was a pause on the other end of the line. “I was instructed not to. The police wanted to be able to see your reaction firsthand. I shouldn’t have even told you about the murder, but I didn’t want you to be completely blindsided.”
“Screw you. This is my life you’re playing with.”
“Hey, I’m the one who helped you, remember?”
“Yes. It’s very easy to remember every detail when your whole life as you know it consists of a little more than twenty-four hours. You knew who I was, you knew my name and you didn’t tell me.”
“Eliza. Wake up. You’re a murder suspect. Do you get that?”
She was an amnesiac, she was not stupid. “It’s not Eliza. It’s Liza. And, yes, I get it. What I don’t get is why you care.”
Liza ended the call and handed the phone through the seats to Elaine.
“I appreciate you representing me for my interrogation but I’ll no longer be needing your services. You can send me a bill for your time this morning.”
Elaine turned around in the front seat and looked at her with a frown. “You don’t want to do that, honey. I’m the best. I get why you’re ticked at Greg, but, honestly, he didn’t have a choice.”
“He could have told me my name. He could have given me that much.”
“Maybe,” Chuck said. “But if he had, would you have been satisfied with that? Listen to Elaine. You need help. Serious help. And she’s right about being the best.”
Elaine’s head snapped toward Chuck. “Did you just compliment me?”
“Hell, no. I save compliments for two things. My mother’s cooking because I want more of it and sex because I want more of that, too. Telling Jane...Liza, I mean, that you’re a good attorney is a fact. You wouldn’t be part of the Tyler Group if you weren’t.”
“I’m taking it as a compliment, anyway. And reminding you that you’re talented enough that you could be working for the Tyler Group, too.”
“What and give up the squirrels?” Chuck shook his head, clearly exasperated. “That is so like you. First, I tell you it’s not a compliment but you can’t accept that because everything has to be your way. Second, you think it’s okay to tell me I’m wasting my talent on squirrels.”
“Because (a) you are wasting your talent on squirrels, and (b) my way more often than not is right.”
“Please,” Liza interjected. Their fighting was giving her a headache. “Thank you both. I’ll consider what you said, but I would really like to find someone who believes me. I understand why you all don’t, but I would rather be alone than have to look at another person who wonders if I’m just a talented actress.”
Elaine turned and studied her again. Liza turned her head away and stared out the window instead.
“I don’t think you’re an actress.”
Liza met her stare directly. “Thank you.”
“I do, however, think you know something about Hector D’Amato’s death.”
So did Liza. She knew she didn’t kill him. She trusted that much. But what if she’d somehow inadvertently caused his death?
Because as much as she didn’t want people looking at her and believing her to be an actress, she really didn’t want people thinking she was a murderer instead.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE SUN STARTING TO SET behind him, Greg stood at the end of the stone walkway and looked at where Eliza Dunning lived. The house seemed very normal. A ranch-style house, and probably the smallest one on the block of fairly large colonials, it should have stood out like a sore thumb, but there was a stately elegance to the brick house.
It looked solid, too. Like he could huff and puff and never blow it down.
Only he wasn’t the wolf. Greg never played the part of the wolf. He was the good guy in those stories. Or at least he used to be before he gave all that up and turned to a life of gambling instead.
Now that he’d given that up, too, he wasn’t sure what he was anymore. Neither hero, nor villain. Maybe interested observer?
That was as good a reason as any to be standing in front of Liza’s front door. He was merely curious about the woman who claimed to have no memory. A story that crazily enough was now even more credible after talking to Mark, who had dug up some interesting information about her.
Apparently, this wasn’t the first time Eliza Dunning had lost her memory.
He rang the doorbell and waited.
The door opened slowly, which meant she’d already identified who was on the other side of it. She had good reason to be cautious.
“What are you doing here?” Her suspicion was evident, but beyond that he sensed hurt. As though he’d disappointed her. Which was pretty much his specialty these days.
“I came to talk.”
“Not apologize?”
He looked down at his feet. “You hung up on me.”
“You didn’t tell me my name!”
Greg lifted his head. “Look, I know you’re upset with me but we are talking about murder. I was told by the sheriff not to tell you anything, so I didn’t.”
“I know what we’re talking about. I’m living it. Your part is done, isn’t it? I mean, the police hired you to consult and you did. So, like I said, what are you doing here?”
Curiosity. It had to be the only reason he was there. It couldn’t be because he wanted to help. Or offer her friendship. He’d purposefully made his world small and he wanted to keep it that way.
Since he didn’t think she would appreciate being the object of his curiosity, he decided to play his ace. “I have more information about your past. JoJo, who you spoke with yesterday, is a detective. She and her husband have their own firm. I hate to admit it, but Mark is a master when it comes to gathering information other people overlook.”
“Overlook?”
“Can’t find.”
She tilted her head. “You mean don’t have access to.”
Greg smiled. She was in the middle of a mental crisis, but it wasn’t impacting her acuity. “I don’t ask too many questions about how he comes across the information he does. He found quite a bit on you. You might want to hear about it unless you’ve remembered...”
A tight shake of her head told him all he needed to know. He imagined her walking through her front door, hoping it would trigger everything only to realize that it hadn’t. She would feel like a stranger standing in someone else’s space.
If she was telling the truth.
She
