Liar Read online

  “Billie? Billie Shaw? Is that you?”

  Apparently, he knows me, too. Now, I’m really stumped. There’s no way I could have forgotten someone who looks this good.

  “It’s me,” I chew on my lip as I continue trying to place him.

  He smiles, obviously enjoying this game. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

  Every woman in the gym turns to look at me as if I’m crazy, and Lucy is no exception. Maybe they’re right. It’s not like I hang with so many gorgeous, hunky men that I can’t keep them all straight.

  “I’m sorry. I know I know you. But I can’t for the life of me place you. You remind me of....” I shake my head. No. Can’t be.

  He stalks toward me, and Lucy grabs my hand protectively. Sweet, but I doubt the guy is going to eat me. He’s a cop, that much I know. Wearing an OVPD cap, a scary-looking sidearm, and a little silver whistle just like mine, he stops in front of us and smiles.

  “See if this helps,” he says, stepping back and placing a hand on his hip while he slides a pair of imaginary glasses up his nose.

  Lucy and I watch with interest.

  “Class! Class! Quiet now. Billie and Derek are going to regale us with a colorful account of their little sidebar discussion.” He purses his lips in a near-perfect impression of Mrs. Baker, our junior high school science teacher.

  Oh. My. God. It is him!

  “Derek!” I can’t believe it. I haven’t seen him in years. Without even thinking, I throw my arms around his neck and crush him in a massive hug.

  “Can’t. Breathe,” he squeaks.

  Laughing, I release him and take a step back for a closer look. “I didn’t even recognize you! You’re all... well...”

  “Filled out? Hot? Unbelievably handsome? I know.” He grins mischievously.

  Yep, it’s Derek, alright. Best buddies throughout middle school, we never quite fit into any of the normal cliques. So, we hung out together, making our own fun and getting into as much trouble as we could find.

  “I was going to say grown-up. You’re all grown-up. But, well, yes. You’re definitely all those other things, too.”

  He smiles, giving me a glimpse of the old Derek, but something’s different, something besides his new physique.

  “Well, you’re one to talk. Holy cow, Billie. You’re beautiful.”

  Feeling my face heat up again, I drop my eyes to my feet. Why the hell am I blushing? Maybe I’m moving into early menopause? Whatever it is, there must be a way to make it stop.

  Lucy stands frozen beside us, staring, like her brain has just short-circuited trying to figure out what the hell is going on between me and Mr. Muscles. I think she’s always believed me to be gay since she’s never actually seen me with a guy. Not that being gay would necessarily be a bad thing. It’s just not the case. Likely, her misconception has prevented her from trying to set me up on several painful blind dates. So, I’ve never tried to set the record straight. I can only imagine what the dinner conversation will be like at Dave’s house tonight.

  Suddenly, there’s an awkward silence, which I feel compelled to remedy. “So, you’re a cop now?”

  “Yes, I am,” he says with pride. “Well, I’m almost a detective, but all in the same family.” He glances at his watch. “It’s time for us to get started, but listen...” He places his hands on my shoulders to make sure he has my attention. “We have to catch up later. Don’t you go anywhere until I get your number.”

  “Okay. I won’t.”

  Lucy nudges me in the ribs as we watch him walk away.

  “Hon?”

  “Huh?” I turn my dazed eyes to Lucy.

  “I think that there man wants to marry you and have your puppies.”

  “Who? Derek?” As if she could be talking about anyone else. “No. No way. We used to be middle-school buddies is all. And, he was—” Sighing, I stop short.

  “Yeah? He was what? Hotter than a fistful of firecrackers? Your first love? A total whore-dog? What?”

  “No. He was a good friend of my brother’s.” I turn my attention back to the class.

  I can feel Lucy staring at me, but to her credit, she doesn’t say anything else. She knows I don’t like talking about the accident or my twin.

  Chapter Four

  “Ladies! If I can have your attention up here.”

  A hush falls over the crowd, and everyone turns to look at Derek.

