Liam sat across from Faith, the two of them staring at each other intently.
"Tell me," Faith said to Liam, her voice hoarse.
Tru glanced at Angel, who's attention was also on Liam.
"That woman is legally my wife, but she's not the woman I married," Liam began, taking his glasses off. "Her name is Chloe. I met her in North Dakota when I was studying. She was working at a local book store, and she had no family. No friends in the area."
He paused.
"To make a long story short, we married. Within a few months, she got the idea into her head that I was having an affair with a classmate. I wasn't. Carol was just a friend who was also specialising in Medieval History. But Chloe told her, in no uncertain terms, to stay away from me."
Faith nodded, looking at him to go on.
"Carol told her there was nothing going on between us and... well to this day, I still don't know what happened to her exactly. She left school with no forwarding address."
"You think Chloe did something to her?" Faith asked.
"I didn't at the time," Liam replied. "I just thought maybe there'd been a family emergency. But now, I'm sure she did. Because Carol was just the first. It happened again, with another friend. Chloe became more obsessive. More and more paranoid. People began to file complaints with the police. Slashing tyres, breaking people's windows, making threatening calls... I tried to get help for her, but..."
He shook his head.
"Go on," Faith said.
"We moved. I got a teaching job and for a couple of months, everything was fine. Then the pattern started over. She was jealous of everybody who ever spoke to me. She was jealous of my dog. I found him strangled in the backyard one day."
Liam took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"I told her it was over and I left. I moved state. I got another teaching job, and after awhile, I started meeting a few friends for dinner. One of them was a woman. Marie. She had an accident while she was cleaning the gutters of her house. The ladder collapsed and she fell, breaking her neck. At the time, I thought it was just one of those strange and tragic accidents. Until... at the funeral, I kept smelling her perfume. Chloe's perfume. It's very distinctive, it smells like - "
"Roses," Angel said, remembering the scent from Airlia's car.
"Yes," Liam said, then went on. "I thought it was my imagination, but when I got home, she was sitting there. She said she had been in therapy and wanted to give us another go. I agreed... after all, she was my wife and I hadn't connected the death with her appearance. But a week later, another friend was killed by a hit and run driver. That's when I started to piece it together."
"Did you call the police?" Angel asked.
"They didn't find any hard evidence connecting Chloe with the deaths. And when they found out that I had left her, they thought I was just a philandering husband looking for a cheap and convenient way to get rid of his suspicious wife. They told me if I wanted a divorce, I had to file for one like everyone else."
"Apparently, you still haven't gotten that divorce," Faith spoke up, her tone a little biting.
Liam took another deep breath before continuing. "When I got home, she was gone. Her clothes, papers, everything. She disappeared without a trace. So that I couldn't file for a divorce, see? I moved again. I got another job. Hired a private detective to do some research on her. As it turned out, Chloe had a history of mental illness and violent behaviour, going back into childhood. Her entire family died in a fire when she was eight. The police report said the cause appeared to be arson. No suspect was every found."
"You think...?" Tru said, the first words all conversation.
Liam closed his eyes tiredly. "I think she set the fire. I believe she killed her family. And I'm positive she killed my friends. After I found out about the fire, I packed up and moved. I've been moving around ever since. I realised that I was in no danger from her. But any friend, lover, contact, was. So I haven't had any. Until now."
Tru bit her lip, a guilty feeling set in. "She wanted to kill me. And she got Lia instead."
"Well," Spike said finally, glancing at Angel. "Then it's settled. I'll go out, hunt this bird down, kill her painfully."
He shrugged slightly.
"I liked the little bit. She was spunky and fun. I'm going to make the bitch pay for what she did to Lia."
Dean
Dean had been standing outside the office, listening in.
"Not if I get to her first," he said under his breath, before walking away.
He had a name, and that was all he needed.
Spike
A shadow from outside caught Spike's eye and he sniffed, realising who it was. He got up and left abruptly, and jogged after Dean.
"Dean," he greeted, catching up easily. "I'm off to avenge the little bit's death. Feel up to it?"
Dean
"Up to it? I'm ready for it," Dean practically growled, going to the impala trunk and opening it.
He reloaded his handgun and began sharpening his dagger.
Spike
Spike ran a hand over his hair and for a moment in his anger, lost control and slipped into game face.
"She got under your skin too." It was more of a statement, rather than a question.
"Those girls..."
Dean
"If I couldn't have Faith, I had..." Dean cut himself off, knowing it wasn't the time.
He loaded up and slammed the trunk.
"You coming?" he asked sternly, heading for the driver's seat.
Spike
"Yeah, mate," Spike replied, opening the passenger side door.
He slid onto the seat, black painted nails drumming on his knee.
"She was a good little bird. Must be hard for Faith. Being made from her completely and all."
Dean
Dean started the car, paused, then looked across at Spike.
"What?"
Spike
Spike glanced at Dean.
"You never noticed how freakishly similar Faith and Lia were? How they could sense each other instinctively?"
He shrugged.
"Few years ago, Faith was kidnapped by... some scientist group. Airlia was implanted in her. Faith's DNA melded with the pegasus DNA. They're one and the same."
Dean
Dean hesitated, the looked outside again.
"That explains it," he breathed, throwing the car into gear and spinning the tyres as he reversed out onto the street.
Spike
"Yeah," Spike said, focusing out the window.
"I loved that little one."