The Liar

by Nora Roberts

  “That was the plan. Four or five years, we figured, before we could liquidate and retire. Or semi-retire, as who wants to give up all the fun? You were his cover, that’s clear. But you’re going to have to go a ways to convince me you’re stupid enough to know nothing.”

  “I was stupid enough to believe him, and that’s what I’m going to be living with.”

  “I’ll give you some time to think about it. Even if you’re the driven snow, Shelby, you lived with the man for more than four years. You think about it hard enough, you’ll figure out something. Consider half of close to thirty million—maybe a little more now—motivation.”

  It was Shelby’s turn for contempt. “I don’t want half of anything you stole.”

  “Your choice. Turn your part in, take the finder’s fee if you’re delicate. It’d be fat enough to pay off some of the debt you’re swimming in. Like I said, I get what’s mine, I’m gone. If you want to stay in this little nowhere town, working in your grandmother’s beauty parlor for peanuts, singing on Friday nights in a bar for rubes? Your choice. I get what’s mine, you keep what’s yours. You’ve got that pretty little girl to think about.”

  “You go near my daughter, you think about going near my daughter, I’ll take you apart.”

  Natalie just looked over the side of her shoulder, lips curved. “Do you think you can?”

  Shelby didn’t think; she acted. She reached down, hauled Natalie to her feet by fisting a hand on the front of her blouse. “I can, and I will.”

  “That’s what caught Jake’s eye. He liked some fire, even in a mark. You can relax. I’m not interested in little girls or in going back in a cell. Fifty-fifty, Shelby. If I bring Mickey in on this, you’ll get nothing but pain and heartache. He’s not as civilized a negotiator as I am.”

  She shoved Shelby’s hand off her blouse. “Think about it. I’ll be in touch.”

  Because her legs wanted to shake, Shelby sat on the bench again when Natalie strolled away.

  Twenty-eight million? Stolen jewelry and stamps? Bigamy? Who in God’s name had she married? Or thought she married?

  Maybe it was all a lie. But what would be the point?

  But she’d check, check all of it.

  She pushed to her feet, pulled out her phone as she walked to call Tracey and check on Callie.

  By the time she got to the salon she was fired up again.

  “I’m sorry, Granny.”

  “What kept you? And put the wrath of God in your eyes?”

  Shelby shoved her purse under the front counter. “I need to talk to you and Mama, soon as you’re both free. I’m sorry, Mrs. Hallister, how are you doing today?”

  The woman in Viola’s chair—that Hallister boy’s grandmother—smiled. “I’m doing right well. I came in for a touch-up, and here Vi’s talked me into highlights. Let’s just see if Mr. Hallister notices.”

  “It’s nice, brightening things up for spring. Granny, I’ve just got to make a quick call, then I’ll check supplies.”

  “Towels should be ready to fold.”

  “I’ll see to that.”

  Over the shop talk they exchanged a look. Viola nodded, and held up a hand behind the chair back. Five minutes.

  Shelby went back into the laundry and supply room, and called her brother Forrest.

  13

  She couldn’t think about it. Callie was safe, and Tracey would keep her that way. She didn’t know one damn thing about any stolen jewelry, and wouldn’t know a rare stamp if someone stuck it to her forehead. If this Natalie person thought she did, she’d just have to live with the disappointment.

  But it upset her how easily she could believe Richard—or Jake, or whatever his name was—had been a thief, a liar.

  But never her husband, she thought, as she folded and stacked towels. In a terrible way, now that the weight had settled in, she took comfort from that.

  She’d do her work, smiling and chatting with customers, restocking supplies. Then she’d go home, have dinner with her little girl before heading to the bar and grill to give Tansy and Derrick their money’s worth.

  She wouldn’t let anyone down again, including herself.

  Forrest found her at the end of the day while she swept the little courtyard.

  “Did you find her?” Shelby demanded.

  “No. Nobody by that name or description in the hotel, the lodge, in any of the cabins, the B&Bs. She’s not staying in the Ridge. And I’ve got nothing so far about a Natalie Sinclair doing time for fraud in Dade County.”

  “It’s probably not her real name, either.”

  “Probably not, but a good-looking brunette’s bound to stick in somebody’s memory if she’s staying in the Ridge, or poking around. We’ll take a look further out if she comes back, if she bothers you again.”

