The Perfect Liar (Last Stand #5)(12)
Author: Brenda Novak

"If someone in authority questions you about it, you need to be honest."

"But what if I’m not asked? I haven’t been asked about it yet."

And she’d only spoken of it once. Now.

Ava felt a twinge of conscience, but she had no intention of helping the defense. She’d been through this before and al owed her loyalty to be shaken. Bella had taken her own life when she couldn’t get anyone to believe her. Ava wouldn’t let that happen to another soul. Kalyna’s sexual habits and preferences didn’t matter, not if she’d tried to say no to Trussell and he’d ignored her. "I don’t see why you’d need to volunteer the information."

Smiling in relief, Maria tossed her keys in the air and caught them, finally relaxed. "Thank God. I wish I’d never been stupid enough to have that conversation. Imagine what the other airmen would make of it," she said with an awkward laugh.

They’d wonder, as Ava did, if Maria wasn’t hiding more than she wanted to admit. But Maria’s sexuality had nothing to do with this case or anything else. No reason to drag that into it.

"Don’t worry," she said, and waved goodbye. Then she sat at the table a while longer, contemplating what Maria had shared. Obviously, Kalyna wasn’t someone with an impeccable reputation. Her image was tainted, and she wasn’t particularly well liked. That might be a challenge to the prosecution. But even those who were less than perfect deserved justice when they were wronged.

Wanting to discuss the situation with someone else, she took her cell from her purse and called Jonathan Stivers, the private investigator who helped out with so many of their cases at The Last Stand. He did a lot of pro bono work but they used him so often they paid him when they could.

Fortunately, like them, he cared more about the people who needed his help than he did about living in luxury, so he kept his charges in the survival range.

"Hello?"

"Jonathan, it’s Ava."

His voice warmed. "What’s up?"

"I have a job for you."

"You always have a job for me. Do you ever have any fun?" he teased.

"No."

"That’s what I would’ve guessed."

"Just because I act like an adult and you don’t?"

"You don’t have to work around the clock to be an adult," he said.

"A lot of people are counting on me. I have a responsibility to them."

"Did you ever think you might be letting yourself down?"

Perhaps. But she didn’t really know how to remedy that, and there was so much to do each day. Besides, the more she worked, the less time she had to think about herself. She’d been busy trying to wrap up a few older cases so she could concentrate on Kalyna Harter’s, or she would’ve called Jonathan about Captain Trussell sooner. "I’m happy the way I am,"

she insisted.

"So what do you need?" he asked. "Proof that your boyfriend spends more hours at work than you do?"

A mother and her young son came in, and Ava lowered her voice.

"Quit it. Geoffrey’s an up-and-coming land developer. That takes time and dedication."

"He’s not right for you."

With a fleeting smile for the child who glanced at her, she turned away. "And that friend you’ve been trying to set me up with is?"

"Justin’s a good guy. I think you’d like him."

"I met him at the Christmas party."

"You need to date other people before you do something stupid, like marry Geoffrey."

"I’m not going to marry Geoffrey." A permanent commitment couldn’t be further from her mind. She’d witnessed her mother’s marriages, feared she was just as incapable of sustaining a long-term relationship.

"You might do it by default," he said.

"No chance."

"Then why are you wasting your time?"

Because she was lonely enough to settle for comfortable and because she hadn’t met a better candidate–and that included Jon’s friend from the gym. "Enough already. I need you to do a background check for me."

He hesitated as if reluctant to let her change the subject but ultimately took the bait. "What’s the name?"

"Captain Luke Trussell. I don’t know where he was born, but he’s a pilot stationed at Travis Air Force Base."

Jonathan whistled. "Sounds impressive–an officer and a gentleman.

What’re the charges?"

Bowing her head so no one would be able to hear her, she said,

"Rape."

"Okay, so maybe he’s not a gentleman."

"We’l see," she said, and dumped her melted smoothie in the garbage as she headed for the door

"I’l look into it."

"The sooner the better on this one, huh?"

"You say that on every case," he complained, and hung up.

"Because every case is important," she grumbled. And this one promised to be more difficult than most.

Chapter 5

Luke was just walking out the door of his apartment on Wednesday afternoon when the phone rang. He turned back to pick it up but hesitated when his caller ID showed The Last Stand.

That was the name of the victims’ charity his attorney had warned him about.

Nervously swinging his keys around and around his finger, he let the answering machine pick up. It kicked in on the sixth ring. A few seconds later, a woman’s voice reverberated his living room.

"Captain Trussell, this is Ava Bixby. I’m with The Last Stand, a victims’ charity in Sacramento. I’ve been contacted by Sergeant Kalyna Harter. She told me an unsettling story about the time you spent together on June 6. Before I get too involved in this case, I’d like to hear your version of the encounter. If you can spare a minute, please call me."

She left her cell-phone number, as well as her office number.

Luke’s hand hovered over the handset. Ms. Bixby sounded open-minded, as if she hadn’t yet decided to go after him. But he couldn’t pick up. The best defense lawyer in Sacramento had warned him against talking to her.

After he was sure she’d hung up, he called McCreedy.

"It’s Luke Trussell," he said when his attorney came on the line.

"Hello, Captain Trussell. How are you today?" McCreedy responded.

It was easy to be pleasant when you weren’t the one on the hot seat, Luke thought. "Anxious."

"How can I allay your fears?"

"I’m not sure you can. Ava Bixby, from The Last Stand, just called."

"You didn’t give her any details, did you?"

"None. I didn’t even answer."

"Good."

Luke kept twirling his keys. "Why is that good? She said she wants to hear my side, and I’d really like to tell her."