Pretty Little Wife(28)

“Is that a surprise?” Pete asked.

“No.”

Ginny bit back her usual explanation about the spouse and looking at him or her first. The two people sitting across from her knew the drill. They didn’t need to be baby-stepped through Investigation 101. “Then you had to know we’d find out about your past.”

For the first time since they’d met, Lila looked genuinely stumped. “What about it?”

Ginny pounced. “You don’t have one.”





Chapter Seventeen


THEY MISSED THE POINT. SHE HAD A PAST. MAYBE NOT AS LILA Ridgefield, but changing her name hadn’t wiped out the years of confusion and self-loathing that had come before.

“What’s your real name?” Pete asked.

“Lila Ridgefield.” She wasn’t playing games. She went to court, paid, testified about her reasons, and changed it. Forget shortcuts. She’d followed the rules because she didn’t want to mess up her chance of letting go of a life that sucked her down into darkness and left her bloodied and wallowing.

“You legally changed it.”

Of course Ginny would be the one to guess the right answer. From the interaction she’d had with the two investigators, Pete was by far the less experienced. He didn’t hold a poker face and would often spout off with a question she knew Ginny wouldn’t ask.

No, Ginny was the pro. The one who knew how to verbally bob and weave. The one who assessed every word and shook Lila into being extra careful.

There was no need to hide this part, so Lila didn’t try. “Yes, I did. The court sealed the case at my request.”

“Why?”

“Let’s put the brakes on for a second.” Tobias leaned forward, resting his elbows on the edge of the table. “How is any of this relevant? It happened more than a decade ago, before she and Aaron even met, let alone got married.”

Pete met Tobias’s smile with one of his own. “An overachiever would know the answer to that question.”

As usual, Ginny took a more reasoned approach. “Right now the motive for the name change seems to be a secret, and all secrets are suspect when someone is missing.”

Tobias scoffed. “That’s kind of a broad rationale, isn’t it?”

The question seemed to put a ticking clock on Ginny’s patience. Her neutral expression morphed into exasperation. Everything about her demeanor said she’d sooner throw them both in a cell than continue with the questioning.

“She changed her name as an adult. Is she running from a juvenile crime? I don’t know, but I sort of doubt it. And the point is I can ask that the records be unsealed.” Ginny looked at Lila now. “It will take longer, but maybe that’s the goal. Put distance between the question and Aaron going missing. Make the investigation that much harder.”

Tobias shifted as if he wanted to answer for her, but Lila put a hand on his arm and went first. This was her part to tell. Her life. Her shame. “When I graduated from college I wanted a new start.”

“Okay.” Ginny blew out a long breath. “From what?”

“Life. My background. The family I left behind.”

“Be more specific.”

Lila understood the frustration in Ginny’s voice, but she actually wasn’t trying to evade the other woman’s questions this round. Everything inside her clenched in a desperate need to bat the words back. The topic chipped away at the life she’d made, at the progress she’d fought so hard to achieve. The urge to get in her car and not look back hit her so strong that it shook her.

You should be more like your friend, Carina. Look at Amelia in her pretty dress. Dance for me, sweetie.

Lila tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling to keep from throwing up. The memory of her father’s deep voice echoing in her head always touched off a roiling in her stomach. He’d make excuses to see Amelia. It happened for years. The way he would hover in the doorway whenever Amelia came over. He’d hug her and run a hand through her hair.

As a kid she’d been jealous. Why doesn’t Daddy like me as much as he likes Amelia? Now she knew the answer and it made her physically sick.

For a few minutes, no one said anything. The only sound in the room came from the air vent on the far wall. The slight whistle breaking through the silence.

“My . . . father . . .” She stumbled over the word. She hadn’t said his name in years or thought of him as a father for even longer. “He’s in prison. His name is Grant Fields.”

Ginny looked at Pete until she made eye contact. She then nodded toward the door. The chair legs screeched across the floor as he got up and silently left the room.

Lila got it. Pete would now race around and find the information about what happened. Every hideous detail.

She debated waiting for him to return and let him divulge the facts. The computer search couldn’t take that long, and maybe a few extra minutes would make the telling easier, though she doubted it.

When he didn’t immediately return, she started explaining. “It happened when I was fourteen. Though, really, I think the touching and leering had been happening for years. My father waited to make his big move.”

Pete eased the door open and stepped inside just as Lila finished the sentence. He held a handful of papers and placed a few in front of Ginny before sitting down.