Poisonous: A Novel (46 page)

“You solved Ivy’s murder. You can’t fix the Wallace family overnight,” David said.

“Maybe I did more harm than good.”

“You don’t believe that.”

She honestly didn’t know. She tried to imagine
not
solving the case and it pained her … not knowing was worse. Yet … what if she had picked another case to focus on and not this one?

“Maxine Revere,” David said sternly, “I’m not a religious man, but I believe in God. I believe that everything happens for a reason. You cannot possibly know what would have happened if you never came to Marin County.”

She arched her eyebrows. “Maybe you really can read my mind.”

He grunted. “Consider this—Amanda Wallace is a disturbed young woman. If you hadn’t come to town, she would still have been a disturbed young woman and no one knows who else she may have hurt. She had a bigger plan than killing Ivy. She stalked Madison Cross. She killed Travis Whitman, shot him three times—once in the head when he was already dead. She moved his body to delay authorities finding him. She lured her brother to the boat so he could watch her toss his sister overboard. What else might she have done? She needs help. Now she can get it, and Bella and Austin are safe. The family promised to get help, and you can’t do any more for them now. You have to let it go.”

*   *   *

David dreaded seeing Brittney. But it was Emma’s birthday. For Emma, he would withstand what he expected would be a bitter verbal attack.

He rang the doorbell. Her house was small but in a nice neighborhood in Mill Valley, on the Corte Madera border. It was only a few blocks from Brittney’s parents, and a couple of miles from David’s dad’s house. Emma was a good kid. She had grandparents who loved her, a mother who—even though flawed—loved her. She was doing well in school, she had a strong sense of right and wrong, and she helped others. He couldn’t be more proud of her.

He would do anything for his daughter.

Brittney answered the door. She stared at him as she always did, with a mixture of hatred and pain.

“May I come in?”

“Emma’s not here.”

He mentally counted to three. He had to control his temper.

“We’d talked about—”

“I changed my mind. You violated the custody agreement.”

“Not intentionally.”

“You didn’t even inform me. Neither did Emma. You had her lie for you.”

“I never told Emma to lie.”

“She didn’t tell me you were at her school.”

“Did she lie about it?”

“Lie of omission. Same thing.” She narrowed her eyes. “You know about that, don’t you? You lied to me all the time.”

“I have apologized repeatedly.”

“That woman is not a good influence on Emma.”

It took David a moment to realize Brittney was talking about Max.

“She doesn’t see Max often,” David said. “May I come in?”

Still Brittney didn’t let him in. “I’ve decided that you can take Emma to dinner tonight, but not if that woman joins you. I don’t like her, I don’t trust her, and I don’t want my daughter around her.”

David wanted to argue. He wanted to defend Max. But he had no rights. Every hour Brittney allowed him to be with Emma was at her discretion. Their custody agreement could be changed by court order, and there was no doubt Brittney could find a judge to give her anything she wanted, if she wanted it badly enough.

Max would be disappointed, but she would understand.

No, she won’t understand.

He would have to explain it to her. And in the end, if Max didn’t understand, maybe there was no getting through to her. But she would have to accept that Emma came first, last, and always.

“All right,” he said.

“Just like that?”

“I hope you’ll change your mind because you’re wrong about Max, but I’m not going to risk time with my daughter.”

“I’m not wrong about her. You can pick Emma up at my mom’s house at five. Bring her back here by nine, it’s a school night.” She paused. “You know, I don’t have to let you see her at all. Your next visit isn’t supposed to be until Thanksgiving.”

“I know.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Thank you, Brittney.”

“You’re welcome.” She shut the door.

He walked slowly back to the car, hands fisted, controlling every ounce of his raging anger.

It took him time, but he calmed down. Because he would have four hours with his daughter, time he wouldn’t have had if he argued with Brittney.

Some things were worth fighting for, but sometimes the fight was internal.

*   *   *

Max had been expecting the visit from Lance Lorenzo all day. He showed up at Scoma’s Sunday night while she was dining alone at the restaurant.

“You fucking bitch.”

She looked at him coolly. “I warned you.”

“You had me fired!”

“You got yourself fired.”

He grabbed a chair and sat across from her. The bartender was eyeing the confrontation, but Max wasn’t scared of Lorenzo.

“This was my life. You don’t need a job. I do!”

She sipped her wine. “You lied in print. You lied about me. And you used kids as pawns.” After finding out that Brittney had forbidden Max from seeing Emma, she’d wished she’d done more than get Lorenzo fired. But what more could she have done?

“You’re gloating because you were right?” he asked.

“There’s nothing to gloat about,” she snapped and put her wineglass back on the table. She had nothing inside, not tonight. Not while dining alone in her favorite restaurant while her best friend celebrated his daughter’s birthday with his family. She’d told David it was fine, that she was tired, that she would relax after a hectic week. But it wasn’t fine. She wasn’t angry, which surprised her. She was sad. Over-the-top sad. And she didn’t know why.

But now she could let the anger take over. Fuel her. Because Lance Lorenzo was scum, and he needed to realize it. “You are everything I hate in a rotten reporter. You don’t care about the truth, you want your story. You used your sister’s future in-laws to your advantage. Your disinformation delayed finding the truth about what happened to Ivy Lake. You attributed quotes to me that I did not say. I told you, Lance, that first day we met what the terms were. You help me, I help you. You screw with me, I destroy you. You made your bed. I hope you learned something.”

He stepped toward her, hands fisted, but she didn’t flinch.

