Kalyna smiled as she considered this. Poor Mark. "I guess he decided to get even."
"That's what I'm thinking." Tati broke into tears again. "It's so sad to imagine her gone. I--I can't believe it."
"Tati, I have a terrible confession to make," Kalyna said.
As the silence stretched on, Kalyna could sense her sister's fear.
"What's that?"
"I'm not sure I should tell you. I've kept it secret for so long. But you're right. It has to be him. He's the only one I know who's capable of murder."
"I don't want to think that of him, but--"
"I can almost guarantee it. He kil ed a hitchhiker once, Tati. Then he stuffed her body in the crematory."
Tatiana gasped. "How do you know?"
"Because he--he made me help him." She added a quaver to her voice. "He told me he'd go to Mom and Dad and tell them I was having sex with him again if I didn't. After that, I was afraid to tell anyone--I was afraid he'd blame it on me. Mom and Dad have always thought the worst of me, and I was terrified they'd disown me. But now that he's done this to Mom...I don't have any choice but to speak up."
"No, of course not! But how do we prove he kil ed this hitchhiker?"
"The girl's name was Sarah. She was about fourteen. The police wil probably find her listed as a missing person. I think she said she was from New Mexico. I--I have her necklace. Remember that floating diamond on the gold chain that I kept in the bottom of my jewelry box?"
"The one you said the quarterback gave you?"
"That's the one. It belonged to her. I've hung on to it in case this ever came up, so I'd have proof she existed."
"I wondered why you never wore it. Why you wouldn't let me wear it, either."
"Now you know."
"Oh, God, this is even worse than I thought," Tatiana cried. "But at least it wasn't you, Kalyna. That--that really scared me."
Kalyna feigned a few tears of her own. "How could you ever believe I'd do such a thing?"
"I didn't, not really. I mean, I was just so shocked. It looked like...well, you know how it must've looked. But I knew you were planning to head home early. You often have difficulty sleeping. And Mark was so angry about what Mom did...It all makes sense now."
It did make sense. Perfect sense. Kalyna reveled in her good fortune.
She'd blame both murders on Mark and walk away scot-free.
"Are you coming back?" Tati asked.
"I can't come right away, but I'l see if I can get leave," Kalyna said.
After she'd protected her interests in Fairfield. "I'm already in enough trouble."
"The police wil want to talk to you."
"They'l have to call me."
Kalyna heard voices in the background. "I've got to get off the phone," Tati whispered. "The police are here."
"Let me know how it goes," Kalyna said, and hung up.
"Who was that?" Jerry called from the driver's seat.
"My sister. There's been an accident in my family. Can you let me out at the next stop?"
He tilted up his hat. "Of course. But wil you be okay if I do?"
"I'l be fine. I have to go back and get my car." Now that Mark was going to take the fall for her, she had no reason to give up such a convenient mode of transportation.
"How wil you get back? You've got your luggage, too."
"Are you kidding? The same way I got here," she said with a laugh.
Luke chose his favorite breakfast place--Hog Heaven in Davis.
Slightly west of Sacramento, Davis was a college town and had several mom-and-pop-style restaurants. Because he came to Hog Heaven fairly often, he was recognized by the hostess, who greeted him with a warm smile.
"Hi, Captain. Welcome back. It's been a few weeks since we've seen you."
"Too long," he said. "I'm craving one of your famous omelets."
"I'm sure we can cook one up for you." Her gaze shifted to Ava and a hint of surprise registered, probably because he generally came with a group of friends.
"Right this way," she said, and he motioned for Ava to precede him.
Ava had combed her hair and donned a pair of sunglasses but wasn't wearing any makeup. Luke didn't mind. She had pretty skin, an expressive mouth and he liked her "just tumbled out of bed" look. He wasn't too impressed with her clothing, however. She'd put on the most godawful pair of shorts and blouse he'd ever seen. The shorts rode high on her waist and went to her knees and seemed to be made of the same wrinkle-free material his mother admired. Somehow she'd taken a popular style--he'd seen a lot of women wear shorts the same length--and made it...frumpy.
Even worse, her top had a ribbon threaded around the neck that would've been more fitting on a kindergartener. Luke doubted there was another guy in the place who'd give Ava a second look in that getup. But he'd seen her wearing only a pair of panties and a sweatshirt--and if he'd witnessed a more tantalizing sight, he couldn't remember it.
"Wil this table be okay?" The hostess touched his arm to gain his attention, and he realized she'd just caught him staring at Ava's behind.
Grinning to cover the gaffe, he said, "It's fine," and slid into the booth.
Ava sat across from him and immediately stuck her nose in a menu.
Since her stepfather had shown up with his new girlfriend, she hadn't said much. She'd insisted on bringing her briefcase and a stack of files, but he wondered where she expected to work.
"You might want to take off those sunglasses," he said.
She didn't glance up; neither did she remove them. "I'm perfectly capable of deciding when to take them off, thanks."
Chuckling at her stubbornness, he opened his own menu. Poor Ava.
She had a lousy family situation. She couldn't dress worth a damn. She couldn't flirt any better, at least not when she was sober. And she couldn't completely hide the vulnerability beneath the dark glower that'd descended when her stepfather motored off with her houseboat.
"So maybe we should talk about it now and get it over with," he said.
This time her gaze lifted. "Talk about what?"
"Your stepfather. Your mother."
The waitress came with two glasses of water; Ava didn't respond until she'd walked away. "I don't want to talk about them. What makes you think I want to talk about them?"
"I'm just saying that once we lay it all out, we won't have to avoid the subject. Then we can forget about it."
"We don't need to lay it all out. This is a business relationship. Once your case is resolved, I'l probably never see you again."