Behind Every Lie(57)
“I think it was Sebastian who killed her,” I told Liam. He stared at me, horrified. “Someone was following me while I was in London.
“Have you told the detective?”
“No, I haven’t spoken to him yet. I’ll tell him when I go in to his office tomorrow. I just need to make sure that lawyer you spoke to can come in with me.”
Liam stood and started pacing. He clasped his hands behind his back, the corners of his mouth tugging down the way they did when he was thinking. Relief swelled in my chest. Liam would fix this. After days of dealing with it on my own, I was glad to let him take control.
“Are you absolutely sure someone was following you?” he asked.
I hesitated, suddenly unsure. Had somebody been following me? That prickly feeling of someone watching me wasn’t new. But no one was ever there.
“We can’t tell the detective somebody maybe, possibly followed you. Especially after you got struck by lightning. They’ll think you’re …” I knew he was about to say crazy. “Unreliable.”
“Well, I definitely got these texts.” I handed him my phone, and he scanned the sinister texts. “I think they’re from him.”
Liam’s eyes widened. “Oh my God.” For a second, he looked a little unhinged. He pulled me against his chest, cupping my head in his hand. “We need to get out of here, get you someplace safe, away from whoever this lunatic is. I have a property over on Orcas Island. It’s totally secluded and the security system is state of the art. We’ll be safe there.”
“Wait. What?” I shook my head. If there was one thing I’d learned lately, it was that running away from a problem didn’t make it go away.
“Just for a little while,” he reassured me, “until all of this dies down.”
“I have to talk to the detective tomorrow. I can’t leave now.”
He pressed his mouth together, his lips turning white. “You certainly didn’t have a problem leaving last time!”
“That isn’t fair,” I protested. “I had to go to London! I needed to find out if my mom’s past had anything to do with her murder. Don’t you get it? If I can’t prove someone else did it, they’re going to put me in jail!”
“So sue me for being worried!”
“Stop. Worrying. Then,” I said between clenched teeth. “I didn’t ask you to.”
“I can’t even believe you just said that. I’m trying to help you!”
“I’m sorry.…” I couldn’t believe I’d said it either. Where had it come from? This was why nobody trusted me, why I couldn’t trust myself.
He snatched his keys from the entry table and grabbed my coat. “Let’s go. I’m taking you to the hospital.”
“What?” I leaped to my feet. “No. I’m not going!”
“This is not you, Eva! You aren’t acting like yourself. You were struck by lightning only a week ago, or had you forgotten that too?”
I gasped, shocked he’d throw my memory problems in my face. “I’m sorry, Liam …”
His shoulders relaxed, his handsome features dragging downward in relief.
“. . . no.”
His mouth hinged open. Of course he was surprised. Because I never said no to him. I never argued with him. I did what he wanted. Was that how our relationship had always worked? How pathetic was I, if that was true?
“Listen to me.” He was using his calm, grown-up voice, his be reasonable voice. For a second, I fucking hated him. “You were struck by lightning. You ripped an IV out of your arm and ran away from the hospital, then you flew to London on a whim. You’re exhibiting every single one of those psychological symptoms the doctor warned us about. You can’t even remember things right. What about that cut on your hand? You thought it happened at your mom’s house, but you cut it here, with me.”
I looked at the cut on my palm, now scabbing over.
“The knife,” I whispered. “If Sebastian killed Mom, why do I remember holding it? And those texts from my mom I remember but aren’t even on my phone …”
I sank back onto the couch, pressing the heels of my hands into my temples. Nothing made sense. My brain felt like it was full of loose marbles, scattered and confused. I choked back a wave of terror rising in my throat. I didn’t know what to think, what to believe.
“Do you see what I mean?” Liam was pleading with me now. “Let’s get the doctor to check you out.”
“Fine,” I relented. “You’re right, I need to go in. They still have my ring anyway.” I showed him my bare hand. “They must’ve forgotten to give it to me after the CAT scan.”
“Don’t worry about the ring. I’ll get you a new one.”
“I’ll go to the hospital tomorrow,” I promised. “I have to go in to speak to the detective anyway, and I can’t go tonight. I don’t want him to have any more reason to think I’m a crazy person.”
* * *
In the garage, I poured dried cat food into Ginger’s bowl and let her inside to eat. I tuned the radio to my favorite dance station and slipped on a work apron, then slid the heart-shaped piece of jade out of my backpack and shook the broken pieces of the urn onto my work desk.