The Liar

“All right, that’ll do. For now.” Forrest gripped Griff’s shoulder. “We don’t want him getting off on some technicality, do we? Step back now.”

“Why?” Shelby hadn’t moved, not at the words, not at the vicious look Arlo had given her when he said them, not at the sudden violence. “Why would you want to hurt me? I’ve never done anything to you.”

“Always thought you were too good for me, looking down your nose and turning your back to me. Ran off with the first rich guy you could rope in, didn’t you? Heard that didn’t work out so well.”

“You’d’ve hurt me because I wouldn’t go out with you back in high school? I’ve got a child. I’ve got a little girl, and I’m her only parent now. You’d have risked making my baby an orphan because I wouldn’t go out with you?”

“Wasn’t going to make nobody no orphan. Just going to scare you, is all. I was only going to teach you a lesson, put a scare into you. Wasn’t my idea, anyway.”

“Whose idea was it, Arlo?”

For the first time a hint of canniness came into Arlo’s eyes. He shifted them from Forrest, back to Shelby, back to Forrest. “I got things I could say, but I want that immunization thing. I don’t do no twenty years for what wasn’t my idea.”

“You give me a name, I’ll consider that. You don’t, I’m going to push for twenty-five. That’s my sister, you idiot fuck. One thing you should know about right enough, is family. You tell me who started this ball rolling, or I’ll make sure you go down for all of it, and hard.”

“I gotta have some guarantee—”

“You get nothing.”

“He’ll get more than nothing,” Griff said. “I’ll find a way to get to you. I’ll find a way. And when I do, you’ll wish you’d had a chance to do twenty years.”

“I never touched her, did I? Never laid a goddamn hand on her. Just going to scare her some anyway. She gave me a thousand dollars, said she’d give me a thousand more after I gave you a good scare, taught you a good lesson. Just going to give you a nudge off the road, is all, but you passed me going the other way. By the time I got turned around and going, I seen you head down to the old Tripplehorn place.”

“You followed me.”

“I had to wait, figured, fine, I’d teach you that lesson you had coming when you drove out again. Better when it was dark, right? But then he drives out behind you and I couldn’t get to you. Didn’t see why I should’ve wasted my whole night for nothing. Figured pushing him off would give you a scare.

“Northern boys, they’re good enough for you, looks like. You jumped right in the sack with this one, but you never would give me so much as a long look. I seen him take your clothes off.”

“You were watching.” Too angry to be sickened, Shelby stepped closer. She knew, she knew just who’d paid him. “Did Melody Bunker tell you to spy on me, too?”

“She gave me a thousand dollars, said I’d get another. Didn’t tell me how to go about it, just to get it done. Miss High-and-Mighty’s real peeved at you, real peeved. She come right to my trailer in the holler, give me cash money. That’s how peeved she is you got her kicked out of the beauty salon.”

“I hope you got a good look, Arlo, and you take that with you to Bledsoe County and the cell you’ll be occupying there. And when you do, you think about this, Arlo. I never thought along the lines of being too good for you. I just didn’t like you.”

She turned, started out. Forrest signaled for Griff to go with her.

“Hold on, Red.”

“I can’t hold on. I can barely breathe. I swear, if you hadn’t rapped his head I’d have done it myself. He went after you because he couldn’t get to me quick enough. He could’ve killed you.”

“He didn’t.”

“If you hadn’t followed me home—”

“I did.” He took her by the shoulders. He didn’t want the what-ifs playing in her mind, or his, not then and there. “He’s locked up, Shelby. He’ll stay that way.”

“All this because Melody got her pride handed to her, and got it handed to her because she earned it. She knows full well what he might’ve done. She gave him money and an excuse to do it.”

“I’d lay odds before the morning’s up, she’s in a cell right along with him.”

“Those are good odds,” Forrest said as he came out. “Just hold on a minute. Nobby, you think you could sit with that moron Arlo for a bit? I got him writing it all out.”

“Sure can. He confess?”

“And then some. Sheriff, I need to run this by you, and then we’re going to need a warrant. That’s going to be pretty sticky as we’re going to need it for Melody Bunker, for soliciting a crime, conspiracy to do bodily harm.”

“Well, hell, Forrest.” On a long, windy sigh, Hardigan rubbed the back of his neck. “Are you damn sure on it?”

“I’ll tell you how Arlo says it went.”

“He wasn’t lying,” Griff put in. “He didn’t pull her name out of his ass. She gave him money for it, and he probably didn’t have a chance to spend it yet.”

“We’ll be going out to his trailer,” Forrest began, then glanced around. “Where’s Shelby?”

“She . . . she was right here. Oh hell. Oh hell no.”