Page 92 of The Lie Maker

“Stop it,” he said. “Just stop it. That’s crazy talk.”

Not so crazy.

He crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. “You mean the world to me,” he said. Cecilia’s arms hung limply at her sides. Kyle stepped back, rested his hands on her shoulders. “When I get back, we’ll do something special.”

She looked him in the eye. “Is it another woman?”

Kyle couldn’t help but laugh. “Another woman,” he said, shaking his head. “Christ, where would you get a crazy idea like that?”

“These late-night calls you’ve been making. Hiding in your office, whispering. I know something’s going on.”

“I swear to you, nothing is going on. It’s business. We’ve had some trouble with immigration officials. The less you know about that, the better. I’m protecting you.”

She did not look convinced.

He glanced at his watch. “The car’s coming for me.” He went back to the bed, zipped up the two bags, put on his sport jacket, wheeled the bags out of the room, and carried them down the stairs.

His daughter, Cherie, was standing there.

“Two bags?” she said. “I thought you always did carry-on.”

Kyle sighed. “I already went through this with your mother.” He opened the front door to see whether his ride was there. A black four-door Lexus was parked at the curb. A man got out from behind the wheel, popped the trunk, and approached.

“Take your bags, sir?”

“Yeah,” Kyle said offhandedly, going out onto the front step. The man grabbed the bags as Kyle gave his wife and daughter an awkward smile.

He wanted to hug them but couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“So,” he said.

This is it, he told himself. You get in that car and you’re committed. The plan goes forward. No turning back.

“See ya, Dad,” Cherie said. “Have a fun trip.” She spun around and went upstairs.

Kyle gave his wife one last smile. “Goodbye,” he said.

“Goodbye,” she said.

Forty-Nine

Jack

“Is it safe for me to go home?” I asked Gwen.

“Probably,” she said.

That was not the answer I was looking for.

She picked up on my anxiety. “Look, we’ll be keeping an eye on your place. Have the cops drive by regularly. And if you notice anything, call me. I, or someone, can be there in minutes. Just don’t do anything stupid. Keep your door locked. Don’t let in anyone you don’t know.”

She brought the car to a stop in front of my apartment building.

“I can’t see that anyone has any real reason to want to hurt you, Jack. If Bill—excuse me, Garth—were still alive, someone might have come after you to try and find out where we were hiding him. But there’s not much point to that now. And as far as your father goes, I don’t know what to tell you. If you have some new ideas about where he might be, or if he gets in touch, you know what to do.”

“Understood.”

I got out of the car and went up to my apartment. Once I had the door open, I stood there, listening. What if someone was inside, waiting for me? I held my breath, and would have stopped the hammering of my heart, too, if I could have, if it meant I’d have a better chance at hearing an uninvited guest.