Liar

By Jamie Campbell

Everyone Lies.

Nobody can lie to Amelia Landau, she hears the truth despite their best efforts. When she hears a man confess to the murder of a child, she knows he is lying and must do something to catch the real killer.

Convincing Detective Leo Michaels to take up the case, together they are thrust into a shady world of drugs, murder, and endless lies.

Can they catch the real killer before their time is up? Find out in this thriller where the truth is hard to come by.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jamie Campbell
• Release date: Aug 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311068682

Jamie Campbell

Jamie was born into a big, crazy family of 6 children. Being the youngest, she always got away with anything and would never shut up. Constantly letting her imagination run wild, her teachers were often frustrated when her 'What I did on the weekend' stories contained bunyips and princesses.Growing up, Jamie did the sensible things and obtained a Bachelor of Business degree from Southern Cross University and worked hard to gain her membership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.Yet nothing compared to writing. Quiting the rat race to spend quality time with her laptop named Lily, Jamie has written several novels and screenplays. Spanning a number of genres and mediums, Jamie writes whatever inspires her from ghost stories to teenage love stories to tantalising murder mysteries. Nothing is off limits.A self-confessed television addict, dog lover, Taylor Swift fan, and ghost hunter, Jamie loves nothing more than the thrill of sharing her stories.

Book preview

Liar

JAMIE CAMPBELL

Copyright © 2014 Jamie Campbell

Smashwords Edition

Jamie Campbell asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.

CHAPTER 1

Everyone lies. Absolutely everybody. Anyone who says otherwise is most definitely a liar. Amelia Landau knew this better than anyone else and she hated it. In her ideal world everyone only had good intentions and they all only spoke the truth. But that was an utopia not within her reach.

As Amelia finished making dinner and sat on the lounge next to her boyfriend, she tried to put lies out of her head. She just wanted a quiet evening so she could go to bed and get some peace.

Do we have to watch the news? She groaned, reaching for the remote control. Lane grabbed it first, holding it just outside of her grasp. That’s not fair.

We’ll just watch the headlines and then you can turn it over. Lane flashed the grin she had fallen for and returned his attention to the screen.

Amelia knew he had no intention of turning it over after the headlines but she let it go anyway. She was always one for picking her battles and tonight was no exception. She had long run out of energy trying to fight with Lane. He was as good as he was ever going to get.

How was work today? She asked, trying to make some conversation and distract herself from the television.

I’m working on an old Chevy, it’s in terrible condition but it still purrs like a kitten, he replied, one eye still on the screen.

Amelia nodded, knowing he was telling the truth. Why do they want it restored?

The guy just bought it. He said he’s wanted one forever but never found the right one. Until now, I guess. How was your day? Get any paper cuts?

She rolled her eyes, Lane thought her job was boring. Working as a public records clerk may seem snooze-worthy to everyone else but it was her dream job. She got to sit in a room all by herself every single working day. Nobody to hassle her, nobody to please, just her and the records. She did, however, get a nasty paper cut, damn Lane.

My day was fine, thank you very much.

Hardly riveting though, is it?

I don’t need riveting.

Okay, okay. He put his hands up as if she had just pulled a knife on him. Don’t get your knickers in a knot.

I perform a public service, someone has to do it, Amelia said, using her usual excuse for working in such a mundane job. She was constantly defending her choices, even when they weren’t really choices after all.

The newsreader rolled off the big stories, thankfully there were only a few political ones that night, they were the worst. Amelia could tolerate the rest but it wasn’t easy. She rarely watched television, but when she did, she preferred a good drama. Better to be involved in other people’s problems than her own.

The leading headline of the day was an arrest in the murder that had shocked the entire country. A five year old boy had been found murdered just over a week ago.

Initially the teary parents had been paraded about, begging for whoever had taken their baby to return him safely. They promised to pay a ransom and they promised to follow instructions. Whatever they could do to get their child back, they sobbed that they would do it.

The search for little Jordan White had ended two days later when his body was discovered in a dumpster. Someone had thrown him away like he was rubbish and then just walked away. It was a horrible crime and had left everyone in the community shaken. Nobody believed something like that could happen in Scribe county. Except Amelia.

They’ve caught the devil. Good, Lane murmured, more to himself than his girlfriend. They should put him to death for killing that kid. Lunatic. You’d have to be crazy.

Amelia let him vent, she couldn’t disagree with him. The man they caught looked calm as he was hauled out of the car and paraded through the media into the police station. His hands were secured behind his back with handcuffs, there was no way they were going to let him have any liberties.

