by Kate Kessler
Neve nodded. “I thought that too. Listen, Alisha, I can’t really discuss this with you. I’m only telling you this much because you’re you. For now, Luke is being held on suspicion of murder.”
“Neve, he didn’t do it. You have to believe me.”
“I want to, hon. I really do, but he doesn’t have an alibi for the night Tala disappeared. Kendra was lying when she said she was with him.”
“Yeah, I know she was lying.” Alisha was becoming agitated. Audrey wanted to go to her, but she stayed where she was. The entire family seemed to have silently taken a vow to allow her to handle whatever it was she was doing on her own.
Crossing her legs, Neve frowned slightly as she leaned back in her chair. “You know she lied? Do you know where Luke was that night? Why didn’t you say anything before this?”
“Because we swore we’d keep it a secret,” was Alisha’s reply. “I promised I wouldn’t tell.”
Audrey’s stomach rolled. Either she was becoming overnervous, or she’d eaten something that hadn’t agreed with her. Since that rarely happened, she had to assume the nausea was because she loved that kid so damn much, and she was terrified she couldn’t help her.
Neve kept her gaze on Alisha. All attention was focused on Alisha. “But you’re going to tell now?”
She nodded. “If it keeps Luke from going to jail, then yeah.”
“Okay, so tell me where he was.”
“He was with me.”
“Where?” Yancy demanded. “You were at home that night.”
Alisha glanced at her mother. “I was. Luke came over.”
“You didn’t tell me he came by.”
“Yeah, I know.” The look Alisha gave her mother begged for silence. “I didn’t tell you, because we were going to pretend it never happened.”
“Pretend what never happened?” Audrey asked, but she already knew the answer.
Alisha looked down at the floor before lifting her chin and meeting Neve’s gaze. “Luke came to my place while Mum was at work. He was upset about Tala breaking up with him, and about her hooking up with Kyle. He needed someone to talk to, so we talked.”
Neve tilted her head. “You don’t pretend talking never happened. Did the two of you have sex?”
“Oh, fuck around,” Lincoln groaned, obviously not ready to think of his niece as ready for that sort of behavior.
Alisha’s cheeks flushed, but she nodded. She didn’t look at any of them. “We didn’t mean for it to happen, it just did.”
“It’s okay, Lish,” Jake said, ignoring the glare his sister cast in his direction. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Neve was still focused on the girl sitting across from her. “Alisha, I need to ask you this—you’re not lying to me hoping to protect Luke, are you?”
“My daughter doesn’t lie,” Yancy informed her, coldly.
Neve glanced up, unaffected. “Your family is incredibly loyal to those they love. I want to make certain Alisha’s loyalty isn’t misplaced.”
Good save, Audrey thought.
“It’s true,” Alisha affirmed. She took out her cell phone and flipped through her photos, finally finding one that she showed to Neve. Whatever it was had Neve nodding.
“Okay,” the detective said. “I still have to investigate the knife. Are you willing to make a statement?”
Alisha nodded.
Neve looked to Yancy again. “I can come by the house tomorrow.”
“I’ll be at work,” Yancy replied.
“It’s okay,” Alisha said. “I’d rather not have all of you around. Maybe Audrey could be there, though?”
All gazes swung toward her. Audrey had a list of things she needed to do the next day, but family came first. “Sure. You just tell me when.”
A few minutes later, Audrey walked Neve to the door. “What did she show you?”
“A photo of Luke in a bed I assume to have been hers,” Neve answered in a low voice. “Look, you know her better than I do . . .”
“I don’t think she’s making it up.” Audrey was honest. “But, is she capable of putting herself on the line for a boy she likes? Fuck yeah.”
“Well, we’ll see how Luke reacts when I ask him about it.” With that, Neve said she’d see her the next day and left.
Audrey shut the door and turned to rejoin the others in the dining room. They were clustered around Alisha like a trio of awkward mother hens. The girl looked up, her gaze locking with Audrey’s.
If she’s a liar, Audrey thought, she’s a damned good one.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jake was beside himself. Audrey had never seen him in such a mood. Pacing the hardwood floor in their bedroom, he was anxious and angry, and it was all because his teenage niece had sex with a boy.
“You were having sex at that age,” Audrey reminded him. She did not remind him of who he was having sex with.
“I know, and I hate to say it, but I’m more afraid for Alisha because she’s a girl. I saw what having a baby young did to Yancy—and that’s the good-case scenario. What if some jerk gives her a disease?”
Audrey thought of the guy who had given her crabs in her early twenties and almost shuddered. “We make sure she’s on the pill, uses condoms, and doesn’t sleep with assholes.”
He shot her a droll look. “You know it’s not that easy.”
“No, it’s not, but it’s out of our hands. She’s growing up, and she’s going to do what she thinks is best for her.”
Jake shook his head. “I don’t feel like she’s ready for it.”
“Doesn’t matter. You and Yancy did a great job raising her; now all you can do is hope she uses all the tools you gave her.”
Another look—this time narrow. “You’re not helping.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know what you want me to say. She’s a good kid. She’ll be all right. I’ll talk to her tomorrow before Neve comes by. Does that make you feel better?”
