's the one who kil ed Norma. That might erode some of her loyalty."

"Or she could be afraid of Kalyna," he countered. "Maybe that's why she said what she did on the phone."

"She should be afraid of Kalyna. If Kalyna's as narcissistic as I believe, everyone should be afraid of her. But that's why we need to act fast. The sooner the police put her away, the sooner we can all breathe easier."

"You have the number?"

Ava opened her Internet browser and used a search engine to locate the mortuary's Web page. "I don't have a cell number for her, but I can call the business. I'm sure this is how Jonathan came by the number."

"Jonathan?"

"Stivers. He's a private investigator who helps on our various cases."

"He's not Geoffrey."

"No."

"How often do you see Geoffrey?" Luke asked.

"About once a week."

"Why haven't you slept with him?"

She had slept with him, just not recently, and she wasn't sure she wanted to explain how empty it had felt. "You heard my stepfather. I'm frigid."

"You don't really believe that...."

No, but she hoped he would. Maybe that would dilute some of the tension between them. "I don't know anymore," she mumbled.

"How long has it been since you've been with someone?"

"That's none of your business."

"Come on. We're friends, right?"

"No." They weren't friends. That was why she had to change the subject or they wouldn't make it through the next fifteen minutes without taking off their clothes. Then he'd learn for himself that she wasn't "frigid" in the least. Every time she looked at him she wanted to touch him. "We were talking about calling Tatiana."

"Yeah." He rubbed a hand over his face. "Maybe we should wait until tomorrow. She's just lost her mother."

"It sounds callous, but we might get more out of her now. And Kalyna could be dangerous, not only to us but to others."

"It's worth a shot," he said.

Ava dialed the number and waited through the greeting, then pressed

"1." No one picked up, but she was given the option to leave a message.

"This is Ava Bixby from The Last Stand victims' charity in Sacramento. I'm calling for Tatiana. Tatiana, could you please return my call? It's very important that I speak with you," she said, and left her number.

She'd just hung up when the phone rang. Caller ID showed the mortuary's number.

Tati paced nervously in her bedroom as she waited for Ava Bixby to answer. She had no business calling her back. She knew what Kalyna thought of Ava, knew her sister would interpret it as a betrayal. But Tati was so confused. She'd been trying to get hold of Kalyna for hours, but either Kalyna's phone was dead, or she'd shut it off. Why hadn't she checked in since they'd talked? She could've used a pay phone and called collect if necessary. Didn't she care that Norma was dead? That their family was ruined?