Page 63 of The Lies I Told
I laughed. “Good to know.”
“You’re never boring, Marisa. And maybe I subconsciously picked this place hoping I’d run into you. It was good seeing you on Friday.”
“It was nice.” Also, odd and kind of disturbing.
The waitress brought our drinks. I sipped and found the soda lacking. My nerves could have used a little calming. Beer would have been so nice. “Now that I have you, mind if I dig up the past?”
He stared at me over the rim of his iced mug, took a long drink, and then finally nodded. “Sure.”
“Richards.”
He winced. “Ouch. Not the blast from the past I was hoping for.”
“I’ve seen him a couple of times this week.”
He picked up his beer mug and paused. “Okay.”
“Nothing new to report on Clare’s death. It’s a semiactive case headed for the freezer. He’s retiring.”
“Sorry to hear that.” He took a long drink.
“Are you?”
“No.”
“He interviewed you, right?”
“He certainly did. Many times. Don’t be fooled by his easy style. That one’s a hawk.”
“Do you remember what he asked you?” I asked.
“Anything and everything. Once my DNA was found on Clare, it sounded alarm bells. Exactly when did I see Clare last? Did we fight? Did you or Clare piss me or anyone else off so much to kill? And then when Dad hired an attorney, the questions shifted, and the cops backed off. Did I know of anyone who might have wanted to hurt Clare or you? Did I see anyone follow her out of the party?”
Clare or you.It was always coming back to me. “And what did you say?”
“That I had picked Clare up for the party at your house. I thought it was you at first. She walked straight up to the car, leaned over, and kissed me on the lips. I’d never fallen for the MC-dog-and-pony-show switch before, but I did at first.”
“What was the tip-off?”
“Her breasts. They’re smaller than yours.” He’d the good sense to keep his gaze on my eyes.
“Were you mad?”
“No. Turned on. We drove to the party and went to the pool house. Had sex on the deflated floats.”
“Did she say why she wanted to be me?” I’d never asked because I’d been in too big a rush to see Jack.
“She said being you was more fun.” A half smile tugged his lips. “She’d walked on the wild side once or twice and found she really liked it. Said she felt less pressured when she pretended to be you.”
“Less pressure?”
“To get the good grades, follow the rules, do Brit’s bidding.”
“I didn’t realize she felt that way.”
“I know you two liked to switch things up, pretend to be the other. Didn’t she take your PSATs for you?”
I cleared my throat. “No comment.”
