The Perfect Liar

by Brenda Novak

  But what about the baby? “And the pregnancy?”

  Her smile faded. “I’m afraid there is no pregnancy.”

  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 killed 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?

  And what about that picture Mark had e-mailed? What did it mean?

  It couldn’t mean what he said it did. Kalyna had always been aloof. She’d been moody and difficult and, except for a few magnanimous acts like buying Tati those jeans at the mall yesterday, selfish. But she would never murder for the fun of it, like Mark said.

  I only helped her dispose of the body, Tati.

  Why didn’t you tell someone?

  Are you kidding? I was madly in love with her. And she promised me all kinds of sexual favors if I’d get her out of the mess she was in. It wasn’t until she threatened to tell your parents about me and…you know, the corpses, that I gave in. But she liked screwing with the corpses, too. Don’t think it was just me. She’s the one who got me g
oing. She said she wouldn’t sleep with me unless I proved my love for her by—

  “Hello?”

  Veering away from the sick accusation she was hearing again, this time in her thoughts, Tatiana swallowed hard. “Ava? It’s Tatiana Harter. I-I’m returning your call.”

  “Are you okay, Tatiana?”

  Tati hadn’t expected to hear such concern in Ava’s voice and couldn’t help responding to it. “I don’t know.” She started to weep. “I’ve never been so scared or…or confused.”

  “What’s going on over there?”

  “It’s chaos. No one knows anything. Except that my mother is dead.”

  “Have you heard from Kalyna?”

  “Not since this morning when I told her about Mom.”

  “You don’t think she’s to blame for what happened, do you?”

  “I don’t want to think so, but…nothing makes sense.”

  “The police told me it might be a man named Mark Cannaby. That he’d had a few run-ins with your parents, spouted some threats.”

  “I’ve talked to Mark several times today and he…he claims he’s innocent.” And, heaven help her, thanks to that picture she was beginning to believe him.

  “Does he have an alibi, Tati?”

  “No, he says he was home alone last night. But…Kalyna doesn’t have an alibi, either. She said she left at midnight, but that doesn’t mean it’s true. The ME has indicated that the estimated time of death is anywhere from 1:00 to 4:00 a.m. Even if Kalyna left when she said she did, midnight is close.”

  “A guy came to see me tonight,” Ava said. “He claims he had an interesting conversation with Kalyna in a bar a few weeks ago.”

  Tati cringed to think what that might be. Kalyna liked to shock people, which often embarrassed Tati. “What’d he say?”

  “She told him she’s killed someone before. She was convincing enough that he believed her, and after hearing what the police had to say about that hitchhiker…I’m concerned there might be some truth to it.”

  At this, Tatiana broke down completely. “Oh, God, how can you think you know someone but not know them at all?” she sobbed.

  “It happens all the time,” Ava said quietly. “Did you ever see or hear anything that might support his story?”

  “Not really, but—” Tatiana did her best to recover so she could speak. “Can you give me your e-mail address? I have something to send you.”

  24

  The woman Kalyna had cut off to get into the bathroom at the gas station in Auburn, where she’d stopped to fill up, gave her a dirty look as she emerged, but she merely smiled. After fifteen minutes at the Kinko’s down the road, she had a document that appeared to prove she was pregnant, and that was all she needed. At least for the time being. She could hardly wait to show it to Luke. Even if he tried to verify it through the clinic, they wouldn’t tell him anything. Places like that kept everything strictly confidential.

  Kalyna moseyed down the rows of the gas station’s mini-mart. Once he’d had a chance to adjust to the idea, he’d be more receptive, she told herself. She just needed to convince him to forgive her. As soon as she could reach Ogitani, she’d tell her she no longer believed it was Luke who’d raped her, and Ogitani would drop the charges. Then Kalyna would tell Luke she’d come forward with the truth because her conscience and her love for him wouldn’t allow her to lie anymore. And while he was feeling relieved and grateful, she’d apologize for her bad behavior and promise him it would never happen again.

  She could convince him. She could be very persuasive.

  Her smile turned dreamy as she imagined them kissing and making up. What she wouldn’t give to be in his arms again—

  “Watch where you’re going!”

  “Up yours,” she snapped. The near collision was her fault, and the person she’d nearly bowled over was only a teenager, but she didn’t care. She’d spotted something that instantly and completely captured her imagination: baby items. There was a whole row of diapers and formula and teething toys, rubber spoons and tiny T-shirts and rattles….

  Once she and Luke were back together, maybe she’d really get pregnant. Then she’d finally have what she needed to hold him forever.

  She stroked a terry-cloth sleeper. It was so soft. Picturing herself toting Luke’s son around in an outfit like that, she couldn’t resist buying it. Then, because it made her favorite fantasy feel even more real, she grabbed some diapers and baby food.

  “Got a little one at home, huh?” the checker said as she rang up the items.

