Page 72 of Little Bitter Truths
“Geez.”
“She didn’t mean it.She was frustrated and feeling alone, so I suggested she stay the night at our house.She’s here now, and when I checked on her a few minutes ago, she was sleeping.”
There was a long pause.
“You still there?”I asked.
“Sure am,” Foley said.“It was good of you to ask her to stay at your place.Keep me updated if anything changes.”
“I will.”
We ended the call, and I sat staring at my phone, my mind returning to the same questions that had haunted me for days: who wanted Mia dead, and why?
Footsteps sounded from behind, and I turned to find Giovanni standing in the doorway.
“How’s our guest?”he asked.
“Sleeping, last I checked,” I said.“I hope she stays that way.”
He crossed the room and sat beside me.“Tell me about your day.”
I started with my drive to Paso Robles and the news that Christian was dead.From there, I told him about my conversation with Bernice and the photographs she’d shown me.I recounted my visit to Mia’s house, meeting Simon, and the realization that his real name was Jeremy, and he was Christian’s brother.Then I told him about confronting Jeremy at Cliffton Villas and Mia’s reaction when she learned he’d lied about his identity.I ended by explaining why I’d gone back to Mia’s house and how, the moment I saw the state she was in, I knew she shouldn’t be alone tonight.
When I finished, he said, “This Jeremy fellow … it’s hard to know his true intentions.”
“That’s what worries me.”
Giovanni turned toward me.“Why?”
“Because even if his feelings are genuine, it doesn’t erase his deception.”
“It does not,” he agreed.“But deception doesn’t always erase genuine feelings either.”
I considered that.
“If it turns out he’s innocent of Wren’s murder, I imagine he believed he could control the situation by lying to Mia,” Giovanni said.“He told himself he’d explain everything, and then his emotions complicated it.”
“You sound sympathetic.”
“I’d like to think I’m observant, like you.People are messy, and when grief and loneliness are involved, it makes matters even worse.”
“All I know is that he lied, and Mia’s devastated.Jeremy walked into Mia’s life carrying secrets he chose not to reveal until he had no choice.What I can’t decide is whether those secrets make him my prime suspect or just a man who made a series of foolish choices.”
“Aside from Jeremy, do you have any other promising suspects?”
“I don’t, and even though I think I’m close to getting to the truth, I also feel like I’m going in circles.”
Giovanni draped an arm around me.“Maybe a good night’s sleep will help you too.You might wake up with a fresh perspective.”
I glanced down the hallway leading to the guest room.“You think she’ll be okay tonight?”
“At least here she can rest knowing she’s safe.I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to spend each night in that house after what happened to her sister.”
It was something I’d thought about too.
Even with a patrol car out front, I was sure she’d had some sleepless nights.
We stood, turned off the lights, and I peeked in on her one last time.She was still sleeping, which was good to see.