He stopped pacing and considered it. The tension in his jaw eased. “Yeah. I think it does.”
Audrey smiled softly. What Jake wouldn’t admit—mostly because he hadn’t realized it yet—was that he was feeling separation anxiety. Lish might be his niece, but he’d helped raise her, and he loved her like she was his own. She always confided things to him that she would never tell her mother, and now she’d kept a secret from him. He was probably feeling a little lost.
“Come to bed,” she said. “I’m getting to the point where I’m so tired I could puke.”
“You’ve been taking on too much lately,” he said, peeling back the blankets. “You’re making yourself sick.”
“I’m done at the school this week, so then it will be back to normal crazy.”
They both lay down at the same time. Jake tucked his arm under his pillow and looked at her. “Your father’s impressed that you haven’t inserted yourself into this murder investigation.”
She rolled her eyes. “If he doesn’t think I’m in it, fine, but Alisha puts us right smack-dab in it.” She sighed. “I really hope Luke didn’t do it.”
He pulled her close. “Me too. I’d hate to have another guy killed in prison.”
Even though she knew it was wrong, Audrey laughed.
* * *
Alisha was on the couch reading a book when Audrey arrived on Saturday. She wore gym shorts and a T-shirt with her hair back in a messy ponytail.
“How are you doing?” Audrey asked.
She shrugged. “Mum grounded me. I’m not allowed to go see Luke.” She held up her phone. “She didn’t say anything about calling or texting, though.”
Sneaky. “She just wants to keep you away from the investigation.”
“Yeah, I know. Not stupid.”
Audrey sighed. “If having sex with a guy makes you this much of a bitch, maybe you should consider becoming a nun. You’ve been incredibly hard to live with, you know that?”
Alisha looked surprised. “Seriously? The guy I like is suspected of murder, and you
think I should be more concerned about people’s feelings?”
“I think you should have more respect for the people who are trying to help, and try not to be a dick.”
The girl opened her mouth—probably to make a smart-ass retort, but then she thought better of it. “Sorry.”
“Your uncle was literally pacing last night because he’s worried about you.”
A shrug lifted Alisha’s shoulders. “I don’t see what the big deal is.”
Audrey smiled slightly. “No. You wouldn’t, because teen self-centeredness is what makes you decide to fly off on your own. Without it you’d be too scared to leave the house.”
“You don’t know everything, you know.”
“No, I don’t. And if that’s true, think of how much less you know than me. Now, are we going to continue this pissing contest, or are we going to talk?”
Alisha tossed her book aside and put her feet up on the coffee table. “What do you want to know?”
“Condoms. Did he use one?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re on the pill?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
“That’s it?”
Now it was Audrey’s turn to shrug. “The rest of it’s none of my business.”
“You don’t want to know if he was nice to me, or if I enjoyed it?”
Audrey met her gaze. “You want to hear about my first time?”
“No.”
“Well, then . . .” She gave her a pointed look. “What I really want to know before Neve gets here is that you’re being one hundred percent honest.”
“I can’t believe you, of all people, are so worried about me lying to the cops.”
“I’m not worried about it. I’m worried that you’re not ready to face the consequences of it if you are. And I want to make sure Luke is worth those consequences.”
The girl leaned back against the cushions. “You ever feel like you know someone right down to their bones?”
Oh, hell. “The only person I’ve ever felt that way about is Jake.”
“That’s how I feel about Luke. You probably think that’s stupid.”
“Not at all. You know Luke has a reputation for bouncing from girl to girl.”
She nodded. “If he bounces, then he’s not who I think he is, but I don’t think he’s going to bounce—not from me.”
Audrey wasn’t about to argue with her. The kid knew her own mind, seemed to know the risks, and was willing to take them anyway. Who was she to tell her to be careful or not to do something?
“Okay.” She nodded. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Trust me.”
“I can do that.”
“And keep posting as HeadSick, because I have to stop.”
Audrey was more pleased than surprised that Alisha knew it was her. “Okay, TroothGrrl.”
“Who do you think did it?”
“I don’t know, but I think Kendra and Lucy know more than they’re saying. And I think other people know more too; they’re just not coming forward, or they don’t realize they have information.”
“But you don’t think it’s Luke?”
Audrey shook her head. “I suppose it could be, but I like to think you wouldn’t get involved with a guy dumb enough to hide a murder weapon in his closet.”
“I know, right? It had to be planted.” Her jaw tightened. “I wish I knew who did it.”
“I’m glad you don’t,” Audrey said with a faint smile.
When Neve arrived, Audrey made tea—which Neve didn’t drink. She never ate or drank anything offered to her when she was on duty. She took Alisha’s statement with a blank expression that Audrey tried to duplicate. It was difficult to listen to the girl talk about her first sexual experience and how guilty both she and Luke felt about it later—so guilty they decided to pretend it never happened. Alisha hadn’t wanted to hurt Tala—or Kendra. And Luke apparently didn’t want Tala to know, because then she’d know for certain why he hadn’t been able to be with her. He felt horrible for it. Audrey respected that, but she still didn’t like the fact that he’d broken more than his fair share of hearts in his brief life.
