Lawyers, Liars and Lemon Tarts Read online

  “Who’s Lana?” said Beth.

  Liam and Neve exchanged a glance, and then Liam looked at me. “Lana is the girl who was killed.”

  I frowned. Neve had told me nothing about the case yet, but already, things were off to a bad start.

  “Let’s start at the beginning,” I said. “I’ve told Neve that I want to hear everything straight from you. Tell me exactly what’s going on, and I’ll see if we can help you.”

  Liam leaned back in his seat and one corner of his lips twisted up. “Look at us,” he said. “Who would’ve thought you would be working for me? I hope you’re able to be a good employee.”

  I narrowed my eyes and glared at Liam. But then I remembered that he was paying me double my usual rate, so I said nothing.

  “Mindy is the best private investigator in Santa Verona,” said Beth. “You’re lucky she agreed to take this case. If anyone can sort things out, it’s Mindy.”

  “Of course,” said Liam. “But I remember that you used to have a difficult time listening to other people, or doing what they asked you to.” He glanced pointedly at my jeans. “I notice you prefer not to wear skirts these days.”

  I was tempted to stand up and walk out, but that wouldn’t do. If I walked out, I would be acting like the silly, naive young woman Liam had been able to manipulate. So instead, I took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye.

  “Liam,” I said calmly. “Let’s get something straight before I start working for you. I’m here because Neve came over to my place and begged me to look into this case. And what’s more, if you weren’t paying me double, I wouldn’t be working for you. I can still quit at any time I choose, if I don’t like the way you’re behaving. So let me make it very clear: you’re going to treat me with the respect and dignity that someone saving your life deserves. If I think it’s become far too unpleasant to spend time with you, I’ll be happy to quit. You can find any other private investigator you like, and work with them. Do we understand each other?”

  Liam’s cheeks had reddened slightly. “I’ve always treated you with respect.”

  “No, you haven’t. And I’m not going to get into that. It doesn’t matter what you think of me. I’m the one you’re depending on, so you better treat me politely and make sure I’m happy enough to work with you.”

  “I’m not sure why you had to give that little speech,” Liam said. “But if it makes you feel any better, I promise to treat you with respect.”

  “I’m glad we’ve made that clear,” I said. “And in case you didn’t understand, I wear whatever I feel like. If I wear jeans, it’s not because I want to spite you. If I wear a skirt or a dress, it’s not because I feel like making you happy. We’re not together anymore, so you can’t control what I wear or say or think.”

  Liam had started to look worried. “Mindy, I never meant to insult you or upset you. You’re the best private investigator in Santa Verona. I really am very grateful that you’ve decided to take this case. Why don’t we just leave our differences aside and get to work?”

  I nodded. I’d had enough of this unpleasantness myself, so I fished in my handbag until I found the contract I was looking for and handed it over to Liam. “This is my standard retainer. Why don’t you sign it and we can get started.”

  Liam dutifully signed everything, and then he wrote out a large check and handed it over to me. “I know you don’t need such a large advance,” he said, “but that’s a sign of my faith in you. I trust you to do the best you can, and hopefully you can help me get out of this mess.”

  “Thanks,” I said, putting the check safely away. “Now, let’s get started with the details. Tell me exactly what happened.”

  “Well,” Liam said, “Lana Scriven was the woman who was killed. She was an attorney at a small family law firm. She was working late on Friday night, and the janitor found her body at ten p.m. Died of a gunshot wound, the gun was never found. CSI put her time of death at around seven p.m.”

  “How do you know this?” said Beth. “You’re not exactly working on the case.”

  Liam crossed his arms over his chest. “I might be the number one suspect, but I’ve still got friends who let me know stuff.”

  Beth and I exchanged a glance. Liam had always been popular in college, and people liked being his friend and trying to help him out whenever they could. So I wasn’t surprised that he had at least one or two sources on the inside, feeding him information.

  “How do you even know that you’re the prime suspect?” I said.

  “Like I said, I have my sources. Besides, there are some things that make me look pretty bad. Not my fault, of course, but that’s how it is.”