  “My name is Derek Hines, and I’m a detective with the Ouachita Valley Police Department based out of Hot Springs. I’ve been asked to come and show you a few basic self-defense maneuvers. My goal tonight is to help you develop some natural, effective free-flow fighting skills. I want to empower you to take charge of your body and your safety. To accomplish this, we’re going to look at some tactics that include vocalization, assertiveness, boundary setting, verbal negotiation and identification of predator weaknesses. And then, I’m going to show you how to exploit those weaknesses.”

  The women look around the room at each other as if they’re horrified, and I can tell they’re wondering how the hell Derek is going to teach all that to this group. I study their faces. A few of them look as though they’re senior citizens, but the majority appears to be in their thirties and forties. Although, there is also a small spattering of younger women who look to be in their twenties, more my age.

  “Larry!” Derek yells over his shoulder. “Can you come out here?”

  A man in a black, padded body suit waddles across the gym toward Derek.

  “Ladies, this is Larry. He’s going to be our mugger, our rapist and our abductor tonight. But don’t let the black suit fool you. He’s really a nice guy.”

  The crowd giggles and murmurs their appreciation to Larry, and he stops to bow.

  “Now, let’s get started. I need a volunteer from the audience.”

  I get a bad feeling that I’m about to become an example for the class.

  “Billie! Come on up here!”

  Clapping and hopping up and down excitedly, Lucy acts like I won the lottery. “Yay! Come on, Billie! Kick his ass.”

  The other women snicker and root me on, and I look back at Lucy as if she’s lost her mind, then keep walking until I find myself standing next to Derek on the mats.

  “Thank you for volunteering, Miss Shaw.” I was actually voluntold. Derek focuses intently as he grabs my shoulders and adjusts me so that my back is to Larry. “Now, Larry. I want you to go back there, and then walk up behind our victim and grab her so you can mug her.”

  Now, it’s one thing to defend yourself when shit hits the fan and you don’t have a choice. But it’s totally different when you’re standing there waiting for someone to sneak up behind you and grab you. It’s very unnerving. And, even though I’m expecting it, it still creeps me out when Larry approaches me and snakes his arm around my neck to mug me. Instinct and self-preservation kick in, automatically throwing my hands into action. One goes to his arm, the other to the nape of his neck, and I flip him, hard, heels over my head.

  “Oomf!” Larry lands on the mat with a booming thud.

  Oh, shit. The place is totally silent except for Larry’s moans, and I expect Derek to yell at me any second. Instead, I hear a husky chuckle, followed soon by several giggles, and then the entire room erupts with laughter.

  “Larry, man, you alright?” Derek towers over Larry, finally offering him his hand. Larry takes it, and Derek hoists him up. The class applauds, and Larry bows again, still a bit wobbly on his feet.

  “Well, Billie.” Derek grins as he steps toward me. “I don’t know if this class is quite ready to learn that technique. Why don’t we start with something a little more simple?”

  Grimacing, I try to look apologetic. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

  “Well, knowing you, I should have been more prepared.” He smiles and then turns to face the class again. “Thank you, Miss Shaw. Go ahead and rejoin the class, please. Can I get another volunteer?”

  Lucy shakes her head at me as I return to my spot beside her, ashamed and disgraced. “I cannot believe you did that.”

  Me, either. “I didn’t mean to.”

  “How do you not mean to flip someone over your head like a freaking ninja?”

  “I mean, I didn’t plan to do it. It just happened.”

  “And, to think, you could have had a date with that gorgeous instructor. You can forget about that now. You probably scared the daylights out of him.”

  Lucy’s head bobs like a chicken, and I roll my eyes, not even trying to stop myself.

  Fortunately, the next two hours go much better, as I just hang back and watch. I listen to Derek telling the women that screaming is critical, how being loud and firm with your attacker can save your life. He talks about the importance of attracting attention, fighting with your whole body, spirit and mind, and above all, not panicking. And he gives every single woman a turn with Larry, even Lucy who giggled through the entire kidnapping attempt. I have to give Derek props—he’s a pretty good teacher. Even I get a few great pointers on a couple of new moves.