“I hate you,” he said.

She tilted her chin up and looked him in the eye. “I don’t care.”

He pushed the table, causing her wineglass to spill. She didn’t move. He stormed out.

Immediately, the waiter rushed over and cleaned up the mess. “I would never have let him come over if I’d known—”

“It’s okay.”

It was and it wasn’t. Lorenzo could be a problem for her down the road, but she didn’t regret what she’d done. He’d damaged the police investigation and he was a sensational liar. He’d attempted to humilate her. He had no business calling himself a reporter.

But, worse, he’d brought David’s family into the mix. He’d jeopardized David’s custody agreement. Lance Lorenzo was the reason Max was alone tonight.

Her phone vibrated again; another missed call from Nick. She didn’t call him back. She wasn’t in the mood. He wanted a one-sided relationship—if he couldn’t share about what his ex-wife was doing that upset him and that threatened his time with his son, Max didn’t know if she could fully trust him.

It hurt. She cared. Far too much. But she was too emotionally raw from what happened yesterday on the bay, and missing David’s family dinner tonight, to play the game with Nick. Maybe next time she was in town.

If there was a next time.

The waiter brought her another glass of wine and asked if she was ready to order.

“I’ll just have the crab cakes,” she said. “I’m not that hungry.”

“You’re always hungry,” a familiar voice said behind her.

She looked over her shoulder. Nothing could have surprised her more.

Nick.

He bent down and kissed her on the lips, ran a hand along her back, then sat down across from her. “You’ve been ignoring my calls.”

“It’s been a busy weekend.”

“I know. I called David to find out where you were.”

She didn’t know how she felt about that.

“You’re mad at me,” he said.

“I’m too tired to argue.”

He frowned. “Do you want me to leave?”

No. Yes. “I’m not great company.”

“That’s okay. At least, let me treat you to dinner.”

Their conversation was superficial. Two adults who had great sex together, but what else? Max didn’t know. She should tell Nick to leave until he was willing to talk about his ex-wife with her. She didn’t want an off-limits topic between them.

Brittney’s machinations today had hurt and angered Max. She blamed David … but she didn’t at the same time. All he wanted was time with his daughter, and Max was simply his friend and employer. She’d put too much into their friendship. Family always came first. And it should, when you had a family.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said with a smile.

“Tell me.”

“Tell me what Nancy is doing in court.”

Nick looked like she’d slapped him. “Max, I can’t. Don’t draw the line.”

“You drew the line,” she said quietly.

He didn’t say anything for a long minute. “I care about you, Maxine.”

She had nothing to say. What could she say? That she wanted him to trust her? She’d said that before; he hadn’t responded. She didn’t like repeating herself. She didn’t like being ignored.

“I’ll go,” he said.

“Don’t.”

He tilted his head, confused.

He would never understand. And maybe it was over. She’d try not to care so much. But right now Max didn’t want to be alone.

She stood and took his hand. Pulled him out of his seat. She kissed him. “My flight leaves at eight in the morning. Let’s not waste any time.”

“We should talk—”

“No. We shouldn’t.”

“Max—”

“Shh. It’s okay for now.”

It wasn’t, not really, but she could pretend.

At least for tonight.

ALSO BY
ALLISON BRENNAN

Compulsion

Notorious

No Good Deed

Best Laid Plans

Dead Heat

Cold Snap

Stolen

Stalked

Silenced

If I Should Die

Kiss Me, Kill Me

Love Me to Death

Carnal Sin

Original Sin

Cutting Edge

Fatal Secrets

Sudden Death

Playing Dead

Tempting Evil

Killing Fear

Fear No Evil

See No Evil

Speak No Evil

The Kill

The Hunt

The Prey

Acknowledgments

As always, I have several people to thank for their help in making this book the best it can be.

While I’m savvy with social media, I didn’t know how much I didn’t know … until I talked to my two teenagers, Luke and Mary, who helped me navigate through SnapChat and Instagram and other social media apps that I’ve since forgotten. They also showed me examples they’ve seen of cyberbullying, which helped me understand better what our youth face today.

As always, Dr. Doug Lyle, fellow author and all-around good guy, helped with the forensic details for this book. If I got anything wrong, trust me—it’s not Doug’s fault!

The wonderful author Catherine Coulter, unbeknownst to her, inspired this book a year ago when she hosted a spring lunch for fellow authors at her house. I drove through the town of Sausalito and pictured Max chasing a kid on a skateboard. I wondered why. Thanks, Catherine, for giving me more opportunities to travel to Marin County for research … and of course our champagne lunches.

And because writers are truly amazing, a special thanks to the dually amazing Karin Slaughter and Lisa Unger. This fan girl was thrilled when you both read an early galley and endorsed this book. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Zaneta Feleo, the administrative assistant to the Chief of the Central Marin Police Authority, helped me navigate their Web site, learn how the CMPA is organized, and answered numerous trivia questions. Because I write fiction, I took some liberties, but Zaneta helped me ground myself not only in the CMPA but in Marin County.

Last but not least, thanks always to: my agent, Dan Conaway—the calm, mellow fellow in our partnership who keeps me grounded; my editor, Kelley Ragland—the calm, smart voice of reason when my story goes off the rails; and everyone at Writers House and Minotaur who make it all happen.

About the Author

ALLISON BRENNAN
is the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of more than twenty novels and many short stories. A former consultant in the California State Legislature, she lives in Northern California with her husband, Dan, and their five children. You can sign up for email updates
here
.