Dirty Little Liars (3 page)

Chapter 5: Keeping Secrets

The apartment had an empty feeling to it when Juliette arrived. Her roommate, Margaret, was on a two-month internship in New Mexico studying Native American Art on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. It was odd not having Margaret around. She had a chatty personality that always filled the place with laughter and warmth. Without her it felt like a doctor’s waiting room. Cold and sterile.

Juliette curled up on the sofa and clicked on the TV. She had already ditched her twice-worn clothes in the hamper—where she seriously considered burning Ty’s gray shirt—and taken a nice, hot shower. Now that she was clean and wearing her baggy yoga pants and a long-sleeved tee, she felt a little less like Jules Everdeen, the strung out art history graduate with a crazy mission to befriend Governor Anderson’s daughter, and more like Juliette Morgan, the orphaned kid from Brooklyn. Then she popped in a copy of
Rocky
, father’s favorite movie, and her transition was complete.

After the movie she decided to do her own research on Tyler Chase and Courtney Anderson. She needed to find a way into Courtney’s everyday life—hopefully one that didn’t involve Tyler. She pulled out her laptop and waited for the search engine to load. She had just typed in Governor Anderson’s name when her cell phone rang.

Jules reached for the phone and scanned the caller ID. She recognized the number immediately. It was her godparents, Mimi and Jean.

“Hello.”

“Oh, so you do still know our number,” Mimi cooed into the phone. “I was starting to think you forgot it.”

“Never,” she said to her godmother. “I’ve just been busy with all the post-graduation stuff.”

“You mean all the Dean Covington stuff?”

“What?”

“Don’t lie to me, Juliette. I know you had your job interview with Dean Covington yesterday.”

How could she possibly know that?

“You know how we feel about that man. He’s no good.”

“Yes, yes. You’ve said as much before.”

“And yet you don’t seem to be listening.”

Juliette sighed. “I hear you. I just don’t agree with you. And whatever you said to Covington to keep him from hiring me didn’t work.”

Mimi went silent on the other end of the line. “What do you mean?”

“He hired me today. I’ve already got my first assignment.”

“Jewel.” Her godmother used her favorite nickname in that warning tone.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be happy for me.”

“It’s not that. I just don’t want to see you get hurt. Dean Covington is a dangerous man.”

“You don’t think I know that? My parents are dead because of him. And who knows how many other innocent people he’s taken down.”

“And what do you expect to do? The man has almost as many friends as he does enemies. No one on either side of the law has been able to take him down.”

“I’m not trying to take him down. I just want to know the truth. I deserve to know who betrayed my parents. They died doing his dirty work and I want to know why.”

“Juliette. Let it go. You are young and alive and have the whole world at your beck and call. Don’t waste precious time chasing Dean Covington’s web of lies.”

There was a soft rapping at her door.

“Someone’s at the door. I have to go.” She caught Mimi’s soft ‘I love you’ just before she said goodbye. She knew her godmother was upset. Mimi couldn’t understand why Juliette wouldn’t just let it go and embrace the life she and Jean had provided for her. It wasn’t that she didn’t love them like parents, or didn’t appreciate everything they did. She was lucky she had two amazing people to take her in. She just couldn’t live with the fact that her parents were dead and a guy like Dean Covington was not.

Juliette pulled herself up from the couch and shuffled over to the door, still wrapped in the checkered throw from the couch. There was a chill in the air she hadn’t noticed earlier and she didn’t want to let go of the warmth of the blanket.

She pulled open the door without thinking and stared into the hallway at Tyler Chase. Ugh, she should have checked the peephole. At least then she would have been prepared for what awaited her.

“Hey, Jules.”

Of all the questions she could have asked the one that surfaced to the top would have made Jean and Mimi proud. “How the hell did you get my address?”

Ty grinned and stretched all six feet of his long, lean figure across the door frame. He tilted his head to the side. “I have super powers.”

She wanted to roll her eyes and laugh, but had a feeling that would only encourage further misbehavior. And she didn’t want Ty to think it was okay that he just showed up at her apartment. Normal people don’t do that kind of thing. Stalkers maybe. Or crooks. Or politicians who wanted to hide any evidence of a sex scandal.

