Free The Perfect Liar by Brenda Novak Page B

dinner.
    She dialed, the phone rang and a recorded greeting began.
    You've reached the Harter Family Mortuary, a male voice said. Our office hours are nine to six, Monday to Friday, ten to six on Saturday. We're closed on Sunday. If your call is business related, please leave a message after the beep and we'l get back to you. If you'd like to speak to a member of the Harter family, press "1."
    Glad she hadn't hung up as soon as the recording came on, Ava did as instructed.
    Almost immediately, she heard a female voice. "Hello?"
    "Is Mr. or Mrs. Harter there?"
    "This is Mrs. Harter."
    "Hello, Mrs. Harter. My name is Ava Bixby--"
    "If you're looking for the mortuary, it's closed for the night," she cut in.
    "I'm afraid you'l have to call back in the morning."
    "I'm not looking for the mortuary." Ava pulled out one of the heavy dining room chairs and squeezed around the arm of it so she could sit 70

    down. "I'd like to speak with you regarding your daughter, Kalyna."
    There was a silence, then Mrs. Harter said, "Oh, boy, what is it now?"
    Ava felt her eyebrows go up. "Oh, boy" was a rather inauspicious beginning..."I'm with a charity called The Last Stand. We help victims of violent crime who--"
    "You're calling about the supposed rape."
    "Yes." Supposed wasn't a word she would've expected Mrs. Harter to use, either, but at least the woman had been told. That was a relief.
    No longer worried that she'd be breaking a confidence, Ava relaxed and started doodling on her steno pad. "Your daughter came to me for help last Monday."
    "What kind of help was she after? Money?"
    Ava's pen carved a deeper imprint on the paper. "No, not money. She wants to make sure the man who hurt her goes to prison, as he should."
    "Do you have any proof that he raped her?" she asked.
    "We have your daughter's testimony," Ava replied.
    "I'd be careful basing anything on that--especially a man's freedom."
    Ava dropped her pen, which rolled off the table and hit the floor before she could catch it. "Excuse me?"
    "Just tell me this, what's in it for her?"
    Ava stiffened. "I don't know that there's anything in it for her."
    "There has to be. There always is."
    How was she supposed to respond to this? She'd expected a little more from Mrs. Harter. Some sympathy, perhaps. Some concern. "Kalyna was beaten up, too," she said.
    News of the beating didn't seem to make a difference. "Do you think that means anything?"
    "I have pictures."
    Kalyna's mother laughed at this. "Oh, I'm sure the injuries were real enough, but they couldn't have been too serious because every last bruise is already gone."
    "You've seen her?" she asked in surprise.
    "She showed up out of the blue just today."
    Kalyna hadn't mentioned that she'd be visiting Arizona, but it wasn't as though she had to check in with Ava. "I guess it's natural to want to be 71

    with family at such a time."
    "Ms. Bixby, her visit has nothing to do with any desire to see us.
    She's getting as much mileage out of this as she can."
    "I don't understand."
    "She's playing the poor, injured victim. Did you know she's AWOL?"
    she asked, as if that proved Kalyna wrong in every respect.
    Ava opened Kalyna's file and flipped through her summary of their first meeting. "She couldn't get leave?"
    "She says they wouldn't grant it to her. Claims her superior officer is out to get her. But anyone who stands in her way is out to get her. Chances are she didn't bother asking like she should have. She had a good excuse and she used it."
    Kalyna's mother was so negative it was off-putting, and that created the reverse effect, making Kalyna seem more credible rather than less.
    "Her situation with the air force doesn't have anything to do with me," Ava explained. "I'm only interested in what happened--or didn't happen--the night of June 6. To be honest, I'm shocked you're not more concerned about her injuries."
    "Obviously, you've never seen what she can do to herself when she throws one of her tantrums."
    "You're saying she's