The Perfect Liar by Brenda Novak Read Free Book Online

is?"
    Her lips curved in a slight smile. "Word travels fast when you're as good-looking as he is. The single women all talk about him. Besides, he's friends with another officer, Weston Anderson, who's married to a girlfriend of mine." She twisted off the cap to her water. "And..."
    "And?"
    "Kalyna mentioned him to me one time."
    Maria seemed reluctant again. "Do you remember when that was?"
    "A week or two before the incident."
    "What'd she say?" Ava felt as if she was tugging the information out of Maria, but at least Kalyna's neighbor was stil with her, stil responding.
    "She was on her way out when I met her in the hall. I asked her if she had plans for the evening--you know, the regular chitchat you do with neighbors--and she said she had a date with a pilot. I asked her who it was, and she said Captain Trussell."
    A date? Kalyna had given Ava the impression that they'd never been out together prior to meeting up at the Moby Dick. "So she had some interest in him before that night?"
    "Definitely. And she was giddy with the thril of letting me know she had what so many other women want." She grimaced. "But the fact that she was excited about being with him--proud, even--makes what he did to her all the worse."
    "You believe Kalyna, then. You have no doubt she's telling the truth?"
    Maria tapped her fingers against her water bottle. Ba-ba-bump. Ba-ba-bump. "Of course I believe her, don't you? I mean, why would she lie about something like that?"
    "It happens."
    She shook her head. "No, I saw her. She was definitely traumatized.
    And somebody beat her up."
    "You don't think she could've done it to herself?"
    Her jaw dropped. "What? No!"
    45

    "That's what I needed to hear. Thanks for talking with me." Ava handed her a card. "This is where you can reach me if you have anything to add."
    "That's it? We're done?"
    "We're done. Unless there's something else you'd like to tell me...."
    "Oh...no. Nothing else. Thanks for the water." She grabbed her keys and started out in a hurry, but her footsteps slowed as she got to the door, and she turned back. "Ms. Bixby?"
    Ava had been watching her, wondering about her true feelings toward Kalyna. "Yes?" she said hopefully.
    Maria stared at her feet, then frowned. "There's one thing that sort of bothers me."
    "What is it?"
    "I--I didn't mention it to the prosecutor or the defense lawyer because, well, I keep telling myself it doesn't have any bearing on the case. But--"
    biting her lip, she moved close again and lowered her voice "--I feel sort of guilty about keeping it to myself."
    At last, they were getting somewhere. Ava waved her back into her seat. "What is it, Maria?"
    She sat down and leaned halfway across the table. "What I told you about Kalyna and men?"
    "You said she was too friendly."
    "I might've understated it a bit. She...she sleeps around a lot."
    Ava pushed her smoothie aside. "You know that even though she's not bringing men to her apartment?"
    Maria sighed. "Yeah, I know--because she's not ashamed to admit it.
    She's a self-proclaimed nympho who brags about her exploits."
    "What kind of exploits?"
    She hadn't bragged to Ava. She'd acted quite innocent.
    "Kinky stuff."
    "Are you sure it's not all talk? Something to get attention? To shock you?"
    "I don't think so." She wiped the condensation from her water bottle.
    "One time I invited her over for a drink," she explained. "We got to talking, and she asked if I'd ever been with another woman." She checked behind 46

    her, as if she was afraid she'd be overheard, even though they were the only customers in the shop and she was already whispering. "When I said no, she asked if I was ever tempted to see what it would be like."
    "You think she's gay?" If Kalyna was a lesbian, that would explain why she'd tried to put on the brakes with Trussell. Maybe she showed interest in men as a front; maybe she overcompensated with the whole nympho routine.
    "I doubt it. It's definitely men she likes. This was just a way to get me