Pretty Girls: A Novel Read online

  “Nembutal and Ambien with a vodka back.”

  “That’s not funny.” Lydia snatched away the glass of wine. She looked for somewhere to put it in the stark entryway and settled on the floor. “Why did you ask me that about Paul?”

  Claire kept the answer to herself.

  “Was he cheating on you?”

  Claire hadn’t framed the optics through that lens. Was it cheating to rape someone? Because, to be clear, that’s the direction in which all the dominos were falling. If Paul had truly tried to rape Lydia, then he had probably tried and succeeded with someone else, and if he had gotten away with it once, then he had probably tried again.

  And hired a private detective to follow them around for the rest of their lives so that he could still exert control over them from his lair over the garage.

  But was that cheating? Claire knew from her training at the crisis center that rape was about power. Paul certainly liked controlling things. So, was raping women the equivalent of turning all the cans in the pantry label-out or loading the dishwasher with mechanical precision?

  “Claire?” Lydia snapped her fingers very loudly. “Look at me.”

  Claire tried her best to look at her sister. She’d always thought that Lydia was the prettiest of all of them. Her face was fuller, but she’d aged more gracefully than Claire would’ve thought. She had laugh lines around her eyes. She had a beautiful, accomplished daughter. She had a boyfriend who was a recovering heroin addict who listened to talk radio while he worked on an old truck in his driveway.

  Why did Paul need to know that? Why did he need to know anything about Lydia at all? Was it stalking if you hired someone else to do it? And wasn’t watching someone without their knowledge another form of rape?

  Lydia asked, “Claire, what did you take?” Her voice softened. She rubbed Claire’s arms. “Sweetpea, tell me what you took.”

  “Valium.” Claire suddenly wanted to cry. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had called her Sweetpea. “Some Percocet.”

  “How many?”

  Claire shook her head because it didn’t matter. None of this mattered. “We had a cat named Mr. Sandwich.”

  Lydia was understandably perplexed. “Okay.”

  “We called him Hammy, like ham in a sandwich. He was always between us. On the couch. In the bed. He only purred when we were both petting him.”

  Lydia tilted her head to the side like she was trying to understand a crazy person.

  “Cats know people.” Claire was sure her sister understood this. They had grown up surrounded by animals. None of them could walk through a parking lot without attracting a stray. “If Paul had been a bad person, Hammy would’ve known.” Claire knew she was offering a weak defense, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Isn’t that what you hear, that bad people hate animals?”

  Lydia shook her head in confusion. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Claire. Hitler loved dogs.”

  “Reductio ad Hitlerum.” Claire couldn’t stop quoting Paul. “It’s when you compare someone to Hitler to win an argument.”

  “Are we arguing?”

  “Tell me what happened between you and Paul.”

  Lydia let out that heavy sigh again. “Why?”

  “Because I’ve never heard it before.”

  “You wouldn’t let me tell you before. You refused to listen.”

  “I’m listening now.”

  Lydia glanced around the foyer, making the point that Claire had barely invited her past the front door. What her sister didn’t understand was that Claire could not bear the thought of seeing the cold, soulless house through Lydia’s eyes.

  “Please,” Claire begged. “Please, Pepper. Tell me.”

  She threw up her hands, as if to dismiss this entire exercise as not worth her time. Still, Lydia said, “We were in his car. The Miata. He put his hand on my knee. I slapped it away.”

  Claire realized she was holding her breath. “That was it?”

  “You really think that’s it?” Lydia sounded angry. Claire supposed she had every right to be. “He kept driving, and I thought, Okay, we’re just going to ignore that my sister’s loser boyfriend put his hand on my knee. But then he took a turn onto a road I didn’t know, and we were suddenly in the woods.” Lydia’s voice had gone soft. Instead of looking at Claire, she was staring over her shoulder. “He pulled over. He turned off the engine. I asked him what was going on, and he punched me in the face.”

  Claire felt her own fists clench. Paul had never hit anyone in his life. Even in the alley when he was fighting the Snake Man, Paul hadn’t managed to land a punch.

