Jodi said, “I know what Kevin’s death looks like, I know what everyone thinks. But I swear, Maxine, he was finally getting his life together. He hasn’t used in years. I mean, he might have drank a bit, but he wasn’t using drugs.”
The files hadn’t indicated anything of the sort. Kevin was a heavy drinker and had been arrested three times on drug possession. Marijuana twice, heroin once. He’d done six months in prison for the last bust. During the death investigation, two ounces of marijuana had been found in his apartment, along with empty whiskey and beer bottles. The only constant in his life seemed to have been a part-time job in a coffee place. Enough to pay his rent, buy his alcohol, and not much more.
Max didn’t tell Jodi any of this, because Jodi must have known the life Kevin lived. She watched the girl twist her long brown hair into knots. Max had many questions, but she didn’t want to lead Jodi down a specific path. When it was clear Jodi was too nervous to talk without prompting, Max asked, “Why did you ask me to come to Kevin’s funeral?”
“You were friends.” Her voice squeaked.
Max leaned back and pulled a bite-size piece off her carrot cake. She gauged Jodi’s state of mind. “I haven’t spoken to Kevin since I left twelve years ago. If he told you something different, he wasn’t telling you the truth.”
Jodi swallowed and leaned forward. “Ever since I can remember, Kevin has been trying to find out what happened the night Lindy Ames was killed.”
Four months ago, right before Christmas, Kevin had left a message asking her, in her capacity as an investigative journalist, to follow a lead he had on Lindy’s murder. A murder that occurred when they were high school seniors, a murder for which he’d been arrested, stood trial for, and walked away a man in limbo: the hung jury split evenly, six to acquit, six to convict.
Worse, she’d been friends with both Kevin and Lindy; in fact, growing up, she and Lindy had been inseparable. Only during their senior year had they drifted apart, and Max was unclear why that had happened. Lindy had become moody and secretive. Lindy, of all people, knew how Max hated deception, so when Max caught her in a series of little white lies, Max had overreacted. Max could forgive it now, but then her best friend’s dishonesty—especially about such trivial things like where she was going—had hurt and offended her. Would anything have been different had Max been more tolerant of Lindy’s behavior?
She’d asked David to call Kevin back and say she wasn’t interested in hearing from him. David wouldn’t have been swayed by Kevin’s pleas as she might have been.
A twinge of guilt crept in. When she heard his message, the time slipped away and she was the nineteen-year-old friend of a boy on trial for murder who’d lied to her to ensure her loyalty. Had she said no to his olive branch out of spite? As payback for making her feel gullible?
“Did you know Kevin called me before Christmas asking for my help in Lindy’s cold case?”
Jodi nodded. “He said he understood why you didn’t want to, but—” She bit her thumb. “What happened after the trial? Why did you stand by Kevin, then turn your back on him?”
“Do you really want to know?” Max wasn’t sure she wanted to say anything, because after twelve years her reasons for walking away seemed petty. But she’d never forget how she felt when Kevin told her he’d lied about his alibi. It was as if she’d been gutted—not because she thought he was guilty, but because he’d been able to lie so smoothly and she hadn’t known.
Jodi straightened her spine. “Yes.”
“Kevin lied about his alibi.”
“I don’t understand. He had no alibi—he said he was home. The prosecutor said he could have easily snuck out of the house.”
“He did sneak out of the house.”
She looked stricken. “You—you think he’s guilty.”
“No. But, he made me doubt him because I didn’t understand then why he lied, and I understand less now.” She sipped her coffee to calm her nerves, because remembering how inadequate and helpless she’d felt back then made her queasy. “After the trial, Kevin told me that he wasn’t home, that he was with Olivia Langstrom.”
Jodi looked perplexed. “Why didn’t he tell the police that?” she asked.
“I asked him the same thing. He didn’t think he’d be arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. And then, when he was, he said they couldn’t have evidence against him because he was innocent. And yet, the circumstantial evidence was strong enough for six of the jurors to think he was guilty.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“No, it doesn’t. According to Kevin, Olivia was physically and emotionally abused by her father. She was going through a hard time, and thinking of running away, but Kevin thought she was going to hurt herself. They talked half the night at Fake Lake and he took her home between three and four in the morning.” The man-made lake had been a favorite party spot for Atherton teens.
“She could have told the judge that. Or the police or someone!”
“She could have—she should have—but she didn’t, and Kevin thought if he changed his story after the arrest no one would believe him. And he’d promised Olivia he wouldn’t say anything. She was afraid of repercussions.”
“So he went through hell to protect her reputation?”
Jodi was having the same questions and doubts that Max did.