“He claims they’re documents important to an unsolved homicide. He got a warrant.”
She looked at her desk where the files she’d already taken were spread out. “These are my files, he can’t touch them. I’ll get those back—I’ll petition the court. That bastard. You know he’s not looking for another killer. He never believed Kevin was innocent.”
“I’m not arguing with you, but right now it’s touchy. Just stay away, please.”
Max didn’t want to agree—she wanted to get in Beck’s face. But she had other things to do.
The weeping willow tree.
Only one person she knew would have called the large, old willow tree in the middle of the Atherton Prep parking lot the weeping willow tree.
“I’ll stay away from him. For now.”
*
Max convinced her grandmother to loan her the two-seater Jaguar Eleanor rarely drove. She took a taxi to the house and avoided a long conversation with her grandmother, before taking the Jag and driving to Andy Talbot’s office. His secretary gave her the runaround, but eventually Max realized he wasn’t there. She left and called him from the parking lot.
He didn’t answer his cell phone.
“Dammit, Andy!”
She didn’t want to believe that Andy had made that anonymous call, but she knew in her heart it was true. Nick and Carson believed that whoever made the call was Lindy’s killer—which meant that Andy had killed her.
But why? There was no damn reason!
She slammed her fist on the steering wheel and called William.
“I need to see Andy; he’s avoiding me.”
“He’s just angry with you, but he’ll get over it. He always does.”
“William, I’m serious.”
“Why?”
She didn’t say anything. She didn’t know if she could trust her cousin.
William sighed. “Andy’s on his way to the airport. He