  Lydia said, “I was dazed. He started to climb on top of me. I tried to fight back. He punched me again, but I turned my head.” She turned her head slightly, an actor trying to convince the audience. “I reached for the door handle. I don’t know how I managed to get it open. I fell out of the car. He was on top of me. I brought up my knee.” She paused, and Claire remembered a self-defense class she had taken. The instructor had drilled it into them that you couldn’t count on disabling a man by kneeing him in the groin because it was more likely you would miss the mark and piss him off even more.

  Lydia continued, “I started running. I got about twenty, maybe thirty feet away before he tackled me. I fell flat on my face. And he got on top of me.” She looked down at the floor. Claire couldn’t help but wonder if she was doing it to look more vulnerable. “I couldn’t breathe. He was crushing me. I could feel my ribs bending like they were going to break.” She put her hand to her ribs. “And he kept saying, ‘Tell me you want this.’”

  Claire felt her heart stop mid-beat.

  “I still have nightmares about the way he said it—whispering, like it was sexy, when it was just so fucking creepy.” Lydia shuddered. “Sometimes, I’ll fall asleep on my stomach, and I’ll hear his voice in my ear and …”

  Claire opened her mouth so that she could breathe. She could almost feel the flex in her own ribs from when Paul had pressed her into the brick wall. He had whispered, Tell me you want this, into Claire’s ear. She’d thought it was silly at the time. Paul had never talked to her like that before, but he hadn’t let up until Claire had said the exact words back to him.

  She asked Lydia, “What did you do next?”

  Lydia gave a half-shrug. “I didn’t have a choice. I told him that I wanted it. He ripped down my pants. I still have scars on my leg where his nails gouged the skin.”

  Claire put her hand on her own leg where Paul had scraped away the skin. “And then?”

  “He was undoing his belt buckle. I heard whistling, like really loud, whistling. It was a couple of guys. They were walking in the woods and they thought we were making out. I started screaming for my life. Paul jumped up. He ran back toward the car. One of the guys chased after him and the other helped me up. They wanted to call the police, but I told them no.”

  “Why?”

  “I’d just gotten bailed out of jail for the billionth time. Paul was an upstanding grad student with two jobs. Who would you believe?”

  She knew whom Claire had believed. “The two guys—”

  “Were gay men looking for a hook-up in a South Alabama forest. The cops would’ve known that the minute they opened their mouths.” She shook her head at the futility of it all. “And I didn’t really care about me at that point. My only concern was getting him away from you.”

  Claire put her hand to her forehead. She felt feverish. They were still standing in the foyer. She should’ve invited Lydia in. She should’ve taken her to her office and sat with her. “Do you want a drink?”

  “I told you, I’m in recovery.”

  Claire knew that. Paul’s detectives had sat in on Lydia’s meetings and recorded her every word. “I need a drink.” Claire found her wine glass on the floor. She swallowed the dregs in one go. She closed her eyes and waited. There was no relief.

  Lydia asked, “Do you have a problem with drugs and alcohol?”

  Clair
e struggled to return the glass to the floor. “Yes. The problem is that I don’t like them very much.”

  Lydia opened her mouth to respond, but light filled the entryway as a car came up the driveway. “Who’s here?”

  Claire turned on the video keypad by the door. They watched the screen as a black Crown Victoria parked at the mouth of the front walkway.

  “Why is a huckleberry here?” Lydia sounded panicked. “Claire?”

  Claire was grappling with her own panic. She was more worried about which huckleberry it was. Mayhew come to make sure she hadn’t made copies of the movies? Nolan with his inappropriate remarks and creepy looks and maddening questions that gave no explanation as to why he was here in the first place? Or was it her parole officer? He had warned Claire that he could turn up and drug-test her without notice.

  She told Lydia, “I’m on parole. I can’t have drugs in my system.” Claire’s thoughts raced against the Valium. She remembered another detail from Paul’s files. Back when she was using, Lydia had pled guilty to a felony drug charge in order to avoid a prison sentence. Claire tried to push her down the hallway. “Pepper, move! I’m not allowed to associate with felons. They could take me back to jail.”

