Free The Perfect Liar by Brenda Novak Page A

asked at length.
    "The truth," Kalyna said, and forced a smile as her mother charged into the house.
    "What are you doing here?" Norma demanded.
    Kalyna raised her chin. "What, I can't come home?"
    Her father entered behind her mother and spoke before Norma could respond. "What'd you do?" he asked.
    "What are you talking about? I didn't do anything," Kalyna said.
    His labored breathing told Kalyna he'd seen her car and moved faster than normal to get inside the house. "Why'd they kick you out?"
    "They didn't kick me out!"
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    "Thank God." Her mother sank into the seat she'd just vacated. "So when are you going back?"
    68

Chapter 8
    A va stood at the railing of her houseboat, gazing at the sinking sun, which resembled a giant red fireball sitting on the water. Uncontained brushfires--seven hundred of them--raged all over California. They weren't close, but they stil made the air acrid and hazy, which probably explained the unusual color of the sun. Ava had never seen it quite so red before.
    We need rain, she mused. This time of year, Sacramento had little chance of getting any moisture--April through October were dry months--
    but at least the gentle delta breezes cooled the area, especially in late evening. She hated how hot it was without them.
    A bird swooped low, barely skimming the surface of the water. Ava watched it dip, twirl and pull out of its dive. Jonathan didn't approve of her living accommodations, but she wasn't staying on the houseboat just to please her father. She loved it. She'd never known a more tranquil place than the delta. Only an occasional car navigated the narrow roads that wound through the sloughs and the many single-lane bridges; some islands weren't even accessible by car.
    Wind chimes tinkled behind her. It was so quiet she could hear the water lapping at the pontoon. The two other houseboats that often docked there had gone on a fishing excursion together. It could get lonely without them, and the delta could get foggy and gray during the winter. But it wasn't winter now, the others would be back soon and she had her work to keep her busy. She generally toted home a heavy briefcase and put in a few extra hours before bed.
    Inside the cabin, she turned on the TV to fil the silence. She hadn't heard from Geoffrey today--not since last weekend. But that didn't matter.
    She had another set of phone records to scour on the Georgette Beeker case, some computer searches to perform on Wil ie Sims and she needed to make a few calls on Kalyna Harter, beginning with Kalyna's parents.
    Jonathan had provided their phone number. Ava could've asked Kalyna for it, but she wasn't ready to inform her client that she had some misgivings 69

    about her veracity. Letting Kalyna know might change what she'd hear from the people closest to her. Besides, Ava was stil trying to give Kalyna the benefit of the doubt, although she had to wonder if she was overcompensating because of Bella.
    She needed to find out if Kalyna was capable of telling such a terrible lie. That was what she hoped to learn from the Harters--if they'd talk to her.
    The ice clinked as she drained the glass of iced tea she'd left on the dining-room table, next to her briefcase and files. She had no idea how Mr.
    and Mrs. Harter might respond to her questions. It was possible that Kalyna hadn't told them what had happened on June 6. Some rape victims were so humiliated they didn't want to talk about it to anyone, even family or friends.
    Ava frowned. She wasn't eager to be the one to break the news. It wasn't her place. But the context of Kalyna's life would be too valuable to either the prosecution or the defense, depending on what that context proved to be. So, with or without her interference, Kalyna's folks wouldn't remain in the dark for long.
    Before picking up her cell phone, Ava checked the clock. Nearly eight. Arizona and California were in the same time zone. If she was lucky, she'd catch the Harters well after they'd finished