Free WHYTE LIES by KC Acton

padded into the kitchen, hesitating before she unlocked the cupboard door. She pulled out the bottle of Jack Daniels that had sat there, untouched, for years. She had seen the devastating effects of alcoholism and had promised herself when she finally quit drinking that she would never touch another drop. Alcohol aggravated her dark side, and if abstaining helped to control it, then it was a small price to pay.
    She remembered the way her grandfather belittled her father when he’d had too much to drink. He’d spoken to his son like he was a naughty child instead of a grown man. The two men had never gotten along. It was as if they were in a constant battle of wills, each desperate to outdo the other. She remembered her grandfather telling jokes at her father’s expense and seeing the hurt on his face. Even as a grown man, he still carried the emotional scars.
    She opened the bottle of Jack Daniels and inhaled the heady aroma. It took every bit of willpower to close the bottle and replace it in the cupboard. Instead, she poured herself a large glass of Coke and popped one of Angela’s homemade lasagnes into the microwave. She flopped onto the couch, savouring the peace and quiet. Five minutes later, the microwave pinged, jolting her back to reality. She was almost finished eating when her phone rang. Sighing, she picked it up. “Faith Whyte.”
    “I’ve just emailed you the Gleesons’ Facebook history, emails retrieved from their computers, and records from the phones recovered at the crime scene,” said Kelly, getting straight to the point. Neither of them bothered with pleasantries.
    “Thanks,” said Faith. She glanced at her watch; it was almost ten o’ clock. “You’re working late. I would’ve thought you’d be at the pub. Byrne mentioned that the team was going for a few drinks.”
    “Duty calls,” said Kelly. “Besides, Byrne and I don’t get along.”
    “I see.” Faith wondered if anyone got along with him. “Thanks again for the email.”
    “Always a pleasure,” said Kelly. “See you in the morning.”
    Faith opened her iPad and clicked Kelly’s email. Attached were call and text records from the Gleesons’ phones; hundreds of emails; logs from chat rooms and Facebook messenger exchanges; and several years of Facebook posts. She fired up the coffee machine. It was going to be a long night.
    First up, were the Skype conversations between Daniel and his friend, Steven Garrett. Steven had provided a full transcript of the Facebook Messenger exchanges between himself and Daniel from the previous two years. The messages began in September 2012. Faith smiled at the banter between the two friends. They referred to each other as “love” and “sweetheart”. They had an easy rapport that switchedbetween jokes to more serious exchanges. Most of the chats were about work, family, politics and mutual friends. Daniel’s love for his daughters shone through in the messages; he talked about watching cartoons with the girls, and reading them a bedtime story. In another message, Daniel chatted about taking his daughters to visit Santa, and wrapping their Christmas presents.
    Faith noticed that the two friends often spoke into the early hours of the morning. One message showed Daniel logging on at 3.30 a.m., greeting his friend with a cheery “Morning, lovely”. There were several pages from Steven ranting about his family life, with Daniel giving his advice. Faith couldn’t help wondering if Daniel was happy with his own domestic situation, given that he was online late into the night, while his wife and daughters were sound asleep.
    There were a few mentions of Layla visiting. Daniel didn’t seem too keen on seeing her, but said he’d make an effort for the girls’ sake because they were mad about their aunt, and she always made a fuss of them. He seemed angry about how unreasonable Layla was being about her share of the house. “Of course, Layla conveniently forgets how much time, effort, and