  Lydia didn’t move. She was trapped in place. Her mouth worked silently, as if there were too many questions running through her brain to pin down just one. Finally, she said, “Turn down the lights.”

  Claire didn’t know what else to do. She pressed the ambient button on the keypad. All of the lights on the ground floor dimmed, which would hopefully hide the state of her pupils. They both looked at the video screen, their faces inches apart. Lydia’s panicked breathing matched Claire’s. A man got out of the car. He was tall and solidly built. His brown hair was neatly parted on the side.

  “Fuck,” Claire groaned, because her brain wasn’t sharp enough right now to deal with Fred Nolan. “It’s the FBI.”

  “What?” Lydia’s voice almost squeaked with fear.

  “Fred Nolan.” Claire’s skin crawled at the sound of his name. “He’s an asshole special agent from the downtown office.”

  “What?” Lydia looked terrified. “Did you commit a federal crime?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe.” There wasn’t enough time to get into it. Claire switched the video screen to the front-door camera. The image showed the top of Nolan’s head as he climbed the steps.

  “Listen to me.” Lydia kept her voice low. “Legally, you don’t have to answer any of his questions. You don’t have to leave with him unless he arrests you, and if he does arrest you, don’t say a Goddamn word. Do you understand me, Claire? None of your bullshit jokes or funny asides. Just keep your fucking mouth shut.”

  “Okay.” Claire could feel her mind clearing, probably from the rush of adrenalin coursing through her body.

  They both looked at the front door and waited.

  Nolan’s shadow loomed large behind the frosted glass. He reached down and pressed the doorbell.

  They both flinched at the sound.

  Lydia indicated that Claire should stay silent. She was making Nolan wait, which was probably a good idea. At the very least, Claire could take the time to get her breathing under control.

  Nolan pressed the doorbell again.

  Lydia lifted her feet and made a walking sound. She opened the door a crack and stuck out her head. Claire could see her on the video screen. She had to look up at Nolan because he was so tall.

  “Good evening, ma’am.” Nolan tipped an imaginary hat. “I’m here to speak to the lady of the house.”

  Lydia’s voice still sounded squeaky and afraid. “She’s sleeping.”

  “She’s not standing behind you?” Nolan pressed his hand against the door until Lydia had to open it or fall over. He smiled at Claire. The bruise around his eye had started to yellow. “Funny thing about frosted glass—doesn’t really hide anything.”

  Lydia asked, “What do you want?”

  “That’s a loaded question.” Nolan kept his hand on the door so Lydia couldn’t close it. He looked up at the night sky. There was no shelter over the front porch. Paul had said it would ruin the line of the house.

  Nolan said, “Looks like the rain’s passing.”

  Claire and Lydia didn’t respond.

  “Me, I like the rain.” Nolan stepped inside the house. He glanced around the entryway. “Great time to sit back and read a book. Or watch a movie. You like movies?”

  Claire tried to swallow. Why was he talking about movies? Had he spoken with Mayhew? Was there a tracker on the computers? Claire had used Paul’s laptop to access the wi-fi. Had Nolan monitored all of her activity?

  “Mrs. Scott?”

  Claire managed to take a shallow breath. She forced herself not to ask him point-blank if he was here to arrest her.

  “That your truck out there?”

  Lydia stiffened. Nolan was talking to her now.

  He held out his hand. He didn’t have to reach far. He was standing so close to Lydia that he barely had to bend his elbow. “We haven’t been introduced. Agent Fred Nolan, FBI.”

  Lydia didn’t shake the offered hand.

  “I could get your parole officer over here.” He was looking at Claire again. “Setting aside that knowingly and willfully lying or materially misleading a federal agent is punishable by five years in prison, you’re technically not allowed to ignore your PO’s questions. Terms of your parole. No right to remain silent.” He leaned forward and studied Claire’s eyes. “No right to get stoned.”

  Lydia said, “My name is Mindy Parker. The truck is a loaner from my mechanic. I’m a friend of Claire’s.”

