Free The Betrayal of Lies by Debra Burroughs

the first to spread whatever juicy tidbit she was privy to.
    “He kept her on an extremely tight budget, I know,” Camille added, “especially for someone with so much money. I think that’s why she wanted the job so much, to have her own money and not have to rely on him.”
    Emily swallowed her bite and cleared her throat. “Do you know if she was seeing anyone on the side?”
    “Elise?” Camille frowned. “Oh, heavens, no.”
    Maggie rolled her eyes.
    Emily picked up on the gesture. “What is it, Maggie? You don’t agree?”
    “I have nothin’ to say about that,” Maggie replied.
    Did Maggie know about Elise and Jake?
    “What can you tell me about a trainer at Serenity named Jake Mitchell?” Emily asked, eyeing Maggie.
    Maggie’s eyes widened for a second, then she regained her composure. “He’s been there for a few months.”
    “And?”
    “He’s Elise’s trainer.”
    “I thought you just told us you were her trainer,” Emily’s questioned. Hadn’t Maggie said she did a workout with Elise after the wedding appointment yesterday?
    “No, I was just fillin’ in for Jake. He’s her regular trainer.”
    “So you know Jake?” Emily asked.
    Maggie nodded hesitantly. “A little.”
    “Have you ever gone out with him?” Isabel asked directly, seeming to know where Emily’s line of questioning was going.
    Maggie’s eyes grew wide. “Of course, not!” Her gaze flew to Camille. “I’m in a relationship with Peter. I’d never do that.”
    Emily hoped Maggie was telling the truth. She and Camille’s brother only got to see each other every couple of months, because he worked as a television reporter in Seattle, so it was possible that she might have been drawn into a date or two by a handsome and charming man like Jake Mitchell. Maggie wasn’t known for making the wisest decisions when it came to men, and she certainly would never want Camille to know if she had.
    “So Elise was having an affair,” Camille mused, leaning back in her chair, fluffing her spiky red hair. “I never would have guessed.”
    “Now, don’t go startin’ any rumors,” Maggie chided. “I never said they were havin’ an affair.”
    “Oh, all right,” Camille reluctantly agreed.
    “Well, you did say she was painfully unhappy, Camille,” Emily said. “Do you think she’d be unhappy enough to run off and leave her husband?”
    “Maybe.” Camille nodded thoughtfully. “Especially if she could make him believe she was dead.”
    “Because then he wouldn’t go looking for her,” Emily said, finishing Camille’s train of thought.
    “It’d sure be easier on him than goin’ through a messy and expensive divorce,” Maggie added.
    Isabel propped her elbows on the table. “It would save his reputation and he wouldn’t have to give her a dime in the settlement.”
    That’s true. If she had been too afraid to leave him before, for fear he would track her down and drag her back, then making him think she had been taken, maybe even killed, could be a real possibility.
    Still, it was a long shot. It was more likely someone would kidnap her for a sizeable ransom. And Patrick Murphy did seem to be genuinely upset over his wife’s disappearance, and more than willing to pay the two million dollars the kidnapper demanded.
    And then there was Maggie. Did Emily want to overlook the possibility she was involved simply because they were friends? If Maggie turned out to be involved, and she and Colin didn’t follow up on every possible clue, they’d both lose their jobs, not to mention their reputations.
    On the other hand, if they were too heavy handed with Maggie, and she in fact had nothing to do with Elise’s disappearance, Emily will have killed a deep friendship for nothing.
    “It’s been a very long day,” Emily said. “I’m going to call it a night and go home and crawl into bed. I have an early morning.”
    “Not stayin’ for dessert?” Maggie asked.
    “Sorry, no.” Emily stood and pushed her chair