Page 92 of Her Dark Lies

“Good. When you’re finished with Karmen, get dressed. Help your sister. Check in with your mother. I trust you can handle her this evening?”

There is no question what Ana is implying. “I can. I will.”

“Good. I look forward to working with you, Harper.”

Ana gives her a little wave and disappears into the hallway.

Holy shit.

Holy shit!

She’s going to work for Ana Compton.

Of all the ways today was supposed to shake out, this had never entered her mind.

Brice is waiting for Ana when she gets back to their suite.

“So?”

“She’s in.”

“That was quite a gamble, telling her what happened. You knew she’d go for it?”

“I hoped she would. Keeping her close is the best way to keep the family safe. Besides, she does have excellent style. She’ll do. We better get ready.”

Ana moves toward the closet, but Brice reaches out a hand and stops her.

“We’ve made a mistake.”

“I know. I’m going to fix it. Don’t worry.”

At his look, she says it again.

“Don’t worry, Brice. I have a feeling I know what’s going on. Let’s just get the kids married, and we’ll deal with it. Jack is right, he wants to protect Claire, and giving her our name is the best thing we can do.”

54

An Epic Failure of Imagination

Now that she’s out from under the spyglass of suspicion, Harper Hunter answers Karmen’s questions enthusiastically. She is young. So young. Karmen hopes Ana knows what she’s doing. She’d called down moments before Harper practically skipped into Karmen’s office. “Get her in the system, and make sure there aren’t going to be any more surprises, do you understand me? I am finished with this nonsense.”

Fifteen minutes later, Karmen tosses her reading glasses onto the desk.

“We’ll need to do a full interview once the wedding is over, but that should do for now. I look forward to getting to know you better, Harper. Ana is a brilliant woman. You’re going to enjoy working with her.”

“Do you? Enjoy working with her?”

“Most of the time,” Karmen says with a smile. “I understand we’re to have the wedding this evening. You’d best go get ready.”

Harper looks like she wants to ask more questions, but reads Karmen’s impatience and simply says, “Thanks. See you later, I hope.”

Already polite. Already deferent. Already intuitive. She seems smart, has an undeniable presence. She is so very different from her sister. Claire’s strength simmers inside her, only exposing itself when needed; Harper’s explodes from every smile, every step, every wave of her hand. Maybe Ana knows what she’s doing after all.

Karmen opens an employment file, loads in the information, then goes back to her more pressing issue, trying to identify Ami Eister.

The traffic cameras in Nashville proved to be most helpful. She’s found a good angle of the impostor standing on the corner by the Turnip Truck grocery store. She is wearing black, head to toe, from her sunglasses to her knee-high boots. Her hair is done up in a French twist. She crosses the street without looking left or right, moving swiftly, turns left, and walks directly to the door to Claire’s studio.

“Gotcha.”