The Liar

Once she had the kids fed and down for a nap—say hallelujah—she sat down with her laptop. Business first, she ordered herself, meticulously paid bills, adjusted her spreadsheet, calculated how close she’d come to paying off the next credit card.

Considerable to go on that yet.

The sales from the consignment shop had started to dwindle—not unexpected—and she reminded herself just how big a hole they’d helped fill in.

And she tried not to think just how mortifying it was to know some stranger had copied all her troubles—the e-mails, the lawyer and tax correspondence, the spreadsheet, the painful chipping away at bills.

Couldn’t let it matter, she told herself. She’d think of the upside there. Poring over her personal miseries ought to tell Jimmy Harlow if she had access to millions, she wouldn’t be squeezing out nickels and dimes to pay off debt.

He’d go away, wouldn’t he? Surely he knew he risked capture and being tossed back in prison if he stayed too close.

But then, millions of dollars made a shiny incentive.

Payback made a darker one. She understood that. She’d felt that ugly tug herself over the past months.

Take action, she thought, and began to make a list.

She culled through pictures she kept in a file. Would Harlow do the same? Was he studying her years with Richard through her photographs? And why hadn’t she deleted them—those images of Richard, of the two of them, in Paris, in Trinidad, in New York and Madrid? All those places.

All those places, she thought again.

Had he taken the property he’d stolen, stashed it on those travels with her? Another bank box, an airport locker, holding onto it or selling it off a piece at a time?

She had the photographs to tell her where they’d gone, when they’d gone.

Then Atlanta, where they’d settled. Or she had, she thought now. He’d still had all those “business trips.” And she’d packed the baby up from time to time when he insisted they fly off somewhere for a holiday.

“Where did he go when I wasn’t with him?” she wondered. “And why did he take a wife and baby he had no real interest in along other times?”

She got up, walked around the kitchen, opened the door for air, walked around again.

As cover, of course. That’s all they’d ever been to him. Just another disguise. How much had he scammed or stolen on those trips with her and Callie? She could barely think of it.

But she would think of it.

She sat again, using the photographs to add to her list. Tried to put herself back in time, in those places. But God, sometimes she’d been so tired, so stressed, trying to deal with an infant in a strange place, a place where she didn’t know the language or the geography.

She pored over what she had, making notes, trying to remember people he’d introduced her to, or had her arrange cocktail parties for. Wealthy people, she thought now. But then, she’d thought they were wealthy.

Had they been marks? Had they been associates?

Likely some of both.

She jumped up when she heard footsteps and, heart pounding, swung around to pull the chef’s knife from the block.

“Shelby? Shelby Anne?”

“Mama.” On an unsteady breath, she shoved the knife back in the block, put on a smile as her mother walked in.

“There you are. Where are my babies?”

“They’re napping, after a hard day at the park. They’ll be up soon, though, probably wanting a snack.”

“I’m going to take care of that. Look here, I got new pictures when I went in to the hospital to see the baby this morning.” She took out her phone, cuddled close to Shelby as they scrolled through. “He’s just handsome as a prince. Got his daddy’s chin, you see that? I went by Clay’s and made sure everything’s as it should be, because they’re letting Gilly bring Beau home tomorrow.”

“That’s wonderful. She’ll love being home with Jackson and the baby.”

“She’d walk out of there now if we’d let her, but she’s settled for tomorrow. I found the cutest stuffed hound dog and put it in Beau’s crib, got some nice fresh flowers for the bedroom for Gilly. That nursery’s as sweet as an ice cream cone. And I got two facials in at the salon. Later on I’m going to make up some spaghetti—Gilly favors my spaghetti—and get it over there so nobody has to think about dinner tomorrow.”

“You’re not just the best mama, you’re the best mama-in-law.”

“Gilly’s one of the lights of my life. Right now I’m going to spend the rest of the day with my two other grandbabies. And you go on, go on out and do something fun.”

“Mama, you’ve driven over to Gatlinburg and back I don’t know how many times the last two days, fussed over at Clay’s, and plan to cook them a meal so they don’t have to. And you went in to work.”

“That’s right.” All but sparkling with joy, Ada Mae got the pitcher of tea from the fridge. “And now I’m going to enjoy the rest of my day. Oh, I also went shopping. I got the sweetest little baby clothes for that boy. And picked up a big brother toy for Jackson, and a little something for Callie.”

“The best Gamma, too. Mama, you spoil them all.”