A Justified Murder Read online

  “So what was your solution?”

  “I got Janet to tell me about her life.”

  “She doesn’t seem like someone who’s very interesting.”

  “Oh, but she is. She is fascinating. She has the oddest philosophy of life. She believes that other people make her do bad things.”

  “Lots of people believe that.”

  “But not like she does. She has no internal scale.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “If you murder someone, your punishment is worse than if you are, say, rude to a person, right? But not to Janet. A big transgression against her carries the same weight as something minor.”

  “Everyone is quirky.”

  “How do I explain this? Say you’re in the grocery store and a woman hurries forward and gets in front of you. What do you do?”

  “Give her a dirty look.”

  “But you don’t slash her tires, do you?”

  “Of course not.”

  “What about finding out who the woman is, then leaving notes in her car that are supposedly from other women to her husband? Or posting nasty comments from the husband about his boss so the boss can see them?”

  “That didn’t really happen, did it?”

  “Yes. Janet did all those things to a woman who pushed in front of her at the grocery.”

  “You can’t stay here with someone like that. You have to leave. Now.”

  “Not yet. I’m finding out too much to quit. I just have to be careful of what I ask her and how I say it. Above all, I have to be on her side and give her lots and lots of sympathy.”

  “Sympathy? For what?”

  “Janet lives in a world where she sees others as being out to get her. They want to hurt her. They think about her all the time and plot to cause her downfall.”

  “She certainly sees herself as important, doesn’t she?”

  “You have no idea! Empress of the World. The Center of the Universe.”

  “Mother! She is a horrible person.”

  “She is, actually.”

  “But you nearly live with her.”

  “I consider it research. Like Nellie Bly.”

  Lisa looked blank.

  “She was a nineteenth century reporter who did things like commit herself to a mental institution so she could write an exposé. I want to write a true crime novel about how an ordinary person can be the epitome of evil.”

  “Evil?”

  “Her parents very conveniently died before they could cut her out of their will.”

  Lisa looked at her mother. “You think Janet killed them?”

  “I don’t want to believe that, but sometimes I think she is capable of it.”

  “Mother! You have to get out of here. You can go back home with me. We can—”

  “No,” Sylvia said softly. “I can’t leave now because, well... The secret part is that Janet has a hold over me.”

  “You? You haven’t done a bad thing in your life. You—” Lisa paled. “But I have. I’ve done...” She didn’t want to say things out loud. Transporting drugs. Selling them. Back then, she did what she thought was necessary to pay for her habit. “Is Janet threatening you about me?”

  Sylvia didn’t directly answer her daughter’s question. “Something I learned a long time ago is that things happen for a reason. I was very lonely after your father died. Then this woman showed up and introduced herself. She told me I was the author of her favorite books and she’d worked hard to find me. She seemed quite proud that she’d been able to sleuth me out. She went to a conference and asked—” Sylvia waved her hand. “How she found me doesn’t matter. Janet said she was moving to Lachlan and she and I were going to become best friends, that we were going to start doing everything together.”

  Lisa gave a snort. “Didn’t her presumption put you off?”

  “Oh yes. I was quite firm in telling her that I wasn’t interested. I needed a friend but she wasn’t exactly my type.”

  “Understatement,” Lisa muttered. “Why didn’t she take the hint and leave you alone?”

  “But darling, empresses think they’re honoring a person with their presence. Truth is that I wavered between being amused and horrified by her—but the horror won out. As kindly as I could manage, I told her no.”

  “Then what?”

  “Janet is brilliant at finding out things about people. Like how she got past the so-called secrecy of my pen name. I don’t know how, but she found me. Anyway, she went away for a month and when she returned, she had evidence about...about...”

  “Me.” Lisa thought about who knew of what she’d done and how to find it out. A bit of research into the records of her roommates, a talk with their angry landlord, a police record or two, and a lot could be discovered. After a serious near bust, they’d dispersed, and Lisa got clean. But she knew Phil was living in LA. He always was a snitch. Give him a hundred bucks and he’d tell all. “She threatened you with me, didn’t she?”

  “Yes,” Sylvia said. “But it’s okay. In a way, she and I are good together.”

  “She bosses you around, tells you what to eat, what to wear.”

  “I know, but in return I listen to her. She can talk for hours about the awful things that people have done to her—and how she has repaid them. I write it all down. I have nearly a book’s worth now.”

  “What if she finds out what you’re writing?”

  Sylvia gave a little smile. “It’s all well hidden. Not a scrap of paper or anything on a computer. Only one tiny flash drive.”

  “How can anything be hidden? She’s everywhere.”

  “I did a bit of remodeling on this house and let’s just say that I have a place no one will easily find.”

  “You can’t—”

  Sylvia hugged her daughter. “I’ll tell you another secret, something I’ve been working on for a long time. As soon as your divorce is final, you and I are going to go away. Out of the country. We’re going to change our names, our identities. Your father and I did well when we sold the shop and my books make some money. When my crime novel comes out, I definitely don’t want to be where Janet can find us.”

  “But—”

  “It’s going to be okay. I have a friend here in Lachlan who is going to help us. She was my Realtor who sold me this house.” Sylvia paused. “Janet was furious when I bought it! I did it while she was out of town. She went away to do something dreadful to her ex-husband. That poor man! She never leaves him alone. He can’t escape her. That’s how I know that you and I can’t continue to live in this country. Especially not after the book comes out. But Tayla will help us. She’s had some tough times in her life so she understands.”

  “I don’t like this,” Lisa said. “Let’s leave now. Today.”

  “No, not yet. Your divorce has to be final. We can’t have my brother’s lawyers searching for us. In another few months, you and I will fly away and never return. We just need to choose a place. Italy? France? Maybe a country house in England.”

  “From the sound of all this maybe we should move to Afghanistan. A war zone might keep her away.”

  “It’s going to be fine. You’ll see. I’ve been planning this for a long time. Let’s go to England and marry you off to a duke.”

  “I’d rather have a blacksmith. I love those arms.”

  Sylvia laughed. “Come on, let’s go eat. I’m starving.”

  “How about two whole wheat pancakes and half a cup of coffee?”

  Sylvia groaned. “Wherever we end up, let’s stop in Paris and eat our weight in pastries.”

  “Agreed,” Lisa said.

  With arms linked, they went to the kitchen.

  Twenty

  LISA ABRUPTLY STOPPED her story and looked at the others. “The next day I flew home and on the next, I turned myself in to the police.”