Page 34 of Everyone’s a Liar

“I prefer a kick to his nuts.”

“Always a good choice.” Bryce shoved open her door. “But first we talk.”

Livia didn’t answer as she exited the SUV and headed up the sidewalk. Bryce could only hope her friend didn’t go feral once she was face-to-face with Larry Sutton.

Hurrying forward, Bryce moved past Livia to take the lead as they crossed the porch and opened the glass door. A welcomed wave of air-conditioning greeted them as they entered the front lobby that had once been the living room, with built-in bookcases and a wood-plank floor. There was a small desk near the front door and another, larger desk at the back of the space with two leather chairs in front of it. As if waiting for clients.

Unfortunately, there was no Jacob Pearson or Larry Sutton, just a large, middle-aged woman with hair chopped short and dyed a bright red. She had dark eyes coated in layers of makeup and she was wearing a yellow pantsuit that went out of fashion in the eighties. Currently she was standing next to the desk, tossing various items into a cardboard box.

“We’re closed,” the woman announced, barely glancing at them as she continued to fill the box.

“We need to talk to Larry Sutton,” Bryce announced, her gaze moving from the woman to the small plaque on the front of the desk that was embossed with the name Cherry Ryan, Secretary. “Cherry.”

“A lot of people need to talk to Larry Sutton.” The woman grabbed the plaque and threw it into the box. At the same time, the old-fashioned landline on her desk released a shrill ring. “Me included.”

“He’s not here?” Bryce demanded.

“Does it look like he’s here?”

Bryce narrowed her eyes at the flippant answer, pulling out her badge. “We have some questions.”

For the first time since they’d entered the office, Cherry turned toward them, belatedly realizing they weren’t potential clients.

“Shit,” she muttered, her eyes skimming over Bryce’s official badge. “I knew it.”

Bryce tucked the badge into her back pocket. “Knew what?”

“That he was in trouble. I mean, worse trouble than usual.” Cherry shook her head in disgust. “Did he piss off the cops? Is that why he’s laying low?”

Bryce arched a brow. “Does he spend a lot of time in trouble?”

Cherry shrugged. “Most of the time he stays on the right side of the law, but he’s a private investigator. It’s his job to lie, cheat, and spy on people. He has a real talent for it.”

“No crap,” Livia muttered in a soft voice.

“What’s he done now?” Cherry asked.

Bryce managed a meaningless smile. “Like I said, I have a few questions for him.”

Cherry waved a hand around the empty office. “I’m not covering for him if that’s what you’re thinking. He isn’t here.”

“Do you have a number where I can contact him?”

The woman leaned forward to grab a business card off the desk and handed it to Bryce. It was too generic to have more than Larry Sutton’s name, address, and two phone numbers.

“Try the bottom number,” Cherry said. “That’s his cell phone. He’s not answering the phone for me, but you might have more luck.”

Bryce tucked the card into her pocket with her phone, her gaze sweeping over the office. She didn’t expect to find Larry hiding under the desk, but she was searching for any hint that he’d bolted out the back door when he caught sight of Livia.

There was nothing.

No half-filled coffee cups, no open files on the desk, even the computer was powered down. It didn’t look like he’d been around for a while. She felt a burst of frustration. She wouldn’t have asked Livia to join her if she hadn’t been confident she was about to expose Jacob Pearson as Larry Sutton, Private Investigator.

She should have remembered the age-old adage of all law enforcement officers: when you were on the hunt for a suspect, whatever could go wrong would go wrong.

“When was the last time you spoke to him?”

“Two weeks ago.”