Page 7 of Justified Lies

Today was not a normal workday for Lianna, so after briefly touching base with her staff, she was now off to conquer the mountain of errands that came with being a mom. Ducking into the ladies’ room, she found Darren’s assistant Jane washing her hands.

“Hey, Lianna. How’d the meeting go?”

“Really well actually, hope everything is okay with Darren.”

Jane gave a wince and Lianna knew she was in for some gossip.

“I shouldn’t say anything, but you are family and will find out anyway.” She lowered her voice to a whisper even though they were alone in the bathroom.

“It was two detectives. I didn’t hear much, but it was regarding his meeting with Justine Starks.”

“Darren met with Justine?”

“Yes, for about twenty minutes, the day before she went missing,” Jane supplied around another wince.

“Do you know what about?”

“No, and there was no follow up for me after the meeting, so I thought nothing of it. It didn’t even click when I saw the news. But I guess it is odd that she was in here and their kids go to school together and…”

“She’s missing.” Lianna finished.

“Anyway, I’m sure it’s nothing.” Jane tried to sound nonchalant but failed. “They are probably just following up on anyone that saw her in the last few days before she disappeared.”

“Probably.” Lianna said but wasn’t so sure.

“I should get back … have a great rest of your day,” Jane said cheerfully.

“Thanks, you too.”

Lianna’s mind was still churning as she exited the elevator a few minutes later into the dimly lit parking garage. A car door slammed in the distance, startling her. She scolded herself for not being more aware of her surroundings, especially several floors beneath the earth in a dark parking garage.

As she reached for the passenger door to deposit her purse, she noticed a slight indent near the handle. On further inspection, it looked as if someone had been attempting to break into her vehicle. The keyhole was scratched to the point that, if she actually had to use her key, and not the remote, the key wouldn’t fit anymore.

Shit.She breathed out her frustration. The average person may be unnerved by someone trying to break into their vehicle, but in downtown Vancouver it was not a rare occurrence. While Lianna was not overly vain, the damage was unsightly and getting it fixed only added to her endless ‘to do’ list.

Annoyed, she stomped around the bumper and stopped in her tracks so fast she was surprised there wasn’t skid marks on the ground. There was a person lurking across the narrow parking garage. When recognition dawned, it did little to calm her racing heart. Darren stood stark still, his familiar frame silhouetted by the light coming from the entrance to the stairs. Cool blue eyes narrowed in her direction.

“Leaving already?”

Breathe, Lianna, breathe, goddamn it! She willed herself to lower the hand that was clutching her throat.

“Geez, you scared me… I thought you were called away?”

Darren gritted his chiseled, clean-shaven jaw that always seemed to be clenched.

“Luckily, the interruption was brief.”

Lianna couldn’t say she was happy to hear that. An awkward silence stretched on and just as she was going to make her excuses he spoke up.

“Do you need any help over there or are you just admiring your insurance payout?”

Darren sneered, likely knowing his comment would upset her. He knew she spent none of Scott’s life insurance policy on anything ostentatious. This electric vehicle was something she purchased on her own, something her girlfriends had convinced her she deserved to make the commute bearable. Most of the time she drove the minivan they bought when she was pregnant with Annie.

“I just noticed some scratches.”

“That’s too bad.”

“I should get going,” Lianna ground out, hating that she felt so small and insignificant around her brother-in-law.

---