Page 123 of The Lies I Told
Down the narrow hallway, I let myself into the bathroom, closed and locked the door. Towels folded neatly on a small shelf above the toilet, soap in a dispenser, and black-and-white checkered floors scrubbed so clean even the grout glistened. I moved toward the small medicine chest, hoping he kept a comb or extra toothbrush here. I’d no way of proving it was his, but I didn’t need proof for a private DNA test. I just needed a sample, and then when I had the sequencing, I’d have a chance of Richards and his forensic department comparing it to what was on file.
I set my purse beside the sink on the floor and raised the soap dispenser to my nose, inhaling the clean, neutral scent. The sense of smell was supposed to be a good conductor of memory, but there wasn’t even a vague feeling of having been here before. Maybe we’d never met here, but in the bar down the block.
I opened the medicine chest and studied the collection of bottles bearing the names of several tranquilizers. I reached for a bottle and twisted off the top and poured the blue pills into my hand. Carefully, I moved them around with my finger.
A memory flashed, but it hadn’t happened here. It was at the home where I’d grown up. Brit had dropped blue pills into a mortar and was grinding them with a pestle. “What’re you doing?” I’d asked.
Brit had turned, her expression a mixture of shock and annoyance. “Grinding up vitamins for Clare and you. You’ve both been feeling poorly, and I thought this would help.”
“I don’t like pills.”
“That’s why I’m putting these in a milkshake. Chocolate for you and strawberry for Clare.”
I hadn’t argued, but I’d poured most of my shake down the kitchen sink when Brit turned to answer a phone call. Had David ground one of these pills and put it in my drink at the bar? It made sense if I were selling him a print, I’d have met him in a public place.
I now replaced David’s pills, keeping one for myself, and then pulled on a drawer handle. It stuck. I yanked harder. When it popped open, I glanced toward the door, hoping the sound hadn’t echoed. Inside were a bottle of aspirin and a small comb and brush. I lifted the comb out of the bristles and studied the teeth. Almost clean except for a few single strands of hair. That should be enough, assuming they were David’s.
From my purse I pulled out a zip-top bag I’d loaded at home and carefully put the hair inside.
“Marisa, everything all right in there?”
I shut off the tap and grabbed my bag. “Fine!”
Running my fingers through my hair, I practiced a smile, decided it looked a bit demented, so I ditched the attempt. I’d gotten what I came for, and I now had to get out of here.
When I stepped into the hallway, David was waiting for me at the end, blocking my path to the door. “Are you all right? You look pale.”
“Talking about Clare always upsets me,” I said honestly. “I had a memory, and it caught me off guard.”
His hand slid into his pocket as if he were totally relaxed and had all the time in the world. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s okay. It’s just been a long time since I talked about her to anyone.”
“Doesn’t Brit talk about her?” His tone was casual, as if we were long-standing friends.
There was no getting around him in the hallway. Left or right, he could block me. “She doesn’t like to.”
“Still, looking at you must be a constant reminder. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost my brother and had to stare at his twin every day.”
“Jeff?”
“That’s right. How did you know?”
“Brit.” I reached for my phone, gripped it in my hand, and stepped toward him.
“Brit. She connects us now.”
“That’s right.” The hallway door behind him was open now, and I could see just enough to realize it was a bedroom.
He cocked his head. “Clare was strangled, right?”
That stopped me midstride. “Yes.”
His brows drew together. “That’s so awful.”
I couldn’t say Clare’s death had broken my family. It had already been in pieces. But Clare dying had shattered any hope that those pieces would ever be mended. “It was. Is.”
“I didn’t mean to be so pushy back there. I overstepped. I love Brit so much. I just want you and her to be happy.”