The police commissioner filled the screen, his face grim as he tried not to puff his chest out too much. He lived for the moments in front of the cameras and all the times he could claim credit for the footwork done by his officers. He was a natural show pony. Amelia could see right through him, but only when he opened his mouth.

Today we have captured the man we believe is responsible for the death of Jordan White. The commissioner flashed his pearly whites. Forty-six year old Blake Turner is behind bars. You can all sleep better tonight thanks to the dedication of this unit.

The reporters started barraging him with questions, all of which he stood and answered. Not one opportunity for his own self promotion passed him by. If there was anything Commissioner Pace was good at, it was spin.

He’s such an idiot, Amelia groaned.

He just caught a murderer, he can’t be that bad. Lane shoved his last bite of dinner through his lips, talking with his mouth full. I hope he rots in hell. Who kills a five year old? Seriously.

Amelia opened her mouth to speak but was cut off as the news went to some different footage. The commissioner had released some of the interrogation video. The black and white scenes showed two cops sitting either side of their alleged murderer.

Tell us you did it, the cop on the right said, leaning forward to get into the face of the man. We need to hear the truth about what you did to that boy.

As cool as a cucumber, the man crossed his arms and leaned back in his plastic seat. He seemed amused, he even had a smirk across his face. All this fuss for little old me?

The cop on the left suddenly slammed his fist on the table, making Amelia jump. Now! Tell us now!

This is ridiculous, Amelia said. They shouldn’t even be showing us this. It must be horrible for the kid’s parents.

Shh, Lane cut her off.

She turned back to the screen, the accused still grinning like he had all the secrets they wanted. I did it. I killed the kid. How does that sound?

Amelia dropped her fork, it hit her plate and sent the whole thing crashing down to the floor. Damn it.

What’s wrong? Lane asked as he tried to help her clean up the mess.

It’s nothing.

It’s obviously something, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. It’s okay if it’s that guy, he’s locked up, he’s not going to see daylight for a long time, Lane soothed. He took both the plates and returned them to the kitchen. All Amelia could do was sit on the carpet and wait for her heart rate to slow down.

It’s not the right guy, she finally said as he held out his hand to help her up. She accepted it gratefully, not letting him go until she was certain her legs would hold her up.

He confessed, it’s him, Lane replied with a laugh in his voice, obviously skeptical.

He’s lying.

Why don’t you just let the police do their job? I think they know what they’re doing.

Amelia shook her head, letting her shoulders fall as she stood straight up. There was no point arguing with him, he didn’t know how she could speak with such conviction and she wasn’t ready to explain it all to him. That would be a long and difficult conversation, one she never planned on even having if she could avoid it altogether.

She carefully walked away, picking up her book and heading for the bedroom.

Where are you going? Lane called after her, still a little perplexed. He was used to his girlfriend acting strange but it had been occurring more and more lately. He had long since stopped trying to figure her out, all women were a mystery to him anyway.

I’m going to bed to read, she replied before firmly closing the door behind her.

As Amelia settled into the queen bed, pulling the covers up to her chest, she tried to get the news report out of her mind. She needed to forget about it because if she told anyone else about the murderer being innocent, they would react even worse than Lane had. She would be a laughing stock.

No-one ever understood Amelia and her special abilities, mainly because she had kept them a secret for her entire life. To her, they weren’t something special or something that made her better than everyone else. They were just there and they didn’t go away. Ever.

It’s wasn’t even like she had some sexy super power like she could turn invisible or leap over tall buildings. All Amelia could do was hear the truth in every lie. It was a burden hearing what everyone tried not to say. The amount of people that lied was astonishing. From little white ones to major ones, she couldn’t escape them.

The worst were the ones told to her by her family. Relationships were always difficult and she had never lasted this long in one before. Lane was the first man who ever told her the truth on their first date. He had been nervous and sweaty, which probably made his brain too frazzled to think up any good lies, but it didn’t matter. He earned himself a second date.

Throughout her childhood, Amelia had thought everyone could hear things the way she did. When the teacher would stand at the front of the class and say ‘it’s so good to be here’, all Amelia could hear was I hate being here. She had looked around at the other six year olds, all smiling and carefree, and thought they were the strange ones.

It only grew more difficult as she got older. Teenagers lied worse than politicians. She had lost all her friends, one by one, as they each found ways to hurt her. Eventually, she found it easier not having anyone close to her.

