The Heart of Lies

chapter 11



Emily showed up at Maggie’s little house around five, anxious to find something she could be sure had Lucas’s fingerprints on it. Maggie lived in a cottage-style house just a few blocks from Emily in the charming, older section of Paradise Valley. It was pretty as a postcard with painted white clapboard and black shutters, set off by a deep red arched-top front door.

The front yard was profuse with flowers and blooming rosebushes, bordered with a white picket fence. It was the kind of home Maggie grew up dreaming of back in her dirt-floor shack in Texas.

“Come in, Em,” Maggie squealed, giving her friend a warm hug. “I can’t wait to show you the invitations I’ve picked out. I want you to tell me which one you think is prettiest.”

“Okay.”

Maggie took Emily’s hand and dragged her to the cozy dining room. The table was covered with magazines and catalogs lying open with pads of colorful sticky notes strewn amongst them. Maggie excitedly pointed out which one was which, and how she had put bright yellow sticky notes on the items she liked.

“I don’t think we can do all of this within the next two weeks, Maggs,” Emily said.

“I know, but it’s a nice idea, isn’t it? My first weddin’ was in front of a Justice of the Peace in Hollywood, so I was hopin’ this one would be magical and romantic, with a big white weddin’ dress—the whole shebang.” Maggie’s big blue eyes moistened and her lips thinned as she appeared to be fighting off the disappointment.

“We’ll see what we can do,” Emily assured her, patting her hand. “Let’s make some plans. Guest list first so we can get the invitations out right away, then we’ll set a time to go shopping this week for everything else.”

“I knew I could count on you, Em.” Maggie’s expression brightened.

Emily took on a serious tone. “You know you can always count on me, Maggie, but I have to ask you…” She paused, trying to find the best way to say what was in her heart.

“What is it?” Maggie’s countenance grew serious as well.

“Are you certain you’re making the right decision? Marrying Lucas before you have a chance to truly get to know him?”

“What are you sayin’? You don’t like him?”

“I’m saying Isabel and I—”

“Y’all have been discussin’ me and Lucas?” Maggie spoke as if she felt betrayed.

“Listen to me, Maggie. Isabel and I are just concerned. We want nothing more than happiness for you, but we want to make sure you’re doing the right thing.” Emily could see she had upset Maggie, but this was too important to just drop it. “How much do you really know about him? About his background? Who he was before you met him?”

“We’ve talked for hours and hours over the past few months. He’s never given me any reason to doubt what he’s told me—or that he loves me.”

“He may not be who you think he is.”

“Like Evan?” Maggie asked pointedly. “Just because you’re findin’ out Evan wasn’t who he said he was doesn’t mean every man is like that.”

“It has nothing to do with Evan,” Emily snapped back, hoping she was right. Camille had also accused her of projecting her suspicions of Evan onto Lucas, and she had vehemently denied it. Could they be right?

“Are you sure?” Maggie questioned.

“Did you know Lucas had an argument with Sully at the party last night?” Emily asked, arching an eyebrow, trying to direct the discussion away from Evan.

“No. I did notice Sully left without sayin’ good-bye, but Lucas told me there was some city emergency he had to deal with.”

“Did you know he had a fight with your son, too?”

“With Josh? If that’s true, why didn’t Josh say anythin’ to me about it?

“Where is Josh? Let’s ask him,” Emily posed.

“Uh, I don’t know. We didn’t really talk last night and he’s been gone all day. I assume he’s out with his buddies, doin’ something with them while he’s home.

“Why don’t I give him a call?” Emily pulled her phone out of her purse.

“You don’t need to do that,” Maggie protested.

Emily raised a hand to shush Maggie.

“Josh, this is Emily. I’m at your mom’s and we were wondering if you’d be home for supper?” Emily met Maggie’s gaze as she talked.

“No, sorry. I should have let her know, I guess. Is she okay?” he asked.

“Fine. We’re going over some final details for the wedding. Why do you ask?”

“So she’s still going through with it.” Josh spat.

