Free Tell Me Lies by Jennifer Crusie

anyway. “Stan’s doing some kind of business deal with Brent. Sheila figured since she had an accountant for an ex-husband, I might as well make myself useful and look at the books. It’ll only take an hour or so, and I’ll be back in Columbus by Monday. This is no big deal.” C.L. looked from Henry to Anna, seeing that neither one was buying it. Time for a distraction or he’d spend the whole meal talking about Sheila and Brent. “Mrs. Banister called the cops on me for staring today. What’s the world coming to when I get busted by Vince Baker?”
    Anna sniffed. “Thelma Banister doesn’t have a brain in her head.” Then she cocked an eye at C.L. “I’m not surprised Sheila asked you to see about Brent Faraday. Sheila never was a stupid girl when it came to money.”
    C.L. blinked at the acid in her voice when she said, “Brent Faraday.”
    “Brent Faraday.” Henry scooped up some potatoes. “Interesting.”
    C.L. put his fork down and surveyed both of them. “You’re kidding me. You mean this town finally caught on to Faraday?”
    “Maybe not the whole town,” Henry said, and Anna murmured, “He was always such a loud boy.”
    Cheered, C.L. sat back in his chair. “Well, I’ll be damned—no, sorry, Anna—darned. What did he do?”
    Henry kept on eating, shooting his sentences out between bites. “Why don’t you tell me? You’re the one chasing him down. Heard you talked to his wife.”
    “I stopped by the house looking for Brent. He wasn’t there.” C.L. had nothing to feel guilty about aside from a few hammock fantasies, but somehow the look Henry gave him made him uneasy. “I didn’t even go in the house, Henry. I just asked for Brent.”
    “You had such a crush on her,” Anna said. “I remember when you came home from school that one day and told me about her. You couldn’t have been much more than ten because you hadn’t been with us long. Eleven maybe. Such a nice girl.”
    “I swear I spent five minutes on her front porch. That’s it.” C.L. tried to look innocent since he was, but Henry was still glaring. “I swear, Henry.”
    “She’s married,” Henry said.
    C.L. held his hands up. “Henry, I’m innocent. She slammed the door in my face. I was looking for Brent, not Maddie.”
    “Why?” Henry said, and threw C.L. off track again.
    “Well, Brent appears to have sold him a quarter partnership in the construction company. That would be half of his half, so they’d each have a quarter, and Howie would have the controlling interest. Sheila isn’t too happy about that.”
    “Howie Basset is a nice boy,” Anna said. “He wouldn’t do anything crooked.”
    C.L. sighed. Maddie was a nice girl, Howie was a nice boy, and the fact that they were both pushing forty and could have stopped being nice over the years was irrelevant to Anna. She should know better. After all, he had changed. He was responsible now. He hadn’t wrecked a car since 1983. And he hadn’t hit anybody since high school. Of course, Howie really was a nice guy, so Anna wasn’t far off the mark, but still—
    Henry reached for the biscuits. “So why are you chasing Brent Faraday?”
    “I want to look at the books. And I need his permission to do it. He almost has to give it to me since I’m acting as Sheila’s accountant, but—”
    Henry stabbed some green beans. “How’s Stan feel about Sheila worrying about his money before it’s hers?”
    “It wouldn’t be just the money,” Anna said. “C.L., you’re not eating. Henry, you be quiet now until he eats.”
    C.L. obediently picked up his fork again. “What do you mean, it’s not just the money?”
    Anna pointed at his plate, and he cut into the ham before she answered him. “Well, she’s not going to want him looking like a fool in front of the whole town.”
    Henry snorted.
    C.L. grinned at him. “Not a fan of Stan’s?” Anna pointed at him again, and he ate some ham.
    Henry shook his head in disgust. “Woman would have to be a