The Lie - Debra Webb Page 0,3

freeze to death. She’d caught a little of tonight’s weather news. Wasn’t the low supposed to be like thirty-five? Too cold for sleeping on the porch for sure.

She would get up and go inside eventually. But not just yet…

A crash shattered the silence.

Lara’s head came up. Cold had invaded the quilt. Had she fallen asleep? She shivered as she glanced around.

What the heck?

She blinked, clearing the fog of sleep from her eyes. Porch. She’d fallen asleep in the swing. It was still dark but judging by the cold she’d slept for a bit. Where was her cell phone? Her hands moved around her lap. Not in the quilt. Not in her pocket.

She shivered again and decided it was past time to go inside. Putting her foot down, something poked her. She yelped.

A shard of glass.

The wine glass.

She’d fallen asleep and dropped it. That was the crash that had awakened her.

Braced for the worst, she wiggled her toes and turned her foot in a circle. She relaxed. Luckily it felt like only a poke to her big toe.

Walking with her toe canted up until she could fully examine the damage, she went into the house, shrugged off the quilt and hurried to the bathroom. The small bathroom was circa the fifties with a single pink porcelain sink mounted to the wall and sporting two polished metal legs. The cross piece between the legs was a great place to hang a hand towel. The tub, too, was pink as was the toilet. Lara didn’t mind. She’d always liked pink. It had been her mother’s favorite color and splashes could be found all over the family home. The pink walls in this cottage, however, Lara’d had to paint. As much as she liked the color she could take only so much. The white tile the previous owner had added to the walls and floor was the perfect remedy for the overdose of pink in this bathroom.

She pulled off her sock and checked her toe. Not so bad. Shallow but a little bloody. Thankfully the sock had soaked it up preventing her from leaving a trail through the house. She cleaned the wound, added some antibiotic cream for good measure and applied a bandage. No big deal.

The slam of wood against wood startled her.

The front door?

Had she forgotten to close it? Lock it? She’d spent far too many years in the city to not lock her doors, particularly at night. But the wound had been on her mind and, frankly, she’d still been half asleep. And maybe a little off her game from the wine.

Lara eased to the bathroom door and listened.

The tick-tock of the clock on the mantel in the living room was the only sound. She kept motionless and quiet for a bit longer before venturing into the small hall. Still no sound. The lamp by the sofa remained on, spilling a small golden glow over that portion of the room. The front door was closed.

“Pull yourself together, Lara.” She walked fully into the living room. Glanced onto the porch through the glass in the door. No shadows that shouldn’t be there. She checked the lock. In her haste to get to the bathroom she’d failed to lock it. Probably failed to close it as well when she came inside and the wind had done it for her—thus the slamming.

End of story.

Except she hadn’t really noticed any wind. Maybe a blast had passed through the trees that surrounded her cozy getaway.

Shaking off the worries, she locked the door and went in search of her cell phone. She’d left it in her office as she so often did. Phone in hand, she went to her bedroom and readied to call it a night. She shivered again. Falling asleep on the porch had chilled her to the bone. She shed her jeans and sweatshirt and pulled on her flannel pjs. Brushed her teeth and washed her face. Once she was deep under the covers, she would warm up soon enough. She plugged in her cell and snuggled into the layers of cotton and down.

The chime announcing the arrival of a new email forced her eyes open. Lara groaned. She generally silenced her computer when she walked out of her office for the night. Obviously, her cell wasn’t the only thing she’d forgotten tonight.

Like locking the door.

Heaving a breath of frustration, she threw back the covers that had only just started to warm her and climbed out of her bed. She padded to her office