Just Be True To Me

A shirt floated to the ground.

She froze as he patted the ground.

“Mia please call me back. We really need to talk. I was thinking about what you said, about me not trusting you. You were right. I should have told you everything. I’m ready to do that now. I’ll see you when I get back. I hope you’re being safe and productive.”

The top of his face remained hidden as he bent all the way down. Tamara released her breath and sat on her butt, letting her feet flop out of the sides after she straightened her legs. She yanked them back in as Clifford walked past the opening. She counted to twenty before she peeked. She waited a minute after he paid for the shirt before sneaking out.

***

Janet smiled immediately after seeing the blue flannel that Clifford had bought. “I like that look on you.”

“I feel like a cowboy.”

“You’d be the handsomest cowboy in all the land.” She pinched his cheeks. “As much as I hate it, you look just like him.”

“I hate it just as much as you do.” He popped a fry into his mouth. “Maybe even more.”

She grabbed his hand. “Do you want to talk about it? Enough time has passed.”

“Don’t need to talk about it. I let it go. I’ve moved on.” He declined having spoken to someone. “I figured it out on my own. I know I was justified in my actions, so there’s really no need to even think about it anymore.”

Recognizing his frustration, she patted his hand and picked a fry from the plate. “Maybe some other time.”

“So” —he took a huge bite from his burger— “tell me about the guy I have to beat up.”

“As soon as you tell me about the girlfriend that you think isn’t your girlfriend.”

***

Tamara rubbed her arms she waited for Mia to open the door. “What took you so long? Damn.”

“I was on the toilet.” Mia raised an eyebrow after she leaned away from her hug. “I washed my hands.” She gave Tamara a hearty slap on the butt as they embraced. “Did you have fun in Hartford?”

“I wasn’t actually in Hartford. I don’t even remember what the actual city is called. And it was alright,” she said. “Glad to be back home. I never knew how much of a city girl I am. Give me the smog, high rent and traffic any day.”

Mia sat next to her and rubbed her hands together while she bit her lip. “What’d you find?” She became worried as Tamara’s mood changed. “That bad, huh?”

“It’s not what you think.”

“It can’t make our position any worse. Clifford has been switching money between accounts.”

“It’s not the trial that I’m worried about.” Tamara hesitated to hand the envelope over after she removed it from her purse. She said nothing as Mia eased it from her hand. She increased the distance between them, making Mia weary.

Mia’s anticipation grew as she eased the photos out, which were facing away from her. Turning the top one over, a chill ran through her. It was a closeup shot of Clifford kissing another woman’s cheek. She flipped the next one over. It was of him and the woman holding hands.

Her mouth turned sour. She pushed the rest of the stack back inside the envelope. She held her face in her hands to hide the tears that threatened to spill. “Do you know who she is?”

“I didn’t get a chance to find out. He was on to me. And I didn’t want to stay there any longer than I had to.” She slid an arm across Mia’s shoulders. “That guy didn’t come back, did he?”

She’d forgotten all about the incident. Retrieving the file, she handed it over.

The photo Tamara pulled out showed Clifford talking to some man. “What does this mean?”

Mia disappeared once more, returning with another crumpled up photo; the one she’d stolen from Milton’s office.

Tamara’s eyes widened upon seeing the writing on the back. “Do you know what this means?”

“I was hoping you would.”

“Murder for hire. Where did you get this?”

The explanation hadn’t registered. “Milton’s office.” Her head snapped up. “Did you just say murder for hire?” Snatching the photo, she placed both on the middle of the table. She began to pace. “No. No way. Clifford’s not like that. And who would he be trying to kill.”

Tamara picked up the photo of him and the woman. “Maybe—”

“Don’t even say it. There’s no way he’s trying to kill me. I’m the one trying to get him off.”

“Maybe Milton got it wrong? Why is he looking into him in the first place?”

Mia didn’t answer because she didn’t have an answer. She hadn’t found the courage to ask, not wanting him to know that she’d been snooping through his things. She pushed any thoughts of any negative intentions to the back of her mind. “Clifford’s an asshole, he may even be a thief, but he’s not a murderer.”

“He killed his dad.” Tamara’s hands shot into the air after Mia’s glare threatened to burn a hole through her. “I was just saying.”

She sat down. Running through all of their conversation and all the time they spent together, she didn’t find anything that suggested that Clifford was that evil. Her mind halted on one memory.

Their kiss.

His tongue had traveled across her own.

“There’s no point in guessing. I’m his lawyer, I should be able to ask him outright, right? Attorney-client privilege should make him tell me the truth, right?”

“I ain’t got nothing to say.” Tamara cited the hour as an excuse to leave, leaving Mia alone with her worries and insecurities.