Amelia closed the book and threw it onto the bed. It was no use, she couldn’t concentrate. All she could think of was the face of the murderer and how she had heard I didn’t do it when the words ‘I did it’ came out of his mouth.

She had never been wrong before, never misheard. She could immediately rule out an error on her part. And there was no way to actually lie to her, she heard the truth no matter what the person did to cover themselves. Blake Turner, whoever he really was, did not kill little Jordan White.

It wasn’t Blake she was so disturbed about, he had confessed for some unknown reason and got himself into the situation. What worried her the most was that the real murderer was still out there and nobody was looking for him anymore. With someone to take the fall for him, he would be able to get away with murder.

What about if he kidnapped and killed another child? What about if he never stopped, the thrill of the kill giving him an unrivalled euphoria? Amelia couldn’t stand the thought, she would never be able to get over the guilt if she didn’t do something.

But what could she do? Nobody would believe her and she didn’t have a good excuse for having the knowledge of his innocence. Damn it, that was the reason why she hated watching the news. If Lane had turned it over like she wanted, none of this would have happened.

She would have to try and let the police know. Somehow, she had to make them listen. If it saved another poor child, then it would be worth it. At least she hoped so anyway.

One restless night later and Amelia was no closer to coming up with a plan. Yet she walked into the police station with nothing but a need to tell someone the truth and make them listen.

CHAPTER 2

The first person Amelia had spoken to made her wait in an interview room by herself. She hadn’t given her the full story, just asked politely if there was someone she could talk to about the Jordan White murder. When she was looked at suspiciously, Amelia had just smiled sweetly, hoping her charms would win them over. It hadn’t, but they didn’t kick her out either.

Miss Landau? Detective Leo Michaels entered the room, holding a notepad in one hand and juggling a cup of coffee in the other. He didn’t exactly instill her with confidence.

With his light brown hair perfectly cut to suit his strong features, and his fit physique sitting nicely underneath his black suit, he wasn’t exactly bad to look at. The effect wasn’t lost on Amelia.

Thank you for speaking with me. She held out her hand for him to shake. He had to put down his coffee to do it, wiping his hand first.

You said you had some new information about the White case? Leo took a seat across the stainless steel table. It looked like the one from the news the previous night, but then again, they were probably all like that in the station.

Amelia nodded. You don’t have the right guy.

And how do you know that?

Damn, she had hoped he wouldn’t get to that so quickly. I just do.

Leo shifted in his seat, studying the woman and sizing her up. She didn’t look like the usual crazy person that came in offering new information that they got from the white noise on their television. She looked respectable, spoke nicely, and didn’t fidget. There was something in the way she conducted herself that he liked.

But his instincts had been wrong before. Look, I’m going to level with you, Blake Turner confessed to the murder so we’re going to need a lot more than your word to do something here. Do you have any evidence?

Just keep investigating. I’m sure the truth will become clear.

We can’t do that. We don’t have unlimited resources to keep looking for a killer when we have one sitting in our holding cells. I have a pile of files this high. Leo indicated well above the table level. They all need solving. I’m sorry Miss, but I can’t help you.

Amelia panicked. She hadn’t expected it to be easy, but she couldn’t get turned away. Not yet. He’s innocent. At least of the murder anyway, he is still a liar. You have to believe me. What if the real killer does it to some other child?

Then tell me how you know.

I just know.

Leo had been down this path before, he could read between the lines. So you’re psychic?

Yes. Amelia jumped on the explanation, it was as good of a lie as any. At least psychics were taken seriously… some of the time. She could be put in a little box and categorized. Her real ability had no label whatsoever.

So Turner’s innocence came to you, in what, a psychic flash or something?

Uh-huh.

Leo started nodding slowly, thinking it over. He had mixed experiences with psychics before. Some were great and specific, others were just time wasters. There was no way to verify their claims and some police officers outright refused to work with them. It was a gamble listening to the woman now, he could be finishing the paperwork on the White case instead.

You have to believe me, Amelia said, unashamed of the pleading in her voice. If she left the station no better off than she had come in, she wouldn’t know what to do. She couldn’t just ignore the truth and shrug it off as having done all she could. Failure was not an option. The moment she got someone else to care about finding the real killer, the sooner she could pass the baton.

Have you worked with police before? Leo asked, sighing.

No.

Do you come from a long line of psychics?

No.

So how am I going to convince my boss to re-open the case? Leo took a long sip of his coffee, letting her think about it. He hoped she would have an answer because he sure as hell didn’t.

