Page 45 of Truth, Lies, and Second Dates
Rinse
Repeat
“I don’t believe it,” she snarled, stomping toward her car. “I don’tbelieveit.”
“Nonsense. We pulled it off perfectly. All those people actually think I have a doctorate in podiatric medicine!” Adding an extra surreal touch to the evening, Tom sounded downright giddy. “I know this isn’t an appropriate reaction given what just happened, but I’ve never successfully portrayed a podiatrist before.”
“So you’veunsuccessfully portrayed podiatrists before now? Congrats. Make sure to update your résuméaccordingly. Meanwhile, all the living Monahans think I murdered the dead one. This is why I don’t go to memorials, Tom!”
“Understandable.”
That was vague enough to give her pause. Did he mean it was understandable that the Monahans put her in their burn book by implying she was a murderess vandal
(Wait, that would be murderous vandal, right?)
or was it understandable that she was annoyed about the (theoretical) burn-book placement?
Never mind. Back to the rant. “How, how can they think that about me?” Ava, too worked up to get behind the wheel, began pacing back and forth while Tom tracked her like he was watching a slow tennis match. Back… and forth. Back… and forth. “Have they been stewing over this for a decade? What the hell just happened in there?”
“If I were to guess, the Monahans may be wondering at the coincidence of you running into Dennis all these years later.”
“Oh, please. The planet onlylooksbig. People run into old friends and neighbors all the time—I see it almost every week in every airport.”
“Yes, but… on a significant anniversary? And just in time to attend a significant event?”
“Yeah, well, as you said: a coincidence.” But a horrid thought struck her: if she hadn’t gone to Danielle’s memorial, would someone still have trashed the place?
That way lies nuttiness.
“A terrible, shitty coincidence,” she continued. “And they mustknowthat, or they’d have told the cops they suspect me.” She stopped in midpace. “Have the cops said anything to you about me being a psycho of interest? And before you play more devil’s advocate, that’s something an innocent person would want to know.”
“The police are pursuing all leads.”
“Great, you sound like a press release.”
“The lead detective believes your version of events—”
“Myversion?”
“—partly because Mrs. Monahan did not indicate, then or back then, that she thought you killed Danielle. But I believe some of them wondered if you might have guilty knowledge.”
Guilty knowledge.A phrase that never failed to make her shiver.
“Partly, huh?” She threw up her hands. “Well, I’ll take what I can get. So why would they spring this on me? Why even let me come back here tonight? Why not disinvite me, or stop me from going inside? There’s enough of them; they could have posted a guard at every entrance. And at my hotel. And in every parking lot between here and my hotel.”
“Perhaps for the same reason you and I attended: to see if we could spot a killer.”
“Yeah, except we know it’s not me.”
Silence.
She turned to face him full-on. “Uh. Tom? We know it’s not me. Right? We know that? That’s not the royal we, by the way. That’s the plural we, as in the you-and-me we.”
“Anyone looking at you for this would have to admit any evidence is entirely circumstantial.”
Good thing she’d stopped pacing, because she would have walked right into a car: bam! Instant bruises. Instead, she stared at him in his immaculate dark suit, his immaculate face, his immaculate skull, his immaculate brain, which she didn’t understand but liked enormously.
“You… think I’m the killer, too?”
