Sweet Deceit (Privilege 4)

Ariana nodded. “Let’s get to work.”

COVER-UP

“You’ll take care of it?” Lexa said to Keiko Ogaswara, handing her a wad of cash.

“Of course, Lex. That’s what I’m here for,” Keiko replied. “But are you sure you’re all right?”

Lexa and Ariana had decided they would tell Keiko that they had brought a couple of boys from school back to the house and that Lexa had gotten into an argument with one of them. Being slightly drunk, she’d grabbed the blue-and-white vase and thrown it at him, but he’d ducked and the vase had gone through the window. Lexa had hurled the vase out for good measure, cringing as the piece—worth thousands of dollars—clipped the pane and shattered.

“I’m fine. Really. Just embarrassed. You won’t tell my father, right?” Lexa said. “You know how he feels about reckless behavior.”

“Of course I won’t tell him,” Keiko said, shaking her head and ducking her chin. “Have I ever let slip any of your indiscretions in the past?”

Ariana raised one eyebrow and eyed Lexa. What indiscretions was Keiko talking about?

“No. It’s just . . . this is really important,” Lexa said, glancing past Keiko at the broken window. She and Ariana had meticulously cleaned the blood away before phoning Keiko, but the pane was still shattered. “I didn’t even tell them I was going to be here tonight.”

“You have nothing to worry about,” Keiko said, touching Lexa’s arm. “Now you two should go. It’s Halloween and you’re all dressed up.” She smirked down at the skirt of Ariana’s costume. “Like the fake blood, by the way. Very realistic.”

Lexa turned green so fast Ariana was sure she was going to faint. She placed her hand on the small of her friend’s back. “Thanks.”

“You should go out and have some fun,” Keiko said.

Ariana and Lexa exchanged a tired, amused, resigned look. “Right. Fun,” Lexa said. “That’s what this night is supposed to be for.”

She turned and grabbed her purse, opening the door so that Ariana could walk out first. “Thanks again, Keiko!” As soon as the heavy door closed behind them, Ariana let out a breath.

“Do you think she bought it?” Ariana asked.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Lexa said. “She’s not going to tell anyone. She knows that staying on my good side means staying on my dad’s good side.”

Ariana nodded, feeling secure in the steps they had taken to cover up Kaitlynn’s death. The rose bushes out back still had their leaves and even some of their flowers, and after burying Kaitlynn good and deep, then replacing all the earth, their branches completely covered the evidence. They’d worn gloves, and Lexa had made sure to place all the tools back in the workmen’s shed, just as they’d found them—slightly dirty, but not too dirty. Kaitlynn was dead and buried. Really and truly gone. And Ariana was really and truly free.

“We should go somewhere and make sure people see us,” Ariana said. “Like for an alibi.”

“An alibi?” Lexa said, paling all over again.

“I’m sure we won’t need one,” Ariana assured her. “But just in case.”

Lexa looked around at the peaceful front yard, the lights glowing alongside the driveway, the holly bushes lining the walk.

“Well . . . I know a bar. . . .”

“Perfect,” Ariana said, slipping her arm around Lexa’s companionably. Lexa gave her an odd look, but Ariana chose to ignore it. She whipped out her phone to call a cab. “Let’s go.”

FRIENDSHIP

The bar in Georgetown was packed with an odd mix of Washington interns just off work, their collars loosened, their jackets flung over the backs of green vinyl booths, and college-aged Halloween revelers, dressed up as everything from Playboy bunnies to Supreme Court justices. The walls were paneled with dark wood and lined with bookshelves stuffed with old and important-looking tomes, and the bartenders all wore suits, topped by masks of their favorite politicians.

“This is perfect,” Ariana said, yelling to be heard over the shouting and laughing.

“For what? An after-murder drink?” Lexa whispered back sarcastically. She’d put her Heidi Klum wig on again, and her pink sequined dress looked none the worse for the attempt on her life. If not for the dark circles under her eyes and the slightly smudged makeup, no one would have known anything was amiss.

“Okay. That’s the last time we utter the M word,” Ariana said, her eyes cutting. “This is not something we can casually talk about. And remember—it was self-defense.”

“I know,” Lexa said, turning sideways to try to find a path through the jammed-in bodies. “You’re just going to have to give me a few days to get used to it.”

“Hey! My woman’s here!” a guy in a Frankenstein mask shouted, trying to loop his arm around Ariana’s waist.