  “I’m expecting,” Kalyna replied.

  “How exciting! Is this your first?”

  “Yes, it is.” She took Luke’s picture from her purse. “This is the baby’s daddy. He couldn’t be prouder.”

  The checker looked up from her work to smile at Luke. “Wow, he’s a handsome devil.”

  “And he’s got a really big dick,” Kalyna whispered, and walked out, leaving the dumbstruck woman standing there holding thirty-five cents in change.

  “So now you’re saying I might’ve impregnated a double murderer?” Luke couldn’t even look at the screen, didn’t want to see that picture of Kalyna. Naked or not, he found her hideous. “What a legacy for my kid.”

  “We don’t know she’s a murderer. For that matter, we don’t even know she’s pregnant,” Ava said.

  Having slept with Kalyna was bad enough. “She said she’d send proof. That makes me fear she’s telling the truth for a change.”

  “You were together one time and used a condom.”

  “But you know what she did with it.”

  “She could still be bluffing, using pregnancy as another way to get your attention.” Ava sat back but continued to stare at the picture Tatiana had sent her. “That’s what this has been about from the beginning. She’s trying to force you to notice her, to make it impossible for you to move on and forget her.”

  “She’s definitely succeeding there.”

  “She’s so cold, so calculating. I don’t think I’ve ever run up against anyone like her before.”

  He glanced at the clock. It was only ten, but he was already getting tired. He typically woke early, worked hard and played hard, too. But his usual physical activity was easier on him than what he’d been through this past week. It didn’t help that he’d gotten so little sleep last night. “We need to talk to this Mark guy.”

  Ava leaned closer to the screen. “Look at her smile. It’s almost exuberant, as if she holds all the power in the relationship with the person taking the picture and she knows it.”

  “Mark took the picture, didn’t he?”

  “I assume so.”

  “That’s another reason we should talk to him.”

  “But will a necrophiliac be any more credible than Kalyna?” she asked. “He has his own secrets to hide.”

  “He’s already been outed for what he is, so he might not be as defensive. And being a necrophiliac doesn’t necessarily make him a murderer.”

  “True. Especially when it comes to the hitchhiker, Sarah,” she said. “We have no proof she even existed. And if she did exist, and she’s still missing, they cremated her body so we won’t be able to prove that she’s dead.”

  Avoiding a second glimpse of Kalyna’s picture, Luke sat across from Ava, facing the back of her laptop instead. “It wouldn’t be hard to get rid of ashes.”

  Ava nodded. “They were in the perfect situation to be able to dispose of a body without leaving a trace.”

  “True. But Kalyna could be trying to send us scrambling off in the wrong direction. We know how clever she is.”

  She leaned back. “I say we ask Jonathan to do some checking, see if he can come up with a missing person from New Mexico named Sarah.”

  Luke rubbed his chin. “Tatiana said Sarah was about fourteen. Is that enough for your investigator to go on? When did this girl supposedly die?”

  “Mark worked for the Harters when Kalyna was sixteen and seventeen. That means Sarah most l
ikely went missing right around then, unless she was a runaway who’d already been out on her own for a while.”

  “At fourteen, I doubt it,” he said.

  “Not many kids run away younger than that,” she agreed.

  “But it’s been a decade. That won’t make tracing her very easy.”

  “Jonathan’s good,” she assured him. “The best. But it’d help if we could get some more information from Mark.”

  Luke stretched out his legs. “He should be motivated to provide any details he can now that Kalyna’s pointing the finger at him.”

  Ava started typing.

  “What are you doing?” Luke asked.

  “Looking up necrophilia on Wikipedia. This is my first experience with it.”

  He waited until she stopped keying in information and began to read. “What does it say?”

  She summarized it for him. “That most necrophiliacs act out of a desire to ‘possess an unresisting and unrejecting partner.’”

  “So it’s about having power, being in control.”

  “Like a lot of crimes. And it generally stems from low self-esteem, as one might guess.” She paused as she read more, then spoke again. “This is interesting.”

  “What?”

  “In ancient Egypt, they used to leave the dead bodies of beautiful women out to decompose for three or four days before delivering them to the embalmers—to discourage sexual interest.” She looked at him around her computer screen. “Who would’ve thought any civilization would have to resort to such drastic measures?”

  “Apparently, mental disorders haven’t changed a whole lot over the centuries.”

  “Thanks to the media, we just hear more about them,” she agreed.

  Since that picture of Kalyna was gone, he moved to the chair beside hers. “So when do we call Mark? Tomorrow?”

  “Why wait?”

  “We know he works at the cemetery, but he won’t be there at ten o’clock on a Sunday night, will he?”

  “People Search will have his home number.”

  “It’s that easy to come up with his personal information?”

  “He might be listed in the phone book, but we’ll get a lot more with People Search,” she said. “Like his birth date.”