  I nodded. “Okay. So how exactly do you and Lana know each other?”

  During this whole conversation, Neve had been looking rather uncomfortable, and now she decided to examine her fingernails again.

  “Lana was my ex-girlfriend,” Liam said. “We’d moved in together. Since rents are pretty high in Santa Verona, we decided to stay on as roommates, even after we broke up.”

  I remembered that woman I had seen with Liam, the other day at the Santa Verona courthouse. He’d had his arm around her waist, and they’d looked like a happy couple in love. “Did this Lana have wavy dark brown hair?” I asked.

  Liam looked at me, surprised. “Yes. Did you know her?”

  I shook my head. “No. But are you sure you and Lana broke up?”

  I saw Neve glance quickly at Liam, before she went back to checking her fingernails.

  “I told you,” Liam said, “Lana and I broke up a while back.”

  “I can’t help you out if you’re not honest with me.” I tried not to sound as exasperated as I felt. “If you two really were together, that changes things.”

  I saw Liam glance at Neve, and then he looked back at me. “I’ve already told you about my relationship with Lana. Why don’t we move on?”

  I knew that Liam would never admit in front of Neve that he and Lana had been together right until her death. Beth and I exchanged a glance. It wouldn’t be easy to work on the case if our client wasn’t telling us the truth.

  Beth said, “Why don’t you tell me about Lana’s work?”

  “As I said, Lana worked for a very small family law firm. Her clients were mostly people looking to draw up wills, people getting divorced, that kind of thing.” Liam looked at Neve again. “Actually, there are some things I know about her work, but she told me in confidence. Perhaps it’s better if the three of us talk in private.”

  Neve looked at Liam, obviously hurt. “Liam. I thought we were in this together. I told you I’d always be by your side.”

  Neve’s eyes were worried and pleading, and I actually felt sorry for her.

  Liam smiled apologetically. “I’m sure Mindy would prefer to have this conversation in private. I know private investigators aren’t supposed to be discussing details of their case with someone who’s not their client.” He looked at me. “Isn’t that right, Mindy?”

  I loved how Liam was trying to make me the bad guy. But on the other hand, I knew that he would never tell us the truth as long as Neve was listening in on our conversation. So I shrugged. “To be honest, I do prefer to speak with my clients in private. I’m sorry, Neve. That’s just how it is. I know you want to help—”

  “But I’m sure you can make an exception for us.” Neve frowned, confused. “It’s not like I’m a complete stranger. I’m his girlfriend. I want to help him.”

  Liam moved over to sit next to Neve and held her hand reassuringly. “I know you want to help me, sweetheart,” he said. “But I guess I have to do this one conversation in private. I’m so glad I have you to help me out when I need you. But we need to respect Mindy’s wishes.”

  Neve looked at Liam unhappily, and then she looked back at me. I had a hard time maintaining eye contact with her.

  After a few seconds, she stood up and grabbed her bag. “Okay, then. Call me if you need anything.”

  She walke
d off quietly, and the three of us watched her close the door behind herself.

  As we sat quietly, we heard her getting into her car, starting up the engine, and driving off.

  When everything was cloaked in silence again, I looked at Liam. “I don’t think Neve was too happy about this.”

  “Hey,” Liam said, “you’re the one with the ethics. Client privacy and all that.”

  “I would’ve made an exception for Neve, but I knew that you wouldn’t tell me the truth about Lana. So now that she’s gone, why don’t you just admit that the two of you were together?”

  Liam shrugged. “It was kind of an on-again, off-again relationship. We lived together, slept together, and fought a lot. Things weren’t going too well between us, but it wasn’t bad enough to break things off. We were trying to work things out.”

  “And Neve?” said Beth. “Where does Neve come into all this?”

  Liam leaned back in his seat and crossed his legs. “Neve is a nice girl. She’s pretty, and she’s eager to have a long-term, serious thing with me. I like her.”

  “And she knew about Lana?” I said.

