Page 80 of Little Dark Deeds

“Whatever it is, I don’t see why Lacey can’t hear it.I have nothing to hide.”

Understatement of the year, right there.

“Don’t you?”I asked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You want to talk in front of her?Fine,” I said.“Before Tiffany died, you were following her.You took pictures.Then you left those pictures on Tyler’s wife’s car.”

He cocked his head back, laughing.“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did.And if you’re lying to me about that, what else are you lying about?”

“I don’t know what you think you know—”

“I don’tthinkI know anything.Fingerprints can be lifted off paper.It isn’t easy, but it’s possible.When I met Tyler’s wife, Jana, she gave me the photos you took, the ones you left on the car.I handed them over to the lab for testing.About thirty minutes ago, I learned three prints were lifted.Two belonged to Jana, and the third, to you.”

“How would my prints even be identified?I’ve never ...”He slapped a hand to his forehead.“I ...ahh, I just remembered.I got pulled over once when I was thirteen for driving my dad’s car to La Salita Loca.So dumb.The cop was being a jerk, and I threw a taco at him.”

“You threw a taco at a police officer?”

“Yeah, and I was arrested for it.It was so stressful, and it happened so long ago, I forgot all about being fingerprinted.”

“Thanks for the story, but you still lied to me.I want to know why.”

Chad glanced at Lacey, thumbing at the door.“Sorry, babe.Georgiana’s right.We should speak in private.I’ll see you tomorrow, all right?”

Lacey shot up from the couch.“Are you kidding me?”Furious, she rushed upstairs, spewing curse words as she hurled items down the stairs—a brush, a pillow, a hoodie, a bag of chips.

As she continued to curse and bang things around upstars, I looked around, impressed with the overall look of his home.It was a lot nicer than I’d expected, and the furniture looked high-end.It was also one of the cleanest homes I’d ever been in, not a speck of dust anywhere.

Lacey came back down and snatched a duffel bag sitting on a chair.Shoving her belongings inside it, she slung the bag over her shoulder, offering Chad a dirty look as she sped to the door.“This is the last time, Chad!Thelasttime.You hear me?”

The door slammed shut behind her, and he swished a hand through the air.“She says it’s the last time, every time.It’s not.But man, I should have bummed a smoke from her before she left.I could use one.”

“Who is she, anyway?”

“One of my coworkers.We’ve known each other for years.It’s not serious.More like friends with benefits, you know?”

I didn’t know.

I’d never had one of those.

“You sure she’s not more into you than you are into her?”I asked.

“We tried to be more than friends once.It wasn’t good.”

I moved a hand to my hip.“Let’s talk about the photos and the fact you lied to me.What have you got to say for yourself?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Sorry is a good start.Why lie in the first place?”

“I don’t know.I thought about telling you when I first saw you, and then I got all in my head about how you’d feel if I did—like I’m a suspect.You believe me when I say I’m innocent, don’t you?”

“How can I?”

“I could never do something so awful.Not just to Tiffany, to anyone.”