Page 39 of Lethal Game

"Whoever poisoned your mother had access to the house."

"That doesn't mean it was my dad. My father is not an explosives expert, nor does he know how to poison someone. This is crazy. He's a teacher. He's a dad and a husband. He coached my soccer team for three years. He ran an after-school club for kids who had nowhere to go. He used to take me and my friends to the mall and wait for us so we wouldn't have to walk home afterdark. He was there with ice cream when someone was mean to me, or I broke up with a boyfriend. He's not the person you're describing."

"He sounds a little too good to be true," he said dryly, thinking she'd described a father who had been nothing like the man he grew up with. He'd loved his father, but his dad had never spent a lot of time with him. He'd been too devoted to his job.

"Everything I just said is true, Jason. I'm not lying to you."

"Okay. Then where is this super father of yours now?"

She hesitated, then said, "I wish I knew."

There was something about her slight hesitation that made him wary. "Whatdoyou know, Alisa? Because it feels like you know something you haven't told me."

She averted her gaze, staring down at her wineglass.

"Alisa," he prodded. "I can't protect you if I don't know everything."

"I don't know where he is," she said quickly.

"But?" He gave her a hard look. "Haven't I proved that I have your best interests at heart, Alisa? You can trust me."

"I do trust you, but I'm worried you're so set on my father being a bad guy you won't give him a chance to explain."

She definitely knew something.

"I'm your best bet at making sure nothing happens to him until he can explain what he's involved in. But make no mistake, he is involved." He paused, letting that sink in, then added, "My team has been looking into your father's life. It appears that he took someone else's identity about thirty years ago, shortly before he married your mother."

Her eyes widened. "What?" she asked. "That can't be true."

"It is. His educational background is tied to a man named Daniel Hunt, but your father is not the man who attended the college on his résumé."

"No. You're wrong."

"I'm not wrong," he said forcefully. "At some point, yourfather reinvented himself."

"Why would he do that?"

"I can only assume he needed to escape his past. What did he tell you about his childhood and his family? Have you met any of his relatives? Grandparents? Aunts and uncles? Cousins?"

"My father was an only child, and his parents died when he was twenty. He said there wasn't anyone left on his side of the family after that, or at least no one he talked to."

"That aligns with someone wanting to start over. With no relatives, he could be whoever he wanted to be. What about your mother's relatives?"

"They were around. Her dad died when I was six, so I don't remember much about him. Her mother passed away seven years ago, and we saw a lot of my grandmother when I was growing up. She lived down the street. My dad always said she was a great blessing to him because he missed his mother so much. She was his second mom." She shook her head, her brown eyes troubled. "This is all so unbelievable, Jason. How could my dad teach science if he never got a degree? I know he's smart, but how could he fake it all these years?"

"I don't know. Did he mention traveling in his youth? Was he ever in Russia or any of the other Eastern European countries?"

"He told me he has never gone anywhere. His parents didn't have money to travel. He was born in Nebraska and lived there until his parents died, and then he moved to California to go to school."

"Do you know what ethnic background he is?"

"He said he has some Greek blood in him. He has dark hair and olive skin. He told me he'd like to go there sometime, but he never has. And like I told you before, I haven't even been out of the country, so…" Her words trailed away. "I just can't see a connection. It's like you're trying to take my very normal dad and make him into a spy or something. You're telling me a story about my life that doesn't feel true."

"I think the story ofyourlife is true, Alisa. But I don't believethe story of your father's life prior to your birth is anything close to what he told you."

She gave him a wounded look.

"I'm sorry," he added. "I'm not trying to hurt you, but you have to see what's right in front of you. Your father is the reason your life is upside down. Now, I'm going to ask you again. Do you know something you haven't told me, Alisa?"

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