Amelia looked at the table. I don’t know.

You’re asking for a lot here, Miss.

Do you think I want to be doing this? I don’t want to have this burden of knowing, she snapped, not meaning to and instantly regretting it.

Leo decided to take a different tactic. Did your psychic flash come with any clues about who could have murdered Jordan?

No.

The silence was deafening between them and lingered painfully. Finally, Amelia stood, giving up. I shouldn’t have come, I’m sorry. Just forget about it.

She walked toward the door, suddenly feeling stupid for even trying. If the roles were reversed and she was in the detective’s shoes, she wouldn’t believe her either. It was naïve to think her word would be enough.

As she reached the door, Leo hurried to put his arm out to stop her. With his hand on the door handle, she froze.

I believe you, Leo muttered, just loud enough for her to hear. She waited for the truth to be revealed in his lie, expecting any moment to hear I don’t believe you. But it never came. Either her abilities had suddenly evaporated into thin air, or he was telling the truth.

Are you serious? She had to ask.

Yes, I believe you.

Still no lie. Amelia looked him in the eyes, making sure he wasn’t just kidding. But his green eyes were sincere, he really did believe what she was saying. That had to be a first.

Good, she answered, speechless for anything more intelligent to say.

So how am I going to catch the real murderer? Leo didn’t expect an answer, he was asking himself more than her. Already he was thinking of all the obstacles standing in his way. He was going to have to convince the boss, the media, the commissioner, and even the guy they had in the holding cell. It was like looking up at Mount Everest from the bottom and knowing you have to get to the top somehow.

Good luck with that. Amelia tapped him on the arm, overjoyed at passing the burden to someone else. She could go home and forget about the case now, await the news story to say they had caught the real killer.

She made for the door again, but once more was stopped by Leo’s strong arm. Oh no, you’re going to help me with this.

I’m not a cop.

But you’re involved now. I need you to meet with my colleagues and probably my boss too. We need to convince them of your psychic prowess.

Amelia sighed, it had all seemed too easy, she should have known better. Okay. I’ll be back after work.

You aren’t going anywhere. Leo leaned on the door, making sure of it. They’re going to have to live without you today, you’re working for us now.

But-

You don’t have a job that’s life or death, do you? He watched as she shook her head to the negative. Alright then, the police thank you for your time.

* * *

Half an hour later, Amelia was nauseas and wondering why on earth she had started this whole thing. Standing in a small room surrounded by police officers and detectives, she didn’t want to be the center of attention. She should have just gone to work where she would now be sitting in an empty room with nothing but a computer and stacks of paper to keep her company.

But it was clear it was too late for that. Leo had left her in the interview room for twenty minutes while he filled his boss in on their meeting. When he said he wasn’t interested, the only thing Leo could do was to rally support from his colleagues.

Amelia is psychic, Leo explained. She thinks Blake Turner falsely confessed and I-

He was interrupted by one of the uniformed cops. Since when do we listen to mystics? It’s nothing but bulldust.

Yeah, smoke and mirrors, another cop joined in.

We have our guy and you’re going to trust the word of this charlatan? A detective from the back added.

Amelia shifted, wondering if she had actually turned invisible while standing there. Still, she remained silent, unable to find a good reason to defend herself. Leo was doing a good enough job for the both of them.

She’s not a charlatan and I believe her, Leo started earnestly, putting his hands up to silence the other jeers heading his way. If you don’t believe her, then think about the evidence. We’ve already raised concerns about some things not adding up. To me, this is just adding further fuel to the flame.

He confessed, the detective from the back spoke again. Our job is done. I don’t know about everyone else, but I don’t have time to go on a wild goose chase.

He received a few nods from those immediately around him. Leo just stared him down. Our job isn’t done until the murderer is behind bars and we have given the D.A. all the evidence. When they see the holes, they’re going to tell us to fill them.

So we’ll fill them, a cop from the side said sarcastically. He was young, Amelia instantly took a disliking to him. She knew the type well, cocky and arrogant. I’m sure we can make things fit.

The detective from the back nodded. Turner confessed, there probably won’t even be a trial. The guy will plead out in exchange for isolation and protection from general population. It’s a done deal.

He’d want to stay in solitary, gen pop will kill him before dinnertime. They don’t like child killers, one of the older cops commented wisely. I wouldn’t blame them, justifiable homicide I say.