A life that would be that much briefer if he hurt Alisha.
When Alisha was done, Neve closed her notebook and thanked her.
“So you’ll let Luke go now?” Alisha asked.
“I still have to follow up on the evidence we found at his house,” Neve replied.
It was obvious that answer wasn’t what Alisha wanted hear. “But I’m his alibi.”
“For the night Tala disappeared, yeah. But we don’t know for sure if that’s when she was killed. The medical examiner gave us a window, and while that night falls within it, there’s a cushion of time around it. Just because Luke was here doesn’t mean he didn’t kill Tala. I’m sorry, Alisha, but I have to do my job.”
“You didn’t do your job when Josh and Kyle beat him up, did you? I don’t see them handcuffed to a hospital bed.”
Audrey shot her a warning look. “Lish, none of this is Neve’s fault.”
The girl looked like she might implode. “Whatever. I’m going to take a nap. You two let yourselves out.” She stomped off.
“That went well,” Neve quipped.
“She’s really nuts over him.”
“Yeah, I figured that much out.”
“Can you talk about the knife?”
Now she picked up the tea she had ignored and took a drink. “Jesus, Audrey, it’s such an obvious plant, but how am I supposed to prove it?”
“How do you know it’s a plant?”
“They left the blood on the blade, but cleaned the handle. Who does that? No one. You either clean the whole thing or you don’t.”
“They could have worn gloves.”
“No, I mean they literally cleaned the handle. We found traces of a solvent-based cleaner on it. That’s why it’s so weird, because they hadn’t used the cleaner on the blade.”
“So someone wanted to make sure their prints and DNA weren’t on the hunting knife, but kept Tala’s blood.”
“Yep. The piece missing from the tip matches what they took out of one of her wounds. It’s definitely our murder weapon, but I find it hard to believe Luke would be so sloppy in cleaning it, or that he’d leave something dirty and bloody on top of the collection he’s so proud of.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t add up. Any suspicions?”
Neve met her gaze. “Probably the same as yours, but that I can’t say. I’m still trying to find out about the GHB, and need to run Luke’s blood against what we found on that glove.” She took another drink of tea. “The press is breathing down my neck and my superiors are getting antsy. I need to solve this. Soon.”
“Anything I can do?”
“Keep doing that Twitter thing.”
“What?” And here she’d thought she was being so clever.
“All those stats? What teenager’s going to post that shit? It reeked of you.”
“Well, shit.”
“It’s not an insult; I read them and immediately heard your voice. I didn’t know for certain until you just confirmed it.”
“Wow, and I thought I was supposed to be the one good at mind games.”
“Oh, honey,” Neve said with a smile. “You have no idea what you’re up against.” They both chuckled. Then Neve checked her phone. “I better go. I have a million things to do and I promised Gideon I’d try to make it a short day.”
“Good luck with that.”
Alisha returned just as Neve was about to leave. “I owe you an apology,” she said.
Instead of shrugging it off, Neve nodded. “Okay, give me what you’ve got.”
“I’m sorry for my attitude and the way I’ve spoken to you. I’m scared for Luke and it’s making me a bitch.”
The detective smiled. “We’ve all been there, honey. Thank you for the apology, though. I haven’t gotten many of those lately. I want you to know I’m doing my best to find Tala
’s killer.”
“Thanks.”
When Neve was gone, Audrey decided it was time for her to go too. She could use a nap, but she needed to check on a few things at Grace Ridge, get groceries, and try to get a visit in with her parents while Jake was at work at Gracie’s. They’d also promised each other an evening together since life had been so hectic and was only going to get busier as summer hit.
“Think your mother would let you help your old auntie get groceries?”
“Probably, but do I want to help an old woman get groceries?” It was said with a smile.
“I’ll buy you ice cream.” It was the most effective bribe to use against her—and her uncle Jake.
“You’re on. Let me check with Mum first.”
Audrey watched her pick up the landline and call the resort. She was a good kid, growing up into a good woman who knew her own mind and wasn’t about to let anyone stand in her way. It sounded so great on paper, but in life it was a constant battle of wills that again made Audrey glad she wasn’t a mother. She just didn’t have the energy for it.
Yancy said Alisha could go. As they walked down the bungalow’s few front steps, a car drove back the road. Whoever was in the passenger side waved exaggeratedly.
“Is that Lucy?” Audrey asked.
Alisha sighed. “Yeah.” A few seconds later, the car came by in the opposite direction. Kendra was driving—and laughing.
“Do those girls not understand what it means to keep a reasonable distance away from someone?” Audrey put her phone away—she’d taken a picture as they passed.
“They don’t think they’re going to get into trouble,” Alisha informed her as they got into Audrey’s car. “They’ve already gotten away with murder.”
Monday found Audrey back at the school for the second week of her term there. She only had appointments booked for the morning so she could spend time at Grace Ridge later that day. She had a couple of follow-ups—one of which was with Hank. She saw that Kendra Granger was booked to be her final appointment of the day, and didn’t expect the girl to show at all.
She was surprised when she staggered in around noon.
“Hey, Dr. Harte,” the girl said.