Page 4 of Justified Lies

“Still no updates on the missing woman? Her son goes to Harris and Annie’s school, right?” Maisey asked.

“Yes, it’s so sad. Poor kid is in seventh grade. Apparently, he came home one afternoon, and the front door was open. No sign of her, no sign of a struggle and nothing was missing. They found her purse and wallet at home. It’s as if she walked off and vanished into thin air.”

“That’s terrifying, Lianna!” Maisey said.

“Tell me about it.”

“Promise us that you’re being careful.” Isabela urged.

“I promise. I will call the phone company again and see if there are any additional steps I can take. I’m already on the “no call list,” but possibly they can trace where the calls are coming from. I’ll put a reminder in my calendar to call in the morning.”

That seemed to appease the girls and for the remainder of the conversation they fortunately moved onto lighter topics. Lianna was always a bit melancholy when the calls ended. The heavy weight of solitude would blanket her. Fortunately, she would see Isabela in person over the weekend. Her friend lived a quick two-hour drive down I-5 in Seattle. Their bi-weekly coffee dates were her therapy.

Changing into pajamas, Lianna went through her new nightly routine. Besides brushing her teeth, she checked every window and door to make sure they were locked. Settling intobed with a book, she reached over and turned the phone ringer to silent. If she couldn’t hear the prank calls then they didn’t happen, right?

****

Gabe tucked the blue and white flannel sheets up to Jacob’s sweet little chin. For the third time, the boy promptly pulled the sheets back down. Sighing in defeat, Gabe tried distraction.

“Nice job at practice tonight, bud. You’ve got thejet sweepfigured out.”

“It’s so easy.”

“Well, it’s not easy for everyone. You practice hard so you should be proud of yourself for getting it right. Now go to sleep so you can wake up with a beard like mine in the morning.”

Gabe ruffled the boy’s hair, trying one final time to pull the sheets up and succeeding. Jacob closed his eyes in fake sleep.

Gabe was almost to the door before Jacob whispered the question.

“When my mom gets better will she be like Harris’s mom?”

Gabe froze, his stomach sinking into his sneakers. It was what always happened when Jacob brought up his mom. Gabe knew time was running out on the tales he told the boy about Megan. The little guy was starting to connect some dots and question why his absentee mom was different than everyone else’s. The easiest way to explain it to a six-year-old’s brain, was that his mom wanted to be with him but was sick. Gabe’s explanation left a lot to be desired, but Megan was technically sick.

“Probably not.” Gabe tried to be honest as often as possible. “But we’ll be fine just like always. Plus, once you have that beard, nothing will stop us from taking over the world. Okay, my man?”

Jacob seemed to consider his words, remaining silent for several seconds.

“When I have my beard can I stop going to school and catch bad guys with you?” the boy finally asked.

“Sounds like a deal to me,” Gabe exhaled, happy to have appeased Jake for now.

“Can Harris come, too?”

“Only if he has his beard.”

“Awesome,” Jacob muttered under his breath, rolling over to surely dream of playing superhero.

“Goodnight, Jacob.”

“Goodnight, Dad.”

Silently closing his son’s door, both relief and guilt nagged at Gabe. Jacob deserved more answers, but Gabe didn’t have it in him tonight. Or any other night for that matter.

Exhaustion took hold, as he sluggishly headed down the stairs. Grabbing a water bottle and a banana, Gabe collapsed onto the couch. Thursdays were great for two reasons. One, Thursday night football was on TV. The second reason was driving Harris to football practice. As much as Gabe was fond of Harris, it was much more about seeing a smile from the woman Harris belonged to.

In the time he’d known Lianna, Gabe had come to appreciate many of her characteristics. The freckles that so uniquely dotted honey skin, were a beautiful result of her mixed-race heritage. Those expressive almond eyes that always seemed to read him, the way she over talked when she was nervous. But her smile was right up there at the top. Not that he was responsible for evoking many of those smiles. In fact, he seemed to do everything in his power to wipe those smiles right off her beautiful face lately. He handled his interactions with her like a fourth grader trapped in an old man’s body.

That was another problem. Gabe was on the tail end of his thirties. Closing in on the big four-oh. He guessed that must be several years Lianna’s senior. Among other reasons, he doubted she wanted to spend date nights with someone who could almost qualify for the early bird senior discount at dinner.

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