  “I’m not worried about that.”

  “Then start. You tell Mama?”

  “I told her, and Granny, and they’ll tell the rest of the family. I’m not taking chances, Forrest, but I don’t know anything about these jewels or stamps she says she’s after.”

  “You may know more than you think. Don’t get your claws out,” he said as she whipped around to him. “Christ’s sake, Shelby, I don’t think you had anything to do with it. But along the way he might’ve said something, done something, you overheard something that didn’t click at the time. Now this is all planted in your head, maybe something will click. That’s all.”

  Tired, she rubbed a spot between her eyebrows where a headache wanted to brew. “She put me on edge.”

  “Imagine that.”

  Shelby let out a short laugh. “Is it crazy for me to be glad somewhere down deep finding out I was never married to him?”

  “I’d say it’s about as sensible as it gets.”

  “Okay then, I’m going to be sensible. I’m finished up here, so I’m going home. Mama picked Callie up already from Chelsea’s. I’m going to be with my girl awhile, make sure she has a good supper. Then I’m going to change and fix up so I look like somebody who should be singing on a Friday night.”

  “I’ll follow you home. Safe’s better than sorry every time,” he said before she could object.

  “Okay, thanks.”

  Did she know something, something buried deep? Shelby wondered as she drove home with Forrest cruising behind her. It was true enough she could look back now, see little signs Richard was up to something. The phone calls that ended when she walked in or walked by, the locked doors and drawers. The dismissal of any question she had about what he did, where he went.

  She’d thought affair, and more than once. But until now she’d never really considered thievery—not in a major sort of way, whatever that detective had claimed. And millions of dollars in jewelry?

  That was about as major as it got.

  And now that she knew? She shook her head as she pulled into the drive. She had nothing. Just nothing.

  She gathered her things, waved to Forrest. And when the first thing she heard when she opened the front door was Callie’s laughter, she let everything else go.

  After hugs and kisses and an excited retelling of her day with Chelsea, Callie settled down with a coloring book while Shelby helped her mother in the kitchen.

  “You’ve got pretty white tulips up in your room,” Ada Mae said.

  “Oh, Mama, my favorite! Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me. They came about an hour ago. From Griffin.” Ada Mae slid her gaze and smile over. “I think you have a beau, Shelby Anne.”

  “No, I— That was awful nice of him. Sweet of him.”

  “He’s got a sweetness, and not so sugary it makes your teeth ache. Such a nice young man.”

  “I’m not looking for a beau, Mama, or a young man.”

  “It’s always seemed to me things are more exciting when you’re not looking and you find them.”

  “Mama, I’ve not only got Callie to think about, and what’s already in my lap, but what just fell into it this morning.”

 
“Life’s still got to be lived, baby girl. And a nice young man who thinks to send flowers adds a pretty touch.”

  • • •

  IT DID. She couldn’t deny it as she glanced over at the white tulips. Her favorite flower, she mused, so he’d obviously asked someone who knew her. She thought about it while she changed into a simple, classic-cut black dress.

  Whether she looked for it or not, Griffin was giving her some romance, and it had been a very, very long time since anyone had.

  And she bet he knew the flowers made her think of the way he’d kissed her—twice now. She couldn’t blame him for that—and found she didn’t blame herself for thinking she wouldn’t mind being kissed again.

  Soon.

  She put on earrings. She’d thought to find something stage-flashy, but had opted for simple, like the dress, and pinned her hair back at the sides, let it fall in mad curls down her back.

  “What do you think, Callie?” She did a model’s turn for her daughter. “How do I look?”

  “Bee-utiful Mama.”

  “Bee-utiful Callie.”

  “I wanna go with you. Please, please!”

  “Oh, I wish you could.” She crouched down, stroked Callie’s hair as her daughter pouted. “But they don’t let kids come.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s like the law.”

  “Uncle Forrest is a lawman.”

  Laughing, Shelby cuddled her girl. “A lawman.”

  “Uh-huh. He said. He can take me.”

  “Not tonight, baby, but I’ll tell you what. I’ll bring you with me to a rehearsal next week sometime. It’ll be like a special show just for you.”

  “Can I wear my party dress?”

  “I don’t see why not. Tonight, Granny and Grandpa are coming to be with you, and won’t you have fun?” And after the first set, her parents would come back, switch off.

  It was good to know her family would be there.

