Page 43 of The Liar

“He’s been lying to me,” I admitted, trying to keep my face blank. “About something massive. I’m not sure whether I can trust him anymore.”

Her expression turned sympathetic. “Men can be the worst. He’s one of the best though. He’s never made a move on me or been even slightly inappropriate, and the way he talks about you, it’s obvious you mean a lot to him. Whatever he did, I’m sure he wasn’t trying to upset you.”

My lips twitched. I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation with the woman I’d thought my husband might be cheating with. At this point, I’d accepted that nothing had happened between them. She seemed sincere, and I got the feeling she wasn’t the type of person to sugar coat things.

“Maybe not, but it’s still hard to be comfortable with someone when they’ve broken your trust before.” I sipped my drink, which was now just pleasantly warm.

“Yeah.” Her shoulders slumped. “Just don’t give up on him. Guys like West keep me hoping that I might meetsomeone decent one day, so if his marriage is on the rocks, then I’m doomed.”

There was movement behind me, and West returned to his seat, a half-empty glass of water in hand.

“Would you mind giving me your number so I can call if I have more questions?” I asked Portia, moving on from our discussion of my love life.

“Sorry, but no.” She pulled a face. “If anyone finds out I’ve talked to you, then I’m dead. My life might not be great, but I don’t want to lose it. We’ve probably been here together for too long as it is.”

I guessed that was our cue to leave. I stood, and West did too. I thanked Portia for her time and headed to the back exit, leaving West alone with her for a few seconds in case he needed an update on anything related to his operation.

When he joined me, he gestured for me to open the door. I did, and we left the building together. The cold wind nipped at the apples of my cheeks, and I instinctively huddled into my blazer.

“That was helpful,” I said as we walked to the car. “Thank you.”

He flashed a quick smile. “I hope it set your mind at ease about other things too.”

“Yes.” That’s all I was giving him. Perhaps the right thing to do would be to apologize for accusing him of infidelity, but considering the enormity of the lies he had told, I wasn’t inclined to do so.

He unlocked the car, and we got in. As he pulled away, he turned to me. “Have you found anything linking Ortez’s wife to the crime scene?”

“Not that I’m aware of.” To be honest, that part of what Portia had said wasn’t the part that most interested me. “She mentioned a homicide cop who worked for Ortez. Older.Overweight. Married. You don’t think it could be Hanson, do you? Is he one of the people you’re investigating?”

I hated to even ask. It felt like I was betraying my partner. But if Hanson was somehow involved, I’d have to tread very carefully. I needed to know if it was a possibility.

“It could be.” At least he hadn’t immediately claimed Hanson was dirty. “He’s not one of the guys we’ve already got our eyes on, but I wouldn’t rule it out.”

Great. How was I supposed to solve a murder if my partner—the man I’d trusted to have my back despite our differences—was trying to cover it up?

12

WEST

I closed the tap and thunked a full pint glass down in front of Clancy Neal just as the pub door swung open and Joanna strode in, followed quickly by her partner, Hanson.

“That’ll be five,” I told Neal.

He passed me a five dollar note. No tip because he was a miserable bastard. Ridiculous considering I was reasonably sure he earned far more money than he declared in his annual taxes.

I added it to the cash register and glanced back over at Joanna. She looked beautiful, with her hair in a ponytail down her back, her blazer switched out for a leather jacket that I knew had a cozy fleece interior. A week ago, she’d have come straight over to give me a kiss, but now she delayed, speaking to a pair of missing persons detectives.

Neal, who was seated at the bar, to the left of the cash register, followed my gaze and sneered. “Ah yes, your lovely wife.”

Somehow, he made it sound like an insult.

I wanted to needle him with a quip about how well her investigation into Sasha Sloane’s death was going, but mycover required me to get close to Neal. Alienating him wouldn’t help me achieve that.

“She is lovely, isn’t she?” I murmured, pretending not to notice his sarcasm.

I was surprised to see Joanna here. We’d already spent more time together today than she was probably comfortable with, and she wasn’t the type of person to come to the bar after her shift ended unless it was to visit me.

Henry’s was currently packed with police officers, detectives, and managers whose shifts had recently ended. Joanna glanced up and caught my eye. Her gaze darted to Neal briefly, and she nudged Hanson’s elbow and made her way through the crowd to the bar.

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