Page 38 of Everyone’s a Liar

“It had to have been Winston.” Livia pointed out the obvious choice.

“If Winston was the man you saw in your house it would make sense,” Bryce agreed.

“But why? I never met Winston until a couple days ago. He had no reason to spy on me.” Livia frowned as she remembered the scene in her bedroom. “And why did he shove Larry against the wall? He was clearly angry, but does that mean he’s the reason that Larry disappeared?”

Bryce shook her head. “I don’t have any answers. And we’re still not sure that it was Winston you saw through the window.”

Livia sighed. She’d dredged up the memory a hundred times, but she couldn’t be sure who’d been in her bedroom with Larry Sutton. She suspected it was Winston, but if she was put on the witness stand she’d have to admit it was no more than a gut instinct.

“Who else could it be?” she finally demanded.

“I’m not sure, but until we do have a way to verify the intruder, it would be dangerous to leap to conclusions. We might overlook something important.”

“You’re right,” Livia agreed. “And even if it was Winston he might be the middleman. Maybe he hired Larry for someone else.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Livia realized how silly she sounded. “I’m starting to talk like a character in a cheesy detective show.”

“We’ll get the answers. It’s just a matter of finding Larry Sutton and forcing him to tell us who hired him and what they wanted.”

Livia wished she shared her friend’s confidence. “Easier said than done.”

Bryce clicked her tongue. “You haven’t forgotten how stubborn I am, have you? I once went two full days without eating because my dad said I couldn’t have anything until I finished the broccoli on my plate. I was ten years old. That’s not to mention the nights I spent on our roof trying to catch our neighbor sneaking out to meet his receptionist in the orchard behind our house. It took over a month but I finally got a picture of him. That was the last time he tried to claim that our garden shed was on his property.”

A small smile tugged at Livia’s lips, her tension easing at Bryce’s mischievous boast. Her friend was right. Livia had never met anyone who was more tenacious than Bryce when she was on a mission.

“No, I haven’t forgotten. If anyone can track him down it’s you.”

They turned onto the street that ran in front of Livia’s house. “Let’s briefly assume that Sutton wasn’t hired by Winston or your uncle,” Bryce suggested. “Is there anyone that might have a grudge against you? A rival real estate agent? An ex-lover? A client?”

Livia silently considered the people who might hold a grudge. There were a few fellow agents who’d been infuriated by her rapid rise to the top. More than one had accused her of using her connection to the Benoit clan to open doors. And others had hinted she must be sleeping with the developers to get such lucrative contracts selling their new homes. But it was competitive bull crap that happened all the time.

“I’m sure there are a few people in my life who wouldn’t mind getting revenge. You can’t build your own business without stepping on a few toes. Especially if you’re a woman,” she admitted. “But they wouldn’t have any reason to sneak around my house. If they wanted to hurt me they would spread nasty rumors about my agency. Or vandalize one of the properties I’m trying to sell.”

“What about ex-lovers?”

“Few and far between.” Livia didn’t bother to scroll through her previous relationships. They’d been too shallow to stir up a desire for revenge. “None of them were serious enough for either of us to care when we stopped seeing each other.”

“You’d be surprised,” Bryce said. “There are some men who can’t handle rejection, even if they pretend they’re indifferent.”

Livia gave a firm shake of her head. “It would be a stretch for them to remember my name, let alone be bitter enough to cough up money for a private detective.”

“Okay,” Bryce conceded. “I just don’t want to get locked in one direction with no real proof.”

Livia knew Bryce was referring to her belief that this was somehow connected to her family. She also knew her friend was right. It would be all too easy to allow her feelings for the Benoits to blind her to other potential suspects.

Belatedly realizing they were nearly at her house, Livia pointed toward the approaching driveway.

“Pull in here.”

Bryce turned into the driveway and shut off the engine. She leaned forward to study the house that was small but sturdy, with the unique details that came with homes that had been built by hand, not constructed by developers who concentrated on volume, not quality.

“Nice,” Bryce said.

Livia felt a stab of pride. “Nothing fancy, but it’s mine.”

“That’s everything.”

“Yes.”

She shared a smile with her friend. Independence meant everything to girls who’d grown up with the knowledge they had no one to depend on but themselves. Still, looking back, Livia couldn’t regret her struggles. It’d given her a strength that she might never have had if she’d been handed everything on a silver platter.