Never Lie

by Freida McFadden

I had to do it one by one. I took care of Megan first, on the porch, because I didn’t want to draw that one out. I told her I needed to talk to her about something outside, and then the second we were in the woods, I took the knife out of my jacket and slashed her throat. Cody was next. I did it right in the bed where we were sleeping. There was a moment after I stabbed him three times, just before he lost consciousness, when I whispered in his ear, That’s what you get for messing around behind my back.

She had been my best friend since we were five years old. How could she do it to me? I let her die slowly, bleeding all over the floor while she begged for help.

When her grandmother died from a heart attack last year, she cried very convincing tears during our session, but she didn’t mention that she had been the one responsible for helping Grammy with her heart medications—I

When I asked Patricia about it during her next session, she crossed her right leg over her left and told me how terrible she felt that she might have gotten her grandmother’s medications mixed up.

He wants nothing to do with me anymore. Apparently, asking him to commit murder was a deal breaker.

“Goodbye, Edward,”

I didn’t know for sure that Dr. Hale was going to kill Edward Jamison. When somebody forces you to drug a guy, bind his wrists and ankles, and stick a bag over his head, you know they’re not planning anything good. But I thought… well, maybe she just wanted to throw a scare into the guy.

The ironic thing is I went to Dr. Hale complaining about sleep problems, but that got a lot worse after what she made me do for her. Yes, I had already killed several people, but I did it on my own terms. I had no idea what she did to Edward Jamison, and that was what drove me crazy. I didn’t even know where the body was. She had already screwed me over once. I didn’t trust her. I lay awake at night, obsessing over Dr. Adrienne Hale. I finally couldn’t take it anymore.

I got away with it. I killed a man, he’s lying under the floorboards in my home, and nobody knows it but me. Well, Patricia likely knows I killed him but she doesn’t know where the body is.

“I miss you.” A lump rises in my throat. “You do?” “I really do.” He stands up and leans against the desk. “A lot. You have no idea…”

“And… I miss you too. A lot.” His shoulders sag. “I’m so glad to hear that. Honestly, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you the last few months. I tried—believe me, I tried. But it’s no use. I can’t even sleep at night because I keep tossing and turning, thinking about how I blew it with the best woman I ever met.”

“The truth is, I knew you were going to be working today. Gloria told me. I asked her what days you would be in this week before I planned my schedule.” That’s his confession—that he was trying to see me.

But then I see a dark figure leaning against the car—one I haven’t seen in four months and hoped to never see again. A figure with long, shapely legs and silky blond hair that gleams in the moonlight. It’s Patricia Lawton. I forgot she drove the same kind of car as my former agent did.

“Look.” I pause one more minute to address her. That’s all she gets—I can’t babysit this girl any longer. “The only people who know about this are the two of us. All we have to do is keep the secret.” Patricia’s eyes don’t blink once as she stares into mine. “My mother always says the only way two people can keep a secret,” she says, “is if one of them is dead.”

I should never have gotten Patricia involved in this. I knew exactly how dangerous she was. And now I am going to pay the price. Please forgive me, Luke…

Adrienne Hale is hardly the first person I have killed. Not even close.

For all her pompous attitude, Adrienne went down easy. Not as easy as Grammy, of course, but my goodness, even Whitney put up more of a struggle—that girl fought like a banshee. I buried Adrienne’s body just off a deserted dirt road, about a two-hour drive away from here—somewhere nobody will ever find her. I was smarter than her about that. I wouldn’t put a dead body in my own home, for God’s sake.

After taking care of the Dr. Hale problem, I moved on with my life. I enjoyed life in the big city and my new job. I met Ethan, who knew nothing about my past, and we got married. I was happy.

And then there’s Luke Strauss. The boyfriend, who I didn’t know was squatting in this house. I’m the only one who knows for sure he wasn’t the one who killed Dr. Hale. He probably really did love her. He knows about the dead body. And he knows it isn’t Adrienne Hale’s body. Luke is a smart guy. I have to plan my next move very carefully.

Ethan has no idea that his wife is responsible for the dead body in the office. It looks like we’re not getting out of here tonight, but at least we’ll be able to go first thing in the morning. Thankfully, I’ve destroyed the worst of the tapes. As for the dead body, I’m not sure what to do about it yet. But I have a feeling the solution will come to me. It usually does.

I stand there in the shadows, not letting on that I’m watching him. But I see everything. I see him pick up an object from the coffee table and toss it into the fire. Then another. And another.

already know what he burned in the fire. It’s cassette tapes. Several dozen of them. All emblazoned with the initials GW. GW was a patient of Dr. Hale’s for several years. She nursed paranoid delusions that somebody was trying to kill her, including her own son. GW. Gail Wiley. Ethan’s mother.

And second, something about him reminded me of myself. He went after what he wanted. Even if he had to do something other people would say was unthinkable. Okay, I was more than a little obsessed with Ethan. Let’s just say that our coincidental meeting wasn’t such a coincidence. More like it was carefully engineered by yours truly.

“You listened to my mother’s tapes, didn’t you?” “Yes. Some of them.” “Oh God.” He tugs at the short strands of his golden hair. “I know what she said on those tapes. But I didn’t—” “Don’t lie.” He stands there for a moment. The only sounds in the room are the fire crackling and his inhale and exhale. “Fine,” he says. “I killed her.”

“I think that guy Luke is going to be a big problem. He knows way too much.” My heart flutters. “Yes. Yes. I was thinking the same thing.” “And also…” He is the one who reaches for my hand this time. “I’m glad I’m here to help you. We can take care of this problem the right way. Together.”

“You coming, Tricia?” “Yes. Just a moment.”

I’m a different person now than the girl on the tape. But in other ways, I haven’t changed at all.

For a moment, I stand there and watch it burn. Then I join my husband.

We live a charmed life here. We have an angelic little daughter. Ethan can work from home most days and avoid a commute into the city. All we had to do to get here was knock off a few people.

We had a reason to keep Judy from discovering any of the hidden compartments and turning the house back into a crime scene. We especially had a reason to keep her out of the garden.

I told Ethan that after a dead body is buried in the ground, plant growth is suppressed for about a year, but then it comes back even better than before. And it’s not like somebody was going to look at that patch of soil where nothing could grow and know that Luke Strauss’s body was buried underneath. Digging his grave was harder than killing him. Ethan took care of both counts—I’d never found him sexier.

I saw the resigned look in his eyes seconds before Ethan slashed his throat. And now that he’s gone, he’s reunited with his precious Adrienne, if you believe in such things.

Thankfully, two years later, the grass has grown back where we buried him. His body will act as fertilizer for years to come. As will the body of...

If somebody came around and started asking questions, I’m not sure how he would hold up. Hopefully, that won’t ever happen. But if it does, I’m prepared to take care of the situation. After all, my mother always said that the only way two people can keep a secret is if one of them is dead.