The Perfect Liar (Last Stand 5)

Ava had to distract herself--but with what? She could work from home, of course. She had some of her files here. But most of her open cases required her to place a few calls, and she couldn't do that while her father was using her cell phone. Apparently, he'd scooted out of his house so quickly he'd left his own cell behind. That made it easy to guess what Carly's behavior must've been like at the time. Besides, Ava's laptop was in the dining room, which was on the other side of the living room.

A brief silence gave Ava hope that the conversation had come to an end. She opened the door to her bedroom, but then her father started again.

"We have a child together, Car. Can't you understand why I'd return her call?...It's not because I'm stil in love with her! Neal's getting married. It was nice of her to let me know. It's not like he would've told me."

Her half brother was tying the knot? No one had bothered to inform Ava.

God, her family was screwed up. No wonder she worked all the time.

She was about to go back into the bathroom to do something really exciting, like repaint her toenails or clean her toilet, when silence fell again.

And this time it lasted.

Because there'd been no resolution or even a goodbye, she knew Carly had hung up rather abruptly--probably very abruptly. Her father's pleading hadn't been enough to mollify her this time.

"You hungry?" she asked as she walked out.

He was sitting on the couch with his eyes closed, head bowed and resting on the hand that held her phone, but he looked up when she spoke.

"Uh, yeah, I could eat." Attempting to conceal his dejection, he smiled.

"I'l make us some lunch. What would you like?"

Standing, he waved her toward the door. "Don't bother cooking. Let's get out of here. I'l take you to my favorite spot."

Ava didn't hide her surprise. "You're going to take me to lunch? Just the two of us?" She knew what that would mean if word of it got back to Carly. He'd be in worse trouble than he was now.

"This place is claustrophobic. Let's go."

She suspected the houseboat only seemed claustrophobic because it was all he had to look forward to if he couldn't patch things up with Carly.

Seeing the cabin through new eyes, Ava drew a deep breath. The houseboat wasn't hers. She'd return it to her father as soon as he and Carly broke off their relationship, which was coming. Ava couldn't see the marriage lasting much longer. They might struggle on for another year or two, but then her father would be on his own--older but none the wiser, if his track record was any indication. And where would that leave her?

She'd be completely free, without anchor or tether, just as she'd always wanted.

But was it really?

Kalyna hid in the trees while she watched Ava come out of the houseboat with an older man. Who was he? A friend? A client? A relative?

And was this Ava's place or the man's? Hard to tell....

Ava and whoever he was climbed into the truck next to her Volkswagen and drove off. Kalyna waited for a few minutes, to make sure they didn't come back. Then she walked over to where Ava had parked.

The car was unlocked, probably because there wasn't much inside to protect--just a pair of sunglasses. Slipping into the driver's seat, Kalyna tried them on and checked her reflection in the rearview mirror. She didn't care for the way they made her look, but she took them, anyway. Ava wasn't going to be around long enough to need them.

Clipping the sunglasses to her shirt, Kalyna got out of the car and strode down the pier. The door to the houseboat was locked, but the panel felt pretty flimsy. She could break it open. But that would reveal someone had been here, and there was no need to put Ava on alert when surprise would serve Kalyna's purposes so much better.

She took a quick turn around the boat and found a window that was open a few inches. Once Kalyna cut the screen with the knife she carried in her jockey box, she was able to get her fingers through. From there it was only a matter of sliding the window open and climbing in.

She entered through a spare bedroom that looked like any other bedroom. Other than the fact that it sat on the water, the house itself wasn't unusual, either. The kitchen, dining room and living room were joined.

There was another bedroom and a second bath in the back, near the spare room.

One thing was obvious, however. This wasn't just a vacation home.

Someone was living here on a regular basis, and it was easy to tell who that someone was. Pictures of Ava with various people--a man who had his arm around her on a windy pier, the two women Kalyna had met that day in Ava's office, the man who'd just left with her--graced the shelves above the television. A stack of mail, already opened, waited on the kitchen counter. It was all addressed to Ava at some post office box.

Kalyna thumbed through several bil s, pausing when she came to a bank statement. It was gratifying to be able to violate Ava's privacy this way, to paw through a list of her recent purchases and get some idea of where she spent her money.

Judging by the statement, Ava paid her bil s on time, but she didn't have much in the bank. The statement showed automatic deposits that totaled quite a bit less than Kalyna made at the base. The stupid woman was facing down ra**sts, wife abusers and murderers for mere pennies.

Why bother?

"Loser," she muttered, and helped herself to a couple of cookies she found in the cupboard while she tried to think. She wanted Ava dead.

Gone. Out of her life, and out of Luke's life. But how? She had to be careful. Thanks to Mark and his recent threats, she'd be able to wriggle out of the blame for her mother's death, but she couldn't be connected to another murder investigation. The cop she'd spoken to on the phone would be arriving tomorrow, but she interviewed well. There was stil a chance she could put her life back together without having to leave the country.

Losing her mother gave her a good excuse for not showing up at work this morning--she was too emotionally distraught. That wouldn't erase the fact that she'd been absent without leave before Norma died. But her loss should evoke some sympathy in her superiors. Maybe her punishment wouldn't be as serious as it would've been otherwise. Even if they demoted her, she'd have a job, a place to live and Luke, and she could reapply for advancement in another year or so.

Things would work out. If only she could think of some way to get rid of Ava. Ava was the one who'd ruined everything. Seeing that she died a violent and painful death appealed to Kalyna. But torturing her would bring about another investigation. Even if it was just a stabbing or a shooting, the media would get involved and the police would be under pressure to solve the murder of someone so well-known in the area.