  “Well, what’d you think?” He finally breaks away from his groupies long enough to come and sit down beside me on the bleachers.

  “I think you were great.” Surprisingly, it’s true. He really was great at this.

  “Thank you,” he says warily, obviously expecting me to make a joke or something.

  “You know, if someone would have told me back in school that you’d be a cop someday leading a class like this, I would never have believed it.” I shake my head.

  “Well, yeah. I know. Me, either. Don’t get too carried away, though. It’s just a job, a job that opens a lot of doors, which is perfect for me. It looks great on my resume and gives me a leg up on a lot of the other officers. But, ultimately, it’s just a means to an end.” His dark eyes sparkle.

  What the hell does that mean? It strikes me as an odd thing to say.

  I look at him closely, barely able to see the pre-pubescent, junior high stick-boy inside. His looks have totally transformed. No longer that skinny, wiry kid who my brother used to fight fiercely to protect, now he’s a full-grown macho man who appears to be suffering from some kind of weird God-complex.

  “What?”

  Oh, shit. Plagued with RBF, Resting Bitch Face, I’ve a bad habit of showing my feelings through facial expressions, especially when I’m thinking ugly thoughts. “Nothing. I’m just still trying to get used to the new and improved Derek.”

  He smiles. “New and improved, huh? Want to go grab a drink or something and you can get to know the new me a little better?”

  “What? Now?”

  “Sure. I just need to lock up.”

  Remembering my date with Adam, I shake my head. “I can’t tonight. But what about later this weekend?”

  He smiles. “Name the time and the place. I’ll be there.”

  Digging out a piece of scrap paper from my purse, I write down my number and hand it to him. “Just call me later and we’ll figure it out.”

  “So, when I call, there won’t be some big, mean, hairy guy answering the phone and issuing threats. Right?”

  Chuckling, I shake my head. “No. I don’t have any big, mean, hairy guys lurking around my phone these days.”

  “Cool. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, then.”

  Lucy has apparently found a new set of friends and they are immersed in conversation over by the cooling station. Not wanting to cramp her style, but anxious to go meet Adam, I saunter over casually to see if she’s ready to go.

  “Hi.” That’s about as casual as I can get in front of a bunch of strangers.

  “Oh! There you are!” Lucy grabs me as if I’ve been missing for days. “Girls, this is who I was telling you about.”

  I really wish she wouldn’t tell people about me. Nodding politely for her sake, I give them a cool greeting.

  “Billie, this is Candy.” She points toward a delicate, pretty lady standing to her right and who looks to be in between mine and Lucy’s ages. In fact, they all do except for the one on the end who’s a bit older. Lucy goes on, naming each of them as she points, as if I’ll remember. “This is Sami, Jade and Lora. And, last, but not least, Gabby.”

  How the hell does she already know all their names? They each say hello, and I nod in return.

  “Nice to meet you.” I’m pulling out all the stops on manners tonight.

  “Oh my God. I just have to say, you two look like twins.” Gabby gestures toward me and Sami.

  Gawking at my doppelgänger, I tick through all the similarities. Fuck. She’s right. It’s creepy.

  “Ya’ll sure do! Ain’t that a hoot?” Lucy laughs. “We were just talking about how great the class was. And how your friend Derek is an absolute dream.”

  “Yeah, and with crime the way it is right now, we really needed this,” Candy says, nodding enthusiastically.

  “When I think of all the women out there getting raped and mugged—” Jade begins.

  “And murdered!” Gabby adds her two cents to the discussion.

  Jade nods her agreement. “Well, yes. And murdered, too. It just burns me up.”

  “We need to start taking better care of each other,” Sami adds. “We need to stick together. I mean, think about that teenaged girl they found in the woods over in Hot Springs.”

  “Somebody should string that guy up by his balls.” Candy nods, and I can’t help but be surprised that something so crude and so blunt just came out of her petite little mouth.

  The ladies are obviously getting fired up, and I know if I don’t do something fast, we could be here half the night.

  “Maybe we could all get together for lunch or something on Sunday and talk about it more?”

