Her Perfect Lies. Lana Newton

the man in front of her with wonder and affection. Here he was, smiling at her, giving her hope, when it was him who needed support. Her chest swelled with feeling as she squeezed his hand. After a moment of silence, she said, ‘I wanted to talk to you about the accident.’ His smile vanished and his eyes narrowed. Without a word he waited for her to continue. She cleared her throat. ‘I spoke to the police and …’ How did she bring it up without accusing him of lying? ‘You’ve been through a lot. It’s understandable that you are still confused about what happened that day.’

      ‘I’m not confused. I remember everything perfectly.’

      ‘The woman …’ Claire tried to remember her name and couldn’t. ‘She told me she pulled me out of the car herself.’

      ‘She’s lying.’ Tony closed his eyes and turned away from her. For a moment he looked like he was about to fall asleep in his wheelchair. Claire wanted to shake him awake, to force him to look at her and answer her questions. Why would the police lie about something like that? And if they were telling the truth, did that mean her father was the one lying?

      If, as she suspected, he was suffering from partial memory loss, she knew from experience he would feel disoriented and confused. But here was the thing that bothered Claire. Her father didn’t seem disoriented or confused. He seemed absolutely, 100 per cent, certain of what he was saying.

      * * *

      Claire sleepwalked through the rest of her morning, staring at books and the television screen. But if someone asked her what she had been reading or watching, she wouldn’t be able to say. The window was open, trickling pale late-autumn sunlight all over the room. In the park, children were chasing one another, joyous and carefree.

      Finally, she pushed the books away and turned the TV off, jumping to her feet. She couldn’t stay here all day, aimless and unsure of herself. Hour after hour passed, day after day, and still she wasn’t any closer to finding the answers. She needed to do something that would shed light on who she was.

      ‘Nina, do you have a moment?’ she called out. When the housekeeper appeared, Claire asked if she could take her to the ballet studio.