Read Online The Perfect Liar by Brenda Novak - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Brenda Novak
Ads: Link
a whore and he can easily prove it. Maybe he considers her expendable." A cast-off--like Bella. " Someone beat her up, Jon."
Straightening, Jonathan folded his arms. "Why does it have to be him?"
"Because he left her place at 3:00 a.m., and she was admitted to the hospital thirty minutes later. The neighbor said Kalyna was hysterical, 60
completely out of it, when she knocked on the door. His was the only semen collected with the rape kit. No one else was seen entering or leaving the premises."
"Maybe she injured herself."
That was what Ava had been afraid he'd say. And, after talking to Maria Sanchez, she was more than a little worried that he could be right.
Damn, she didn't want an ambiguous case, a case that would force her to act on mere guesses. Those cases could haunt you for a lifetime....
61
Chapter 7
"S urprise!"
As Kalyna's sister opened the door, her eyes went wide. "Kalyna!"
she screamed. "What are you doing in Arizona?"
Kalyna dropped her luggage so she could return her hug. I came for a visit."
"Mom and Dad didn't say a word about it!"
"I didn't tell them. Where are they?"
"The hearse has been running a bit rough. They took it over to the garage to have it checked out."
"Mom rode in the hearse?" Normally Norma wouldn't go near it, not since her own child had drowned at two and been transported in a similar vehicle. She avoided anything to do with her husband's business.
"No, Mom followed Dad over in the Oldsmobile," Tati clarified. "The garage is closed. They're leaving it there and dropping the keys in the slot."
"Oh, right." Relieved to find her adoptive parents gone, Kalyna breathed a little easier. She'd have to face them eventually, but this would give her time to settle in before she had to answer their questions.
"How long can you stay?" Tati asked.
"I'l be here tomorrow and Saturday." As Kalyna dragged her bags into the foyer, she appraised the inside of the Victorian her father had bought when they moved to Mesa. It had once been a restaurant, but the conversion was a good one. The viewing rooms were in front; the embalming stations and the kitchen were in back. The walk-in cooler, where the corpses were stored until they could be embalmed, was downstairs next to the service elevator, along with the room she'd always shared with Tati. Her parents lived upstairs.
"This place hasn't changed a bit," she said. Even the selection of urns in the front parlor, and the caskets on display, were largely the same.
"Business has been slow," Tati admitted.
"Anderson Brothers Mortuary undercutting your prices again?"
62
"Yep."
"They can't do hair and makeup nearly as well as we can. They never could. Their stiffs look like...well, stiffs," she said, laughing at her own joke.
"I'm not as talented as you were, but...1 do my best. Anyway, I thought you were out of leave. I thought you used it all to go to Santa Cruz with those guys you met last month."
"I did, but something came up."
"What?" Tati watched as Kalyna fell onto the settee reserved for clients.
"You're not supposed to sit on that," she cautioned. "You know Mom and Dad won't like it."
"They're not even here." Kalyna propped up her feet, too, exploiting her new status as the world-wise wanderer. She'd broken free while her sister remained firmly under her parents' rule.
Tati frowned. "Why can't we just go in back?"
"Because we're as important as anyone else. Sit down." Kalyna waved at the one chair that was a real antique instead of a replica. "You work hard around here--a heck of a lot harder than Mom. Don't you think you've earned the right to sit in front if you want?"
Tatiana wasn't the type to argue. She perched on the edge of the chair Kalyna had indicated but looked uncomfortable. "Tell me what made it so you could come home," she said.
Eagerly anticipating her sister's horrified reaction, Kalyna lifted her chin. "I was raped."
The horror she'd expected to see didn't register on Tati's face. Tati didn't even seem
Straightening, Jonathan folded his arms. "Why does it have to be him?"
"Because he left her place at 3:00 a.m., and she was admitted to the hospital thirty minutes later. The neighbor said Kalyna was hysterical, 60
completely out of it, when she knocked on the door. His was the only semen collected with the rape kit. No one else was seen entering or leaving the premises."
"Maybe she injured herself."
That was what Ava had been afraid he'd say. And, after talking to Maria Sanchez, she was more than a little worried that he could be right.
Damn, she didn't want an ambiguous case, a case that would force her to act on mere guesses. Those cases could haunt you for a lifetime....
61
Chapter 7
"S urprise!"
As Kalyna's sister opened the door, her eyes went wide. "Kalyna!"
she screamed. "What are you doing in Arizona?"
Kalyna dropped her luggage so she could return her hug. I came for a visit."
"Mom and Dad didn't say a word about it!"
"I didn't tell them. Where are they?"
"The hearse has been running a bit rough. They took it over to the garage to have it checked out."
"Mom rode in the hearse?" Normally Norma wouldn't go near it, not since her own child had drowned at two and been transported in a similar vehicle. She avoided anything to do with her husband's business.
"No, Mom followed Dad over in the Oldsmobile," Tati clarified. "The garage is closed. They're leaving it there and dropping the keys in the slot."
"Oh, right." Relieved to find her adoptive parents gone, Kalyna breathed a little easier. She'd have to face them eventually, but this would give her time to settle in before she had to answer their questions.
"How long can you stay?" Tati asked.
"I'l be here tomorrow and Saturday." As Kalyna dragged her bags into the foyer, she appraised the inside of the Victorian her father had bought when they moved to Mesa. It had once been a restaurant, but the conversion was a good one. The viewing rooms were in front; the embalming stations and the kitchen were in back. The walk-in cooler, where the corpses were stored until they could be embalmed, was downstairs next to the service elevator, along with the room she'd always shared with Tati. Her parents lived upstairs.
"This place hasn't changed a bit," she said. Even the selection of urns in the front parlor, and the caskets on display, were largely the same.
"Business has been slow," Tati admitted.
"Anderson Brothers Mortuary undercutting your prices again?"
62
"Yep."
"They can't do hair and makeup nearly as well as we can. They never could. Their stiffs look like...well, stiffs," she said, laughing at her own joke.
"I'm not as talented as you were, but...1 do my best. Anyway, I thought you were out of leave. I thought you used it all to go to Santa Cruz with those guys you met last month."
"I did, but something came up."
"What?" Tati watched as Kalyna fell onto the settee reserved for clients.
"You're not supposed to sit on that," she cautioned. "You know Mom and Dad won't like it."
"They're not even here." Kalyna propped up her feet, too, exploiting her new status as the world-wise wanderer. She'd broken free while her sister remained firmly under her parents' rule.
Tati frowned. "Why can't we just go in back?"
"Because we're as important as anyone else. Sit down." Kalyna waved at the one chair that was a real antique instead of a replica. "You work hard around here--a heck of a lot harder than Mom. Don't you think you've earned the right to sit in front if you want?"
Tatiana wasn't the type to argue. She perched on the edge of the chair Kalyna had indicated but looked uncomfortable. "Tell me what made it so you could come home," she said.
Eagerly anticipating her sister's horrified reaction, Kalyna lifted her chin. "I was raped."
The horror she'd expected to see didn't register on Tati's face. Tati didn't even seem
Similar Books