Focus, Juliette.
A strange man just showed up at your door.

“I’m serious,” Juliette tried again. “How did you get my address?”

Tyler gave a shrug. “Winston.”

Juliette threw her hands into the air. “Who is that guy? And don’t tell me he’s your campaign manager.”

“Is that what he told you?”

“Yes. But I don’t believe him. Nor do I believe that his real name is Winston.”

“Why, because he’s Korean? He was born and raised in Beverly Hills. He’s lucky his name is not Apple.”

L.A., huh? That explained his impeccable fashion sense. She wondered if this Boy Wonder also dressed his supposed boss. There’s no way Ty picked out the dark jeans and blazer he was now sporting. Absolutely no way.

“Is he gay?” Juliette asked without thinking.

“Not everyone in L.A. is gay.”

Juliette sighed. “That’s not what I meant. I’m not homophobic or anything. I just noticed he has amazing fashion sense.”

Ty rubbed his hands over the front of his jeans. “Yeah, he taught me everything he knows.”

“I hope not everything.” Juliette couldn’t help herself.

“Ahh, so you did have a good time last night.”

The image of the two of them together in his hotel suite, him pressed up against her in a hallway very much like the one they were standing in now, was too much to bear. She wasn’t supposed to be standing here, flirting with him.
He is a U.S senator. With a girlfriend.

“I think you should leave now.”

Ty frowned at the abrupt transition. “I’d rather come in.”

“Never going to happen.”

“I just want a chance to explain what happened this morning, with Courtney.”

The name slammed into her like a defensive lineman. She cringed at the thought of what Courtney might think if she learned the truth about Juliette and Ty.

“There’s nothing to talk about. You’re dating Courtney. She seems nice. You should spend more time visiting her and less time here with me.”

“It’s not like that.”

“I don’t care,” Juliette snapped. “What happened last night was a one-time thing. I was having an off day and needed a distraction to cheer me up. Now I’m better and I can take it from here, thank you very much.”

She didn’t wait for Ty to say more. She simply stepped backward and closed the door. After it clicked shut she leaned against the cold metal and listened for Ty’s footsteps on the other side. Was he still there, or had he taken the hint and left? How long did she have to wait before she could check?

No, she told herself. There will be no checking. She had more important things to do and hooking up with a U.S. senator was not one of them.

Chapter 6: The Keating Five

Juliette studied her mark at a distance for two whole days before making her next move. Courtney, it seemed, was like fire and ice all rolled up into one. If there was something she wanted, she generally got it. And she wasn’t shy about making her opinions known. What worried Juliette more was Courtney’s WASP-like demeanor. The girl lived her life like a giant chess match, always thinking three steps ahead. She stockpiled political ammo like others collected baseball cards and waited undeterred for the most opportune time to make her move. It was how she dethroned her undergrad class president and how she managed to secure the position as editor of the law review. Courtney wasn’t smarter than those in her law school class, she was just more devious.

Which was why Juliette wound up in the law library, holding a stack of legal research briefs with a perplexed expression on her face. She needed the public setting for their first encounter and the quiet nature of the library practically guaranteed Courtney wouldn’t be able to make a scene.

Juliette clutched the carefully selected papers to her chest as if she were carrying illegal contraband. She moved between the study carrels where Courtney was hard at work and deliberately tripped on the back of her chair leg.

“What the hell?” Courtney snapped as her chair jerked backward and the legal briefs Juliette had been carrying scattered into the air. Juliette clutched the edge of the table to regain her balance. The tips of her fingers brushed the back of Courtney’s hand. Then she let out a pathetic whine as she fell to the floor.

Everyone in the room froze. A few heads poked out of the cubbies to see what all the commotion was about. Courtney glowered down at her. Juliette had seen that expression before. It was a mixture of anger, annoyance, and loathing. She expected Courtney to say something snarky, like, “Walk much?” or, “Maybe if you didn’t buy cheap knock-off shoes, you wouldn’t trip over your own two feet.” But her irritation evaporated the moment she realized the other law students watching them.