Leo stepped in again, seeing the lack of support only spiraling downward. The D.A. won’t even get to pleading stage if the evidence doesn’t stack up. Even Turner’s state appointed lawyer will see the gaps. I’m not going to sign my name to a report that doesn’t make sense. I’m not going to risk my career when there are doubts.

The thought of a career-ending mistake sobered them up a bit. Everyone who put their name on the report would be liable if something happened to overturn the decision later on. They would be questioned and possibly summoned to an internal review commission. Not to mention the hearsay that would damage their reputation. It wouldn’t be pretty.

Leo eyed every one of the skeptical cops in the room. Suddenly his decision to tighten up their evidence wasn’t sounding so bad. He jumped on the opportunity. Look, I’m not saying we throw out all the hard work we’ve already done. And I’m certainly not saying we cut Turner loose. I’m just saying that we look a bit harder to fill in the gaps, and if the evidence leads us back to him, then at least we can sleep at night knowing we’ve got the right guy.

A few of the men nodded, still not looking at Amelia. She may have been a fly on the wall for the attention she was getting. She wished Leo had let her leave. She could have given a false name and address and never had to deal with it again. If only she had thought faster – and he hadn’t requested to see her driver’s license for proof. It seemed he had some trust issues too.

The door to the small meeting room opened and Commissioner Pace poked his head in. Amelia had to step away from the door to stop herself getting whacked in the face. He didn’t seem happy about the gathering.

Michaels, my office. Now, he barked out before leaving just as quickly.

Once the door was closed, Leo received some ribbings from his colleagues. It was akin to being sent to the principal’s office at school. Nobody ever came out of there happy.

Okay, that’s enough, he tried to play it down. Excuse me. Amelia, please come with me.

The commissioner didn’t scare her, she trailed after him like a lost puppy. She didn’t savor the thought of remaining in the room with all the disbelievers, she wasn’t exactly made welcome. They scared her more.

Leo led them down the hallway and into the corner office. Commissioner Pace stood at the window, looking just as arrogant and smug as he did on every television appearance. The only difference was he had some anger brewing too now.

Close the door, he ordered. Leo obeyed. Did I not tell you no less than half an hour ago that we weren’t going to re-open the White investigation? Did I not order you to write your final report and then move on to the next case? Did I not give these direct orders? Tell me I imagined the whole conversation.

You did say that, sir, Leo held his gaze but stood firm. Amelia lingered near the door, left to wonder again if she was invisible. It seemed only Leo was able to actually see her.

Then why didn’t you follow my orders? I find out you’re holding this secret meeting and what am I supposed to think?

I’m sorry, sir. However I don’t believe Turner did it. I think this warrants further-

"You don’t get a say in this. The vein on the commissioner’s neck started to pulsate, Amelia couldn’t look away from it. You are not the boss here, I am. Whatever I say, goes. The White case is closed. Now finish your report and solve another file."

I can’t do that. I need-

I just told you what you need. Now get out, there is no room for an argument here.

They held their steely gazes at each other for a few moments more, each waiting for the other to break. As much as Leo didn’t want to, he knew it would have to be him to blink first. There was no winning with the commissioner. He never listened to logic and he always made sure to flex his muscle.

Fine, Leo said, giving no warmth to his voice.

I’m glad you see reason. His lips curled into a smile at his win. The same smile that had been plastered across the television all night.

Amelia knew she couldn’t be invisible anymore. Seeing Pace smirk was the last straw. She headed straight for his desk, ignoring the worried look of the detective with each stride.

You can’t put away an innocent man. She thumped on the desk, sounding way too loud in the tense room. Because of your closed and incompetent mind, you are allowing a killer to stay free to murder another child. You are a fool.

Momentarily stunned, Pace couldn’t do anything but scowl. He looked at Leo, his eyes flicking back between them. He was trying to control the rage burning inside him. He didn’t want to unleash it on a female member of the public. Yet sometimes it was difficult to contain.

You… need… to get out, Pace said the words deliberately, taking a breath between each one. He pointed his finger at her and then the door. Now.

The three of them didn’t move as the seconds ticked by. Finally, Leo tugged at Amelia’s arm. We were just leaving.

No, he’s not listening, she protested. He kept going, pulling her toward the door. Detective, he needs to listen. It’s important.

Just walk, he whispered in response.

His grip was so strong she didn’t have much of a say in the matter. She allowed herself to be led away. Even when outside, he didn’t slow down. Not until they were back in the meeting room by themselves did he release her.

Why did you back down? Amelia pushed him, angry herself now.

Leo took a