Why wouldn’t she? What did he know? Emily heard the tension in his voice and sensed he was not pleased with the prospect of this marriage either. Her eyes lowered as she tried to get a read on him.

“I’m headed over to Lucas’s office. There’s something we need to hash out.”

“Josh, is there something you want to get off your chest?” Emily asked, hoping to snag a clue what this conflict between Josh and Lucas was about. She glanced over at Maggie, whose eyes were riveted on Emily’s side of the conversation.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” he snarled.

“But, Josh—”

“Not now,” he barked. “After I have it out with Lucas, I’ll come home and tell my mom everything. I want you to be there, too, Em. She’s going to need you.” The line went dead.

“What did he say?” Maggie wrapped her arms around herself.

“He said he was going to have a talk with Lucas, then he’d be home.”

“A talk? What does that mean?” Maggie pressed.

Emily shrugged her shoulders. “He said he’d be home afterward and explain. So let’s give him the chance to do that, okay?” She tried to downplay it and not expose to Maggie the anger she’d heard in Josh’s voice.

“Okay,” Maggie reluctantly agreed.

“Didn’t you say we’d be having dinner together, too? I’m getting kind of hungry,” Emily said, changing the subject.

~*~

Josh pulled his car into the parking lot next to the historic Graystone Building and entered the main lobby. He meandered down the dimly-lit hallway and found the door to the suite of offices open. The reception area where Fiona would sit was dark, but light was streaming out of the partly open door to the next office. Male voices were coming from behind the door.

Josh crept nearer to see if he could overhear the conversation. He recognized Lucas’s voice right away, then he realized who the other man was—his Uncle Sully.

“I need that hundred thousand dollars back, Lucas!” Sully demanded.

“I already told you that I would give it back to you in two weeks. You hold up your end of the bargain and I’ll hold up mine.”

What bargain? Josh couldn’t believe his uncle was in cahoots with this scumbag. He leaned in a little closer.

“I need it now,” he protested, “not in two weeks. That could be too late. I’ll be ruined!”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Mayor. You’ll live.”

Josh heard the coldness in Lucas’s voice. His muscles clenched and his fists curled into a tight ball at what he’d heard.

“I can’t let you do this to us,” Sully cried out in a shaky voice. “When everyone finds out this Whitetail Resort is a scam, we’ll all be arrested. Who’ll take care of my wife if I’m in prison? And what about Maggie? She’ll be ruined, too.”

“Hey, put that gun away!” Lucas hollered.

A gun? Josh took a small step forward and clanked into a metal waste basket. Had they heard him? Footsteps were coming toward the door, so he crouched down behind a file cabinet in time to see his uncle fly out of the room and into the main hallway. The sound of a heavy door slamming in the distance echoed through the office and he knew his uncle was gone.

He stood and stretched to his full height of over six feet tall and faced the door to Lucas’s office. Josh’s athletic body was vibrating with pure adrenaline. He couldn’t comprehend all of what was happening between Lucas and Sully, but he did understand that Lucas was planning to ruin his family, including his mother, and he wasn’t going to let him get away with it. He stormed into Lucas’s office to give him the beating of his life.

Lucas startled, likely expecting it was Sully returning. His eyes grew big when Josh reached out and grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him to his feet. Lucas was a couple of inches taller than Josh, but he was not as young or physically toned.

Lucas threw the first punch, but Josh pummeled back until Lucas crumpled limp and bloodied on the floor. The man had gotten a few good punches in himself, but he was no match for the Navy-trained sailor.

“Get up!” Josh roared, standing over his nemesis, but Lucas did not move. Josh reached down and felt for Lucas’s carotid artery, afraid he had beaten the man to death.

A female voice singing in the distance cut the silence of the empty building. Josh froze and turned an ear toward the sound. Each note brought the voice closer.

He slinked out of the darkened office and stuck his head into the hall. He could hear footsteps coming down the staircase. He gingerly sprinted down the dim hallway, ducked beneath the staircase, and waited for the woman to pass.

He watched as Fiona adjusted the earphones on her iPod as she walked into the almost dark office, then he made his escape out the front door.