  “Let’s go down now. I’ve got to get going.”

  • • •

  THE PLACE WAS PACKED. She’d expected a crowd this first night as people were curious, or in the case of family and friends, supportive. Whatever brought them in, it felt good, damn good, to know she’d earned her keep this first time out.

  She’d said hey and thanks for the good wishes countless times before she made it to the table, right in the front, where Griff sat.

  “You look amazing.”

  “Thanks, that was the aim.”

  “Dead on.”

  “Thank you for the flowers, Griffin. They’re just beautiful.”

  “Glad you liked them. Emma Kate and Matt are on their way, or nearly, and I had to fight off a dozen people to keep their chairs. That’s close to literal with some giant Tansy called Big Bud.”

  “Big Bud? Is he here?” She did a quick scan, spotted him with his mighty bulk squeezed into a side booth chowing down on ribs while a skinny girl she didn’t recognize sat across from him poking at whatever was on her plate and looking bored.

  “We went to high school together. I heard he’s a long-haul trucker these days, but . . .”

  She trailed off as her gaze passed over Arlo Kattery, then backtracked to meet his eyes.

  He hadn’t changed much, she thought, and those pale eyes of his still had the power to give her the creeps when they stared.

  He kicked back in a chair at a table shared with a couple of men she thought she recognized as the same two he’d always hung out with.

  She hoped they wouldn’t stay long, and take Arlo and his snake-stare around to Shady’s, where they usually spent their beer money.

  “What’s the matter?” Griff asked.

  “Oh, nothing, just somebody else from back some years. I expected some would come in tonight, curious to see if I rise or fall.”

  “Sensation,” Griff said. “That’s the word of the day, since you’ll be one.”

  She turned back to him, forgetting Arlo. “Aren’t you clever with your words?”

  “The word of the day has to fit. This one does. I was supposed to let you know Tansy’s got your parents, Clay and Gilly there.” He gestured to a table at his right with a big RESERVED card on it. “Nobody argued with her on that one. Not even Big Bud.”

  “Oh, Big Bud always did idolize Clay. He’s all right, Griff, just . . . insistent now and then. Daddy’s just waiting on Mama to finish primping, so they’ll be here soon. I’m really glad you’re here now.”

  “Where else would I be?”

  She hesitated, then sat. She had plenty of time. “Griffin, you’re really not going to pay any mind to what I said about my life being a hot mess and all the rest?”

  “It doesn’t look like such a mess to me.”

  “You’re not in it. And I found out more today, worse today. I can’t talk about it right now, but it’s twisted up something terrible.”

  He brushed a hand over the back of hers. “I’ll help you straighten it out.”

  “Because that’s what you do?”

  “That, and because I’ve got a thing for you that just keeps getting bigger. And you’ve got one for me.”

  “You’re sure of that?”

  He only smiled. “I’m looking at you, Red.”

  “I’ve got no business having a thing for you,” she muttered. Then as she had on Callie’s laugh, she let it go. “But maybe I do.” Her smile was pure temptation as she rose. “Just maybe I do.” She trailed a fingertip down his arm, felt the low vibration. She’d forgotten how heady that small, simple power could be. “You enjoy the show now.”

  She went back into the kitchen, which was utter chaos, slipped into the broom closet of an office to take a breath.

  Tansy rushed in. “Oh sweet God, Shelby, we’re slammed. Derrick’s pitching in behind the bar so we can keep up. How are you? Are you ready? I’m half sick with nerves.” She pressed a hand to her belly. “And you look cucumber cool. You’re not nervous?”

  “Not about this. There’s so much else I have to be nervous about, so this? It’s like sliding into an old pair of slippers. I’ll do good for you, Tansy.”

  “I know you will. I’m going out in just a few minutes, quiet them down and announce you.”

  She pulled a ragged strip of paper from her pocket. “My checklist. I do better with one. Okay. The machine’s all set up just the way you wanted, and you know what to do there.”

  “I do.”

  “If anything goes wrong with it—”

  “I’ll wing it,” Shelby assured her. “Thanks for saving that table for my parents.”

  “Are you kidding? Of course we saved them a front-row seat—absolutely top of the checklist. And it stays reserved when they leave until your grandparents get here. I’ve got to go check on a few things, then we’ll go for it. You need anything?”

  “I’ve got it all.”