Lying With Strangers by James Grippando Read Free Book Online Page B

made, the one for messages?”
    “Actually I returned one of the calls, but I don’t see what difference that makes.”
    “Details are always important. Who did you call?”
    “Dr. Simons. He runs the clinic in Haverhill where I work four days a month. Where I used to work, I guess I should say.”
    “Why do you guess you should say that?”
    “Say what?”
    “That you used to work there.”
    She hesitated. “What does that matter?”
    “I’m just trying to get the whole picture. You’re stopped at a red light and dial in for messages. Something so important comes up that you call Dr. Simons at three o’clock in the morning. If it was a medical emergency, it could have distracted you. If it was a personal matter, it could have upset you. Any of these things impair one’s driving ability.”
    “If you’re implying that this accident is somehow attributable to the fact that I was on the phone, you’re wrong.”
    “Maybe. But what was the nature of the call?”
    Peyton thought for a moment, choosing her words.
    “Personal.”
    “Did it upset you in any way?”
    Kevin said, “I don’t see how her phone calls have anything to do with this investigation.”
    “I think you know where I’m going with this,” said Bolton.
    “Can you answer the question, Doctor?”
    “All right. I was upset.”
    “I see.” He jotted something on his pad. “So we have you turning through an intersection. Continue.”
    “Then a car flew past me driving way too fast for the conditions.”
    “You mean the same conditions under which you were driving with one hand and talking on the phone.”
    “I told you, I had already hung up the phone.”
    “How much earlier?”
    “Maybe a few seconds.”
    “So you were still upset?”
    “A little.”
    Kevin said, “Why are you making her defend herself?”
    “I’m sorry,” said Bolton. “I have to confess, cell phones are one of my pet peeves. Personally, I think they cause more accidents than drunk drivers.”
    “It didn’t cause this accident,” said Peyton.
    “Okay. You tell me what happened.”
    She collected herself and said, “I hung up the phone. If you must know the details, let’s just say that the call was kind of awkward.”
    “How do you mean?”
    She definitely didn’t want to get into that. “I spoke to Dr. Simons’s answering service, but my message was—inartful, you might say. I was debating whether to call back again to clarify. That’s when I noticed a car coming toward me driving very fast. Maybe a hundred yards away.”
    “And you were still thinking about the previous call?”
    “Maybe.”
    “Okay. So this car is coming toward you while you’re sort of preoccupied.”
    “I wasn’t preoccupied.”
    “Whatever. What happened?”
    Peyton paused, the image coming back. “It was strange. The oncoming driver had his bright lights on, so I flashed him. He flashed back. Then he disappeared.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I couldn’t see him anymore.”
    He looked at her strangely. “Just vanished into thin air?”
    “Then he reappeared.”
    “I see. Kind of like David Copperfield.”
    “Not at all. He had just switched off his lights. And I guess my own headlights were so covered with snow that I couldn’t see very far. I lost him. And then when he reappeared, there was this sudden blast of light. Pointed right at me. He was in my lane.”
    Her voice was trembling. Kevin took her hand. Peyton continued, “And he just kept coming, as if he were some kind of missile locked onto me. He was determined to either run me off the road or slam into me head-on.”
    Bolton scratched his head. “And you swerved out of the way, I take it.”
    “Yes. That’s when I lost control. I wasn’t on the phone. I wasn’t distracted. I had to do something, or he would have flattened me.”
    “You’re sure he was in your lane?”
    “Yes. He was right in front of me.”
    “I understand. But as you just pointed out, you had been on the phone, you were