  Nolan gave Lydia a careful once-over, because Lydia didn’t look like one of Claire’s friends. Her jeans were more spandex than denim. Her black T-shirt had a bleach stain at the hem and her gray cardigan was raveled at the edges as if an animal had chewed on it. She didn’t even look like the housekeeper of one of Claire’s friends.

  “Mindy Parker.” Nolan made a great show of pulling out a spiral-bound notebook and pen. He wrote down Lydia’s fake name. “Trust but verify. Isn’t that what Reagan said?”

  “Why are you here?” Lydia demanded. “It’s almost midnight. Claire’s husband just died. She wants to be left in peace.”

  “Still wearing her funeral clothes.” Nolan let his eyes travel up and down Claire’s body. “Not that you don’t look great in them.”

  Claire smiled reflexively, because that’s what she always did when she was complimented.

  Nolan said, “I’m wondering, Mrs. Scott, if your husband’s business partner has been in touch?”

  Claire’s mouth went dry as salt.

  “Mrs. Scott? Has Mr. Quinn been in touch?”

  Claire forced herself to answer. “He was at the funeral.”

  “Yeah, I saw. Nice of him to be there, considering.” He pitched up his voice in a bad imitation of Claire. “‘Considering what, Agent Nolan?’ No, please, call me Fred. Do you mind if I call you Claire? ‘No, not at all, Fred.’”

  Claire made her expression as hard as she could.

  Nolan said, “I’m assuming you knew your husband was embezzling money from the company?”

  Claire felt her mouth open in surprise. She had to repeat Nolan’s words back in her head before she could divine their meaning. Even then, she couldn’t believe what the man was saying. Paul was mind-numbingly fair with money. She’d once suffered through a thirty-minute round trip when he’d realized a cashier at a country store had given him too much change.

  She told Nolan, “You’re lying.”

  “Am I?”

  Claire wanted to slap his smug face. This was some kind of trick. Nolan was working with Adam and Mayhew, or he was working on his own, and all of it had something to do with those wretched movies. “Whatever game you’re playing, it’s not working.”

  “Ask Adam Quinn if you don’t believe me.” Nolan waited, as if Claire would run to the telephone. “He’s the one who called in the feds. One
of the company accountants found a three-million-dollar wire into a shell company called Little Ham Holdings.”

  Claire clenched her jaw shut so she wouldn’t scream. Little Ham had been another one of their nicknames for Mr. Sandwich.

  Nolan said to Lydia, “That’s a lot of money, right? Three mill? People like you and me, we could retire on that.”

  Claire’s knees felt weak. Her legs were shaking. She had to get Nolan out of here before she had some sort of nervous breakdown. “I want you to leave.”

  “I want my wife to stop fucking my neighbor.” Nolan chuckled as if they were all in on the joke. “You know, Claire, the funny thing is that kind of dough is a drop in the bucket for a guy like your husband.” He told Lydia, “Paul’s worth twenty-eight million on paper. Or was worth that much. How much is the insurance policy you have on him?” This question was for Claire, but she didn’t answer because she had no idea. “Another twenty million,” Nolan provided. “Which means you’re worth almost fifty million bucks now, Widow Scott.” He paused to let the information sink in, but Claire was past the point at which she could make sense of anything.

  Nolan said, “It was nice of Adam Quinn to settle out of court instead of letting me toss your husband into the federal pen.” He gave Claire a lecherous look. “I guess he found his own way to get your husband back.”

  The implied insult knocked her out of her stupor. “What gives you the—”

  “Shut up, Claire.” Lydia stood directly in front of her. She told Nolan, “You need to leave.”

  Nolan smiled his crocodile smile. “Do I?”

  “Are you here to arrest her?”

  “Should I be?”

  “Number one, back the fuck away from me.”

  Nolan took a very deliberate step back. “I can’t wait to hear what number two is.”

  “It’s this, asshole: If you want to interrogate her, then call her lawyer to set it up.”

  Nolan smiled like a gargoyle. “You know what, Mindy Parker? Now that I’m looking at you, I’m thinking you look a lot like Claire. It’s almost like you two gals could be sisters.”

  Lydia didn’t let him get to her. “Get the fuck out.”