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“Ryan, that’s gross,” she replied, grimacing.
“It’s the truth. Total buzzkill. She has no patience at all. You know the way you take care of me? She’d never do that.”
“I think she takes care of Will, though,” Lisa replied. “They’re loving together.”
“They are made for each other. He’s old and tired, and she’s, well, whatever goes with that. And you, my beautiful Lisa, are made for me.”
She didn’t want Ryan to get into the habit of insulting Laura so she repressed her laughter and ignored the comments, kissing him on the lips. “I’ll be back.”
Taking the car out of the garage was a smokescreen for Ryan; Lisa parked two houses down on the street in front of Laura’s cottage and went to the side door.
“What’s going on?” Laura asked when she opened the door.
“I wanted to be free to talk to you without Ryan listening in. He’s innocent. You know that, right?”
“I know, Lisa. You don’t need to worry about me. I love you. You’re the closest person I’ll ever have to a sister. You’re my family. Ryan and Alison, too. I know you didn’t shoot Lily.”
“But you and Will saw me on the beach with Lily.”
“What did it mean?”
“She’d threatened to expose Ryan and me, and I was trying to circumvent that.”
“Do you want to share how?”
“Dan told Ryan, and Ryan told me. Pillow talk. Lily was a closet lesbian. Her parents are ultraconservative religious people who she claimed wouldn’t accept that part of her, so I used it. It’s no secret I’m bisexual. I used it to get her to focus on me alone, rather than me and Ryan. But it got out of hand.”
“In what way?” Laura asked.
“Fatal attraction. Like Ryan said, she started to come around the house, dropping hints that she and I were more than friends. Ryan has no idea that we were having sex.”
“Do you know what happened to her Sunday night?”
“No. I don’t own a gun. I couldn’t shoot another human being.”
“Did you see her Sunday night?” Laura probed.
Her eyes focusing on Laura’s, Lisa didn’t hesitate to lie. “No. The last time I saw her was the night you and Will ran into us on the beach.”
Laura leaned in to hug Lisa. “What’s going on with Ryan?” Laura asked gently. “I mean, I know what’s going on with him, but how’s he doing, really?”
“Ryan is struggling. He’s clinically depressed.”
“Are there any drugs he can take?”
“He takes Ambien for sleep and Ativan and Valium.”
“Wow, that should help him,” Laura said.
“But I protect him. I only allow him to be exposed to certain elements, things that won’t hurt him. Lily had the capability of destroying Ryan. I’m not sorry she’s dead. But I’ll deny that if the cops ask me.”
“They won’t hear it from me,” Laura said. “I’ll do what I can to protect the privacy of the two of you.”
“If it comes out that we’re related, it could get ugly. I’m worried about that.”
“It’s irrelevant to the murder investigation,” Laura said.
Hugging Lisa again, Laura watched her walk to her car. She didn’t believe her story that she hadn’t seen Lily, but it was okay. And it was clear Ryan was innocent. Poor Ryan, the guy was a mess.
