An Affair of Deceit Read Online Free PDF Page A

ears.
    Her mother was silent for a long moment before commenting. “He has been gone for some time.”
    “Not to them, apparently.”
    “No matter. It is of no concern to us.”
    “On that, I agree. But this man wanted information. He wanted to know if I’ve talked to Father recently, which of course I haven’t. Have you?”
    “No.”
    “Well, you can expect a visit from the government today, if they aren’t already there.”
    “Thank you for the notice. I will make certain I have enough tea.”
    Abigail paused. “Why aren’t you surprised that someone came looking for him?”
    “Who said I wasn’t?”
    “You never said you were.”
    “Dear,” her mother said gently, “do not suppose that what is not said is not felt.”
    “We’ve never been big on saying what we feel,” Abigail said, and instantly regretted rising to the emotional bait.
    “English does not adequately convey feelings, and you refuse to speak your native tongue.” Her mother’s voice warmed as she spoke in Mandarin. “I am very proud of your achievements, Daughter.”
    “Can we not do this?” Abigail replied in English, refusing to speak the Chinese dialect. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of it. She wasn’t sure why she didn’t speak her native language. She simply didn’t want to, particularly not when her mother insisted upon it.
    “Not do what?” her mother said, reverting back to English. “I only wish for you to be happy.”
    “Can we not turn every conversation into a soap opera?”
    Her mother exhaled. “I have to go. I must clean the garden before this man visits. What is his name?”
    “It may not be the same person, but his name was James Riley. PhD,” she added. Her mother liked to know a person’s formal title.
    “A doctor? How interesting.”
    “Not really. Why are they looking for Dad?” Again, she felt uncomfortable by her word choice.
Dad
definitely wasn’t the right term, either.
    Her mother laughed. “He worked for the State Department. I’m sure it is just some official business.”
    “Then why don’t they know where he is? Why come banging on my door to find him?”
    “I’m sure there is a very good reason.”
    “And I’m sure you know exactly what that reason is.”
    Her mother sighed again. “When did you become such a suspicious woman? I don’t know a thing about this business with your father.”
    Abigail tapped her fingers on her desk. “You never told me why he left.”
    “I didn’t know why.”
    “Didn’t? And now you do?”
    “Please don’t treat me like one of your witnesses. This is my second language, after all. You must permit me the occasional error.”
    “You don’t make errors. You know exactly what you’re saying. You always have.” Abigail wished, for once, that she was speaking face-to-face with her mother. People had a hard time lying to her face, and she knew her mother was being deceitful, or at least evading the truth. “You know more about him than I do. And I know that you don’t want me to look into it. But if he’s done something to damage my career…”
    “Your father has no hold over you. Do as you wish, as you have always done.”
    “I intend to.”
    Her mother’s voice deepened. “Looking into the past will not bring happiness into your future. It is a futile endeavor.”
    “What makes you think I give a damn about the past? Maybe I just want to make sure the bastard stays out of my future.” The epithet hung around like smoke in the air, uncivilized and nasty.
Bastard
was too harsh, even for him.
    “Why did you call today? To warn me or to interrogate me?”
    Abigail wasn’t sure.
    Her mother sighed again. “Regardless. Those listening to this conversation will be interested to know that I advise you to cooperate with them.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. They don’t have us wiretapped. These men couldn’t rip their way out of a paper bag. They couldn’t even follow me to work without being spotted.”
    “They know where you work,