“I’m so sorry,” Juliette said. “I don’t know what happened. I was just trying to find all these briefs for Professor Tatum’s class. I don’t know how I’m going to get all this reading done in a single week.”

“Let me guess.” She slipped out of the chair and knelt down to help. “You’re a first-year.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yes,” she said and smiled. “But it’s not just you. I can spot a first-year a mile away.”

She held out a hand. “Courtney Anderson.”

Juliette froze, pretending to be surprised. “Oh my God. Your father is Governor Anderson. I saw you at the rally the other day. I didn’t even recognize you.”

Her smile grew even bigger. Note to self. Inflating the ego is a good thing.

“Are you interested in politics?” she asked.

“Oh, God no,” Juliette said. “Living outside of D.C. for the last twelve years is about all the politics I can handle. You can’t throw a stone without hitting some new politician.”

She laughed. “Then why did you go to the rally?”

“I was just trying to earn a little extra credit. Hagney is a sucker for anyone involved in a political campaign. He said he’d give us five extra points for every rally we attended. All we have to do is write a paper reflecting on our experience. I swear, it’s like high school all over again.”

Juliette stacked the last of the briefs onto the pile and lifted them to the table. Courtney stood as well, but didn’t bother to take her seat. Instead she glanced down at the paper on the top of the stack.

“The Keating Five?”

Juliette smiled. “Yeah. We’re studying the legal aspects to some of the great political scandals of the twentieth century. Given the current state of our economy, I thought this would be an interesting one to study.”

Now she had Courtney’s attention.

“I wrote a brief on the mismanagement of the Keating Five investigation but Professor Tatum refused to publish it. She said it was politically motivated.”

“Isn’t everything?”

Courtney smiled. “You should come by the RNC later. I’m working on the Tyler Chase campaign. We could use some more bodies. Plus, I’ll let you take a look at my notes on the Keating Five.”

It was exactly what Juliette had hoped for. Though she would have preferred to avoid the Chase campaign altogether. “I don’t know.” She hesitated, not wanting to act too eager at the invitation. It was important to let Courtney believe working at the campaign was entirely her idea.

“Why not? If you tell Hagney you’re an intern on the campaign, you can probably skip class completely. And everyone knows his class is pointless.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure Senator Chase has other, more qualified people to work on his campaign.”

“Nonsense. He’s relying upon the college vote, which means college volunteers working on his campaign are invaluable. Plus he’s the youngest U.S. Senator in office. The last person to get elected as a U.S. Senator this young went on to become Vice President of the United States. How can you pass up a chance like that?”

Courtney was right about one thing. Juliette couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work for Tyler Chase, not if it meant she got an all access pass to Courtney Anderson.

Chapter 7: The Campaign Stop

For the next two weeks Juliette did an impeccable job of avoiding Senator Chase at all costs. Which wasn’t easy when she worked for the man’s re-election campaign. Then Courtney called her late Saturday night after coming down with a horrendous case of food poisoning, and begged her to accompany Winston and Tyler on their media blitz across the state. Apparently she had lined up six live TV interviews with local anchors in key media markets. Their opponent, Robertson, had already confirmed his interview slots and there was no way the Senator could back out.

“I still don’t understand how that makes me essential?” Juliette moaned. “I’m sure Tyler and Winston can manage just fine without me.”

“No. Tyler gets anxious on camera. He needs someone to calm him down, keep him from getting all worked up.”

“Isn’t that what Winston is for?”

Courtney sighed. “Think of it as good cop, bad cop. Winston has to be the bad cop. He has to be brutally honest with Tyler to ensure he doesn’t do or say anything that will screw up their messaging. I need you to be the good cop. Just cheer him on, lend an ear when he needs to rant about Winston or the biased reporter conducting the interview.”

“I don’t know.” Juliette picked at her chipped fingernail polish. “I barely know him. How am I supposed to be the good cop?”

“He likes you! He’s said as much to me before. I promise this will all work out. I’d go. If I could stand for five seconds without passing out.”