  “Neve and I never had the talk. We never said anything about being exclusive.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” I said. “What did Neve know about Lana?”

  Liam shrugged. “Okay. So Neve thought Lana and I were broken up. That’s what most people thought. Lana and I fought so much and we broke up every other day, so most people who knew us thought that we had broken up. Except for a few of Lana’s friends.”

  “I actually feel sorry for Neve,” said Beth. “She doesn’t deserve this.”

  “Well, she wanted to be my girlfriend. And that’s not the kind of thing that happens overnight. Relationships move forward in stages, and now perhaps our relationship can move forward a bit more. Neve should be quite happy now.”

  I shook my head. I did actually take client privacy seriously; otherwise, I would have told Neve just how untrustworthy Liam was. But as it was, Liam was paying me double my usual rates, and I needed to work hard on this case. It was time to stop being so judgmental and focus on the case at hand.

  “You said you’re the prime suspect at this stage,” I said. “Why is that?”

  Liam rolled his eyes. “Friday morning, Lana and I had a big fight, and I’m sure some of the neighbors overheard. She actually told me that she wished I was dead. And I told her that at least if I was dead, a lot of people would be sad. Whereas if she was dead, nobody would care.”

  I winced. “Ouch. That’s pretty bad.”

  Liam shrugged. “Things sound kind of bad when they’re taken out of context. That’s just how we argued.”

  “Was there anything else?” Beth said.

  “So the thing is,” Liam said, “pretty much everyone left the office at around five o’clock that day. Lana stayed back. The automatic doors lock after five thirty, so whoever came to see Lana must’ve gotten access by asking Lana to let him or her in. Which means Lana knew that person.”

  “It could’ve been anyone,” I said. “A friend of Lana’s, a relative, anyone.”

  Liam shook his head. “The really horrible thing is, Lana’s friend Felicity says that Lana told her she was meeting me at seven.”

  “Why would she say that?” Beth said. “Were you meeting her at seven?”

  Liam shook his head no. “We hadn’t made any plans, and Lana didn’t have any reason to tell Felicity that.”

  “Then why would Felicity say that?” Beth asked.

  Liam twisted his lips in a facial shrug. “Felicity always hated me. Perhaps she was just making it up, but either way, you can see why this is so bad for me.”

  “That is pretty bad,” I said. “Are you sure you didn’t kill Lana?”

  “Of course I didn’t kill her,” said Liam. “That’s why I brought you guys in.”

  “Okay,” said Beth. “If you didn’t kill Lana, who might’ve wanted to?”

  “Well,” said Liam, “there’s always Lana’s friend Felicity. She might have lied about me, to cover her own tracks.”

  “I thought she was friends with Lana?” I said.

  “They were frenemies,” said Liam. “They were friends, but they were also kind of jealous of each other and competitive. I’m not sure that Felicity hated Lana enough to kill her, but maybe they got into a fight over something and it just happened.”

  “That sounds unlikely,” I said. “But I’ll keep it in mind.”

  “Who else might have wanted to see Lana dead?” said Beth.

  “Well, none of Lana’s family live in Santa Verona. She moved here a few years ago and didn’t have that many close friends. She mostly hung out with people from the office—and actually, a few people at her work didn’t like her. There’s Rita, who hated her and thought she should have Lana’s job. They found a fake fingernail belonging to Rita in Lana’s office afterward, so she might have had something to do with this whole thing.”

  “But if they worked in the same office, it would be normal for Rita to maybe go and talk to Lana in her office. Doesn’t mean she killed Lana.”

  “I know,” said Liam. “But I’m having a hard time coming up with anyone else. Well, actually, there’s her assistant, Alice. Lana was always complaining about her. She said the girl was really incompetent, and deserved to be fired.”

  “Was there anyone else?”

  Liam shook his head. “Maybe Lana was cheating on me. Maybe there’s another guy in the picture who might’ve wanted her dead.”

  “What makes you think Lana was cheating on you?” I said. “Did you ever see her with anyone else?”

  He shook his head. “No, it’s just a feeling I got sometimes.”

  I looked at Beth and rolled my eyes. Liam had always been paranoid about girls cheating on him—probably because he never thought twice about cheating on them. I found it hard to believe that Lana had been cheating on Liam, but I’d look into the claim nonetheless.

  “If the cops are looking into this,” said Beth, “they won’t be too happy with us poking our noses around.”

  “Then don’t go to the cops.” Liam shrugged, as though avoiding the cops was the most natural thing in the world. “It’s not like they’ll let you access any of their reports at this stage. And if you go to see them, they’ll probably just ask you to stay away from the case.”

  I had to admit that Liam was right. Beth and I were private citizens, and technically, we weren’t supposed to meddle in police business. I knew that at this early stage in the investigation, the police would be absolutely no help.

  “Do you know who’s working the case?” I said.

  “Detectives Sam Knott and Andy Thanh.”

  I nodded. “Sam was in our year. He was always kind of a joker. It’s funny that’s he’s all grown up and a cop now. I don’t know Andy.”

  “Well, they must both be incompetent if they think I’m the main suspect.”

  I glared at Liam. “They’re not incompetent, they’ve just got good reason to think you’re guilty.”

  “Where do we start if we can’t go to the cops?” said Beth.

  “Why don’t you start by talking to people from Lana’s office?” suggested Liam. “I’m good friends with the senior partners there. I’ll send them a note to let the staff talk to you guys. You shouldn’t have a hard time talking to them.”

  “Did the senior partners know that you and Lana were together?” said Beth.

  “They knew we were good friends,” said Liam. “I hung out with those guys at the club sometimes, and none of us meddled in each other’s personal lives much. Women are always tricky.”

  I looked at Beth and rolled my eyes again. I didn’t think women were tricky. It was only guys like Liam who made relationships and the opposite sex seem so much more complicated than they actually were.

  “If Lana was living here, we’re going to have to look at her bedroom.”

  Liam nodded and led us upstairs. “The cops have already been throu
gh this place with a fine-tooth comb. I don’t think they found anything, and I don’t think you will, either.”

  As we climbed the stairs, I noticed black-and-white photos of Liam and Neve hung in black photo frames. “I’m guessing you don’t bring other girls back to your place.”

  Liam ignored the quip, and when we got to the small landing at the top of the stairs, he said, “The door on the left’s the linen closet. Door on the right leads to the bathroom. The bedroom on the right was our—Lana’s—bedroom. Lana used the bedroom on the left as a home office.”

  “Didn’t you have a home office?” asked Beth.

  “Never brought work home with me,” said Liam. “I’m efficient. But Lana brought work home all the time, files and paperwork and even had clients come over sometimes.”

  I frowned. “Isn’t that quite irregular?”

  Liam shrugged. “Sure. But I guess the partners at her office just cared that the work got done. And after Lana’s recent promotion, she was dealing mostly with high-net-worth individuals. Those guys couldn’t be bothered to go to her office during normal office hours, so sometimes she’d stay late or go in early to meet them, and sometimes she’d just meet them here. She had one or two eccentric clients who didn’t like going into ‘stuffy’ offices.”

  Beth and I headed into the bathroom and looked around. It was a small, modern space with large floor-to-ceiling tiles in a neutral beige, and a semiframeless shower stall. I opened the cabinet above the sink, but there didn’t seem to be anything too interesting in there.

  “Did Lana take any prescription medicines?” Beth asked.

  Liam shook his head no.

  We headed to the bedroom next. It was furnished with a dark wooden bed and matching nightstands and dresser. The bed linen was a crisp green and white, and there were a few more photos of Liam and Neve.

  Beth and I looked briefly through the dresser and walk-in closet, but there wasn’t anything in there that jumped out at us or seemed suspicious. Just a bunch of clothes and accessories.

  Lana’s study was furnished with the same dark wood furniture—a decent-sized table, a bookcase, and two comfy-looking armchairs. There was a big empty space in the middle of the table, and Beth said, “I guess the cops already took her computer.”