“You don’t think he is.”
“I can’t see William strangling Lindy, looking into her face and watching her die. I just—I can’t see it. Maybe I’m blind.”
“She was strangled from behind.”
Max stared at him. “How do you know that?”
“While you were in the shower, I called a friend of mine at the coroner’s office. She grumbled, but read me the report. There’s some odd things, and she’s sending me a copy. But I’ve got to tell you—I’m already getting shit from my boss about the calls I’m making.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
He waved off her apology. “I don’t care. I told my boss there may be a connection between Jason Hoffman’s murder and Lindy Ames’s murder.” He glanced over at her murder boards. “What’s that drawing on the Ames board?”
Max got up and took off the sticky note. “This is Lindy’s crime scene.”
“You’re not much of an artist, are you?”
“No.” She pointed to the line. “This is the stone wall. This dotted line is the gate. This tree—”
“That’s a tree?”
“Ha. That’s the tree I climbed up the other night next to the old gym to see if I could see how close Lindy’s clubhouse was from the pool.”
“She was found in the school’s pool.”
“Yes. It’s closer to her clubhouse than her own pool.”
Nick got up and took the drawing off Jason Hoffman’s board. “And this?”
“That’s where the grave is, those are trees, and that’s the wall.”
“The same wall.”
Max understood what he saw. “Yes.”
“Where was Lindy found in relation to the grave?”
“A hundred, a hundred and twenty yards.”
“Do you realize that Atherton has only had two murders within the town limits in the last twenty years?” Nick said.
“Three. Lindy, Jason, and the unidentified victim in this grave. All at Atherton Prep.” She frowned. “It has to be a coincidence.”
“You don’t think so.”
She stared at the boards. No, she didn’t think this was a coincidence.
Nick said, “You put up a third board as soon as you found the grave, even before we confirmed there had been a body buried there.”
“Because I think that Jason found the grave and that’s why he was killed.”
“So do I. That’s why I’ve been on the phone for the last hour.”
“But that doesn’t mean there’s a connection between Jason and Lindy. Thirteen years between murders. Jason didn’t go to ACP. He’s from San Carlos, ten miles north. Evergreen had no other business in Atherton, until the sports complex. Their families don’t move in the same circles. Except—Jasper. He’s the only connection between Jason and ACP. But he didn’t even go to school with Lindy. He’s several years older than us.”
“But there is a connection between Jason and the grave, and the grave and Lindy.”
“I don’t understand. Because they were killed in the same area?” Max knew she was missing something.
“Your friend was killed thirteen years ago. The bones we found are between ten and fifteen years old. The lab will be able to pinpoint their age more accurately.”
“You’re saying Lindy and the grave are connected.”
“I think it’s something I need to follow up.” Nick put out his hand. Max hesitated, then took it. “Go to bed,” he told her.
“Bossy.” But she was tired. “The hotel can call me every hour,” she said. “You don’t need to stay.”
“It’s fine.”
“Why are you being so nice to me? You made it perfectly clear last night that you don’t like me.”
Nick stepped toward her. Now she recognized the expression on his face. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt like a teenager again, waiting for her first kiss.
He leaned over and put his lips on hers. A light kiss. A kiss that was longer than friendly, but shorter than passion.
It wasn’t enough for Max. Not after that kiss in the restaurant, when she knew what they both wanted.
She took a step toward him, until her body was pressed against his, and she kissed him with the same intensity as he had the other night. He didn’t hesitate, but held her behind her neck, holding her in place, returning the same.
This time, she stopped the kiss. She didn’t want to. Her heart urgently beat a call to finish what they’d started. They were both experienced consenting adults who were attracted to each other. She wanted to take Nick to bed.
But not when she couldn’t give herself the way she wanted.
She said, “If I was feeling one hundred percent, we’d be naked right now.”
He tilted his head and gave her a quirky but sexy half smile. “Get well soon, Max.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Nick had woken Max up at midnight, then again at three, to make sure she was coherent. Max woke up on her own at five in the morning feeling like she’d been hit by a truck. But her mind was running full steam, and she wanted to look at Kevin’s files.
Nick had already gone through everything. He had it sorted, and Max quickly realized it was sorted into stacks of irrelevant, possibly relevant, and likely relevant. In the center were all the files on her and her family, which made her very uncomfortable.