What could she say? No? Could she even keep Carina out of the room considering that she was an SDPD detective on good terms with her chief?
Sometimes, she still felt like a little girl. Her brothers and sisters were so much older than she was. Even Patrick, the next youngest, was nearly eleven years older than her. Was that what Thursday night was about? Lucy didn’t back down when her family ganged up on her, but would they ever see her as someone other than the lost girl she’d been after she’d been raped? Someone other than the little kid who tagged along with her older siblings?
She’d thought after last year, when she mitigated the hostage crisis at the hospital, that they finally saw her as a grown woman, a cop who knew what to do and when to do it.
“I’m not going to ban you,” Lucy said. “If you want to be there, I want you there. But if you undermine me, I will ask you to leave.”
Carina clearly wasn’t expecting that answer—whether that she wanted her there or that she would really ask her to leave. Lucy couldn’t have someone second-guessing her when she was already nervous about everything that they’d done. Not that she’d done anything wrong, but her job was on the line and she wasn’t going to allow her family to turn a difficult situation into an impossible situation.
“Thank you,” Carina said.
“Are you joining us?” Lucy asked Connor. She had never been as close to Connor as Patrick. Maybe because fifteen years separating them was too much, she didn’t know. And then after Patrick’s coma, Connor had distanced himself even further. It wasn’t his fault—he had watched Patrick nearly die when they went to rescue Lucy and walked into a trap. Lucy sensed that he was conflicted about a lot of things, and it was just better if she steered clear. Yet, there were many things she loved about him, including his loyalty to his family.
“No,” Connor said. “I shouldn’t have been involved in any way—this wasn’t my decision to make.”
“You’re family.”
“I was being overprotective of Carina, but in doing so, I hurt you. And I’m sorry.”
“Apology unnecessary but accepted.”
“It’s hard to see you all grown up. You aren’t the little girl who followed Patrick and me everywhere. You left for the East Coast practically a child and came back a woman, and it’s been … difficult, I suppose, to see you so focused and mature. And you’re close to Jack when no one else is. No one quite knows what he does or even if it’s legal.”
Lucy was surprised to hear that from Connor, but he was right about one thing—when her father disowned Jack, it had taken Jack years to start building a relationship with his family again. Lucy wasn’t part of that—and she and Jack had bonded. Over tragedy and adversity, but he was a rock. Her rock.
Connor continued. “If you trust this reporter, I’ll accept your judgment. And it’s clear you found something solid, otherwise the chief would never meet with you.”
“It is solid. Danielle will break as soon as she’s questioned—I’m ninety percent certain. So is Dillon. We’ll get her. We just have to find her, and we have enough information to turn over that the police should be able to locate her. We suspect she’s in California.”
Connor said, “Can Carina go with you? I drove her over here.”
“Sure.”
Carina was relieved, and they all walked down to the lobby together. Max was waiting—talking on her phone—and raised her eyebrows when Lucy approached.
“I’ll call you when I have something solid,” she said into the phone, then ended the call. “Isn’t this a pleasant surprise,” she said drolly.
“Carina is going to join us for the meeting with Chief Causey,” Lucy said.
Max didn’t say anything.
Lucy gave Connor a hug. “Thank you for understanding,” she said.
“If you need me, for anything”—he gave Max a sidelong look full of suspicion—“call me. Anytime.”
“I will.”
Connor left and Max said, “Ready?”
“Yes.”
Max turned and strode out of the lobby. Her rental car had already been brought around to the front. It was all Lucy could do to keep up with her long stride.
“Carina wants to be involved,” Lucy said quietly. “She wants to help.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am.”
Max slid into the driver’s seat. It didn’t take long to arrive at SDPD headquarters, but Max was silent the entire drive. So she was irritated. Lucy didn’t regret bringing Carina along. Knowing the truth would only help her sister—and the rest of her family.
As soon as they arrived, Carina spotted her longtime partner and excused herself.
“I’m not going to apologize,” Lucy said to Max as they waited for their escort to the chief’s office.
“For what?”
“You’re mad that I brought Carina.”
“Not mad. Mildly irritated. She could have been helping from the beginning, but I’m not upset that she’s here. Truthfully, the more law enforcement on board, the better chance we have of building the case and for the DA or AUSA to get a conviction. I may not be a cop or a lawyer, but I’ve followed enough trials and investigations to know that with something like this, more cooks makes for a better meal.”
Lucy wasn’t sure she’d have used that analogy, but she understood what Max meant.
“Then why the silent treatment?”
“Truthfully? I had an argument with my boyfriend this morning. He’s in northern California and wants me to come up for a few days after I’m done with Blair Caldwell’s trial.”
“And? What’s the argument?”
“I took what you said to heart—that he might have this twisted thought that he’s protecting me or that he doesn’t want the negativity in our relationship or some such nonsense. So I told him as much. And he finally told me why he won’t share.” She glanced around, then lowered her voice. “He said he knows what I will say, that I will tell him he’s being manipulated by his ex-wife. But ultimately, he’ll do anything to keep joint custody of his son, and it would only frustrate both of us if we discuss it.”
“Is he right?”
“Partly. He is being manipulated, but it’s more than that. It’s like extortion. Nancy has something that Nick desperately wants—time with his son—and he’s willing to do anything for it. He’s going by the rules—the legal process, the court system—and she then changes the rules midgame. It’s wholly unfair, and Nick is being hung by his balls because he won’t call her bluff.”
“He doesn’t want to risk his son.”
“I get that. I don’t want him to risk his relationship. He says we’ll talk, but it’s more of the same. It’s tearing Nick apart and I can’t watch, especially when he won’t let me be involved.”
In a mere whisper, Max said, “And maybe I just don’t love him enough to ignore all this.”