Hiding The Truth

An Invitation To The Future

"Cam, what are you doing here?" She asked as she steadied her nerves, waiting for instructions on what to do next. She still didn't know if she would have to go to the Enforcer's precinct or whether they would need anything else from her.

"I'm a journalist. I'm here to cover the murder." Cam answered, gesturing to the camera with his notepad.

"No, no! Cam, I didn't mean to kill him! It all happened so fast!" Lila protested.

"You?" Cam's eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline. "Lila, the Enforcer shot this man dead in the middle of town in broad daylight. We all saw it."
*****

The start of the new week kept Lila hopping at the diner. In addition to all her regulars, she now had Cam and Doug vying for her attention, staying longer than usual to flirt and talk. Doug, she assumed, was just assuring she didn't change her mind, but she liked the attention and the way he treated her like she was important. Cam, on the other hand... Cam left her feeling like a schoolgirl. Cam made her giggle. Cam was fun. And without fail, Campbell Stuart turned her on.

It wasn't that she had not loved Tony or that she wasn't happy to fulfill her marital duties. But what she felt for Tony was so far and away from what Cam made her feel they weren't even in the same ballpark. Tony was her high school sweetheart and they had had sweaty make out sessions in the bed of his pickup truck under the influence of sweet, cheap gas station wine. She loved him; he was her best friend and the only contemporary she had who knew she had the Talents of Discernment and Intuition. He was like a comfortable blanket of a person. Cam Stuart was like lightning in her veins. He was exciting, he was funny. He left her weak-kneed and light headed every time they made eye contact.

She was clearing Doug's table from breakfast when he walked in. "You're late!" She teased.

"I wanted to catch up with you during a slow time so we could talk." Cam said.

"We talk every day," she said, "is today special?" She tossed her hair and for a moment she looked

"Can you take a break?" He asked.

"I'm just finishing up here. I have a short shift before the holiday weekend." She chatted with him while she rolled silverware.

"Oh, do you have big plans?"

"I'll probably take my son to the Veteran's Monument at the Arsenal, but he's young so I don't know if we'll stay for long." She was casual about it, but she couldn't repress a little twinge of hope he would join her.

"What's this?" He asked.

"You don't know? Everyone goes to the Veteran's Monument for the Appreciation Ceremony in honor of those who died defending Columbian freedom." Cups clinked as she wiped them out and put them on their shelves. "There will be an ice cream social and a barn dance. It's a whole community event." She was surprised he wasn't familiar with it. It was a major part of life in Progress City.

"Ah, this is my first season in town." He explained. "I don't suppose I could tag along with you? A friendly face would be welcome."

Her heart thrilled at the prospect. "I'd love it."

"It's a date then," he winked.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" She wondered, completing her final tasks for the workday.

"I wanted to ask you about the accident the other day, actually." He said. "Why did you think you killed that man?"

She looked around her to see whether anyone was listening, but the diners had mostly cleared out and the remaining few seemed focused on their coffee and conversations.

"He bled when I struck him with the car." She said in a near-whisper.

"I think that's normal for someone who's been hit by a car, Lila. An Enforcer blew his brains out. That's what killed him." Cam asserted.

"I don't know, Cam. I just don't know. Anyway the Enforcers don't seem concerned, so I guess it doesn't matter." She said. But it did matter. She knew she killed that man. "They said he stole a car. So maybe it was his just desserts." She tried to justify the stranger's death to her own mind.

"Lila, you can't be serious. Auto theft is not a capital crime, and the Enforcers are not the final authority. We have judges and juries. Even a murderer deserves his day in court." Cam said.

"Well, I don't want to be a murderer. I didn't want to see a man die, either. I wish I had gone home a different way."

"I can imagine."