Dillon needed to come to California and break her. There was no one better than him, and he was a civilian consultant for the FBI. He had the certifications and credentials necessary. He’d already agreed to go to Arizona and assess Blair Caldwell—she might not agree, but that was fine—Dillon didn’t need to have her agreement. He could give the prosecution more information into the mind of the killer, and testify as to the type of person who could commit this crime. He couldn’t flat-out say that Blair was guilty—without a psychological evaluation that he administered it would be problematic—but Lucy was pretty certain that there was a psych eval done at some point. That would help Dillon with his assessment.
Her phone rang. Caller ID informed her it was Carina.
Lucy took a deep breath and answered.
“Hello.”
“It’s Carina. Connor and I are in the lobby. Can we come up?”
Lucy wanted to say no. She was nervous about her presentation this morning, she didn’t want anyone else in her head. Nothing they could say would deter her from this path, but at the same time, this was family. She’d hoped that after her conversation with Carina on Saturday, her sister understood why she was pursuing this.
“I don’t have a lot of time,” Lucy said.
“I know, my chief called me this morning.”
Dammit. Lucy knew that might be a possibility because Carina was well respected on the police force. She’d only hoped that Andrew had convinced the chief to keep everything under wraps until they officially took over the case, or it was officially an FBI case.
“Lucy, Connor and I want to be there. We want to help. Can we just come up and explain?”
“All right.” Lucy gave Carina her room number and hung up. She sent Max a text message and said she’d meet her in the lobby at ten. Their meeting at SDPD was at eleven. Andrew was also talking to the special agent in charge of the local FBI office, after Lucy’s conversation with SSA Ken Swan yesterday. Lucy suspected her boss, SSA Vaughn, would hear about this before the day was out, but there was nothing else she could do.
A murderer would be in prison and that was the most important thing.
Lucy answered the door as soon as Carina knocked. She was dressed for work—slacks, a button-down shirt, and a blazer. Connor was right behind her in jeans and a leather jacket.
“I’m meeting Max downstairs in twenty minutes,” Lucy said.
“Nelia called me last night,” Carina began. “She told me about your conversation with her. She also talked to Dad.”
“I didn’t ask her to do that.”
“Connor and Julia were over for dinner when she called, and we all had a long talk. I don’t think Nelia and I have talked in years … not like that. Nothing more than superficial conversation. While I was thinking of her when you announced you were investigating Justin’s murder, I was thinking more about myself. What I went through, that the police suspected me, that I looked into Justin’s murder as soon as I became a cop and there was nothing—no evidence, no suspects, nothing. I assumed that if I couldn’t find anything and I was there at the time that you certainly wouldn’t be able to find anything, but that all this shit would be dredged up again and I would be … I don’t know. I really don’t know what I was thinking, but I was being selfish.”
“I understand.” In part. Maybe she wouldn’t completely understand why her family had been set against her on this, but she didn’t hold it against any of them, especially Carina.
“We’re also concerned about the reporter,” Connor said. “Reporters are not our friends.”
“Max is … different.”
Connor snorted and Carina shot him a look.
Lucy said, “Max is going to write about Justin’s murder when we catch Danielle Sharpe and she’s been arrested for her crimes.”
“And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“Is she going to write about you?”
“No.”
“You trust her that much? That she won’t dig up your past?”
Why did everything come back to her past? Was she supposed to hide and cower for fear that someone would find out that she’d been kidnapped and brutally raped? That she’d nearly died? That her injuries were so severe that she lost her uterus and could never have her own children? The truth was out there, if someone knew where to look and were really, really good at it. Max could find it if she wanted to. It would take her time, but she could figure it out.
Through clenched teeth, Lucy said, “Not everything is about me.”
“That’s not what we meant—” Carina began.
Lucy cut her off, forced herself to relax. “Whether she finds out the truth about what happened isn’t what’s important. She won’t write about it.”
“How can you be so damn sure?”
“Because Sean had her promise not to write about him or me without our permission.”
“And she’ll stick to it?” Connor shook his head. “A verbal agreement means nothing, especially to someone like her. I looked her up, she’s a bitch. What people have said about her—sure, she’s solved some cold cases and she doesn’t back down. But she’s all about ratings. What’s going to help her show. And if she thinks you will help her show, she’ll exploit you. We both know you’ve been involved in some situations that really wouldn’t be so great to be public. And I’m not talking about what happened when you were eighteen.”
“She’s not all about the ratings. Yes, she is focused on her show and what she can use for it, but she made me a promise, and I believe she will live up to it. But truthfully, even if she did find out everything there is to know about me, should I let that stop me from bringing Danielle Sharpe to justice?”
“There are other ways.”
“We would have nothing if Max hadn’t found the connection between Justin and two other boys. We would have nothing if Max hadn’t come in and asked the hard questions. She wouldn’t have a case without my help—she would have theories, but no one here was going to help her because Justin’s murder was essentially off-limits for fear of upsetting the Kincaids.”
“That includes you, Lucy,” Carina said softly.
“And Andrew asked me for my opinion. Max has a keen eye, and she has included me from the beginning. We’re presenting our evidence with Andrew’s blessing, with Nelia’s blessing, and the help of Detective Katella. Dillon is going to be on speakerphone because he helped with the profile. A representative from the FBI is going to be there. But this wouldn’t have happened if Max and I didn’t work together.” She looked from her sister to her brother. “You called not ten minutes ago and said you wanted to help. Now you’re challenging me? I don’t have time for this or time to doubt myself.”
“We’re not—” Carina began.
“You are. You’re testing my resolve or, hell, I don’t know! But I’m not going to back down.”
“I want to be there,” Carina said.
“I don’t know,” Lucy said. “I’d like you to be, but I don’t know that I can trust you.”
The sorrow that crossed Carina’s face was real. “Lucy, you’re a great cop. I really believe you found Justin’s killer. I want to listen to the evidence. I want to help stop her. It’ll give me closure, too. I need it—but if you really don’t want me there, fine. I’ll stand down.”