  They look at me as if I’ve suggested a Roman orgy right here in the gymnasium.

  “That’s actually a wonderful idea!” Lucy gets excited again and starts her usual bobbing routine, bouncing up and down.

  “We could all meet at my house,” Gabby offers. “I live alone, and my kids just left for school. My house is huge. And empty.”

  “That’s a great idea. And, maybe the next time, we could meet at my house,” Lucy volunteers.

  “And, then mine, and so on. We’ll just take turns.” Lora nods, pointing at me and then Sami.

  Good God. What have I done? I look at them all, horrified. I think they want to be... friends? But I don’t have time to worry about that right now. I need to go before I miss Adam.

  “Sounds like a plan. You ready?” I tap my foot impatiently at Lucy.

  “Yes, I’m ready. Okay, girls. Let’s all write down our phone numbers and pass them around before we go.”

  I stare at Lucy, waiting for my head to explode. She’s killing me. I’m in pain, sheer, agonizing pain.

  “Come on, Billie. You, too, now. Get to writing.”

  This is bossy Lucy, and I know better than to argue.

  “Fine.” I start writing my number to pass out to five different women. As I scribble, I envision one of them calling me to shoot the breeze, one to borrow a cup of sugar, and another one some shoes, and the next one some other kind of shit that starts with an S. What a nightmare!

  Once we’re sure that half of South Little Rock has our phone numbers, we head outside to the car.

  “That was great! Just great!” Lucy is practically skipping again.

  “Which part?”

  “All of it! I’m so glad we came tonight. I can’t wait to tell Dave.”

  “Mm hm. Am I driving you home? Or to the office?”

  “Office, please. I left my car there.”

  Last year, Dave gave Lucy a 2002 Corvette Z06 to drive, and it’s totally wasted on her. She hardly ever drives it. It just sits in their garage under a blanket and taunts me whenever I go over there. I shouldn’t complain, I know. After all, she is his wife. But, honestly, she’d be just as happy, if not more so, driving a Volkswagen. Then, he could give me the Corvette, and we would all be happy.

  “Listen, Lucy. About that lunch thing on Sunday—”

  “Yes! I am so proud of you, Billie! That was a great suggestion. I knew I could get you to open up. I told Dave, ‘just let me start hanging out with her some and she’ll be right as rain.’ You just need some friends, darlin’. Some girls to talk to. All you do is hang out with those awful men every day.”

  Oh, Jesus. That’s what this is. An Intervention. “Yeah. Well, the thing is, I doubt I can do anything with you guys on Sunday. I think I might have to work.”

  “What? Don’t you worry about that. You just leave it to me. I’ll talk to Dave and make sure you’re free all day long!”

  “Great.” I give up. I may have lost this battle, but I’m not out of the war yet.

  There are still several lights on inside the office when we get there, but judging from the parking lot, everyone’s gone. I drop Lucy by her car and wait while she gets in. She drives away with a little wave, and I pull up to park by the front door. With a little over an hour before Adam is due to arrive, there’s still plenty of time for one last thing I need to do.

  “Hello?”

  Peering around sheepishly to make sure no one’s there, I crack open the door a little wider. Satisfied that I’m alone, I lock the office door behind me and then deactivate the alarm with the seven-digit code that I can’t remember half the time. Praying it’s the right one, I creep over to Dave’s desk. He’ll be tearing in here in a few minutes, along with a couple of the city’s finest if I got the code wrong. But this is definitely worth the risk for my peace of mind.

  Rummaging through my bag, my fingers latch onto the piece of paper I need. Then, smoothing it out on the desk beside Dave’s laptop, I open a search engine and type in the information.

  Searching... State vs John Lieblong.

  It takes all of about five seconds to find a bazillion results, most of which is boring legal crap. Not in the mood to wade through a ton of dull court documents, I scroll past all the ugly stuff. There are several pages of Motions, Affidavits, Subpoenas and Complaints, none of which are helpful. Ah! Here it is. This is what I want. A newspaper article from last year fills the screen.