Page 11 of Justified Lies

Fleeing into her garage, the trash bags were left spewed on the ground. She stood just inside the door to escape the odor. Trying to clear her head, she considered how to get rid of a dead animal. While she had never cleaned up roadkill in the past, how hard could it be? She needed some gloves, a mask, and a garbage bag. Running inside to grab her materials, she re-emerged a few minutes later, resolved to get the job done.

Lianna cautiously crept toward the animal, part of her waiting for it to jump up and lunge at her. Shaking the garbage bag open, she reached out one gloved hand to grab the tail. The rancid smell seeped through the sides of the mask. Scrunching up her face, she quickly slid the creature towards her.

Trying to get the task over with, she underestimated its weight and it landed half in the bag, half on her flip flops. She jumped back with a yelp. That’s when she noticed the piece of cardboard underneath the animal. It was hard to overlook.

“YOU’RE NEXT,” written in bright red.

A jolt of fear surged through her, as warning bells went off in her head. She stood there paralyzed with indecision. She needed to tell someone about this. One person in particular came to mind. She darted back inside the house to call him before she lost her nerve.

****

Gabe considered not answering the annoying buzz of his cell phone. This afternoon he promised to take Jacob to a movie and didn’t want to delay because of work again. Gabe loved his job—he excelled and had advanced quickly up the ranks. He craved the challenge and the rush his career provided, but it could be strenuous when balancing raising a child.

Sauntering over to the dresser, he glanced down to where his cell was charging while he was in the shower. Gabe held the towel up to roughly rake over his wet hair, his stomach dropping when he saw the name on the call display. He narrowed his eyes as if the name would change if he looked hard enough. A million thoughts flew through his head in the three seconds it took him to drop the towel and reach for the phone.

“Lianna?”

“Hey, I’m sorry to bother you, but there’s a really gross dead animal in my garbage that I was hoping you could help me with.”

“What?”

Gabe had expected any number of things to come out of Lianna’s mouth but needing help with a dead animal wasn’t one of them.

“In your garbage, outside?” he clarified.

“Yes, it was lying across the lid. I tried to clean it up, but then I found this message… Listen, it’s easier if you have a chance to come look. But I understand if you’re busy. Of course, you’re busy. Sorry, it’s the weekend. You probably have pla—”

“I’ll be there in five minutes.”

“Okay, don’t rush.”

Gabe cut the connection. Throwing on whatever was on top in each dresser drawer, he sped down the stairs. Apologetically, he knocked on Dolores’s door, explained his absence, and promised to be back as soon as possible. Dolores was the reason Gabe could pull off this whole single parentingthing and he made sure she knew as much. The nanny/housekeeper/superhero lived in the carriage home above his garage. While she had weekends off, if she wasn’t visiting her own grandchildren, she was usually at home.

Promising Jacob the movie date was still on, just delayed, he took off, doing his best not to run the block that divided their homes. Gabe wasn’t sure why he was in such a hurry to get to Lianna, just a feeling. One he didn’t like, imagining Lianna in trouble.

****

When Gabe was halfway up her driveway, Lianna opened the door, not caring that he would know she was watching for him. As he drew closer, she noticed two things. First, he looked angry. That was unfortunate but hardly surprising. Second, he looked tasty enough to eat, also not shocking. He wore dark gray sweatpants the way Giselle wore couture. Lianna would certainly pay to watch him strut down a catwalk, with those perfect fitting sweats and that snug white t-shirt.

As his long strides narrowed the distance between them, she stepped back to let him inside the house. But instead of continuing up the stairs and inside, he stopped, hesitating.He was takingthis whole avoidance thing seriously. Gabe hadn’t entered her home in weeks. She tried inviting him in, it had worked for Sookie.

He ignored her, asking instead, “Where is it?”

Sighing, Lianna moved outside and down the three steps of the porch. As Gabe followed close behind her, she second guessed the decision to call him over. It was probably a prank and here she was interrupting his weekend.

She slowed as they rounded the side of her garage and Gabe came to stand flush beside her. He smelled better than Grandma’s house on Thanksgiving Day, all fresh and clean with a hint of musk. She looked up at him, her stomach doing a three-sixty when she found him staring down at her. Not many people made Lianna feel small, but Gabe at six-feet-four inches made her feel dainty and minuscule. She surmised it had more to do with his presence and not just his height.

She looked away, in the direction of the dead animal and quickly remembered why she was standing out here with him in the first place. He did that to her, so thoroughly distracted her, consumed her attention. But now the reality of her situation sank back in.

“It’s down there,” lifting her finger to point.

Without a word, Gabe stalked off in that direction.

“I’m just going to stay here,” she called behind him.

When Gabe was a few feet from the animal he slowed his pace significantly, raising the collar of his t-shirt to cover his nose. She thought she heard him mutter a four-letter word. He crouched down beside the poor creature and considered it for longer than Lianna thought was necessary.

“There are more garbage bags and cleaning gloves in the garage,” she yelled after him. “But I can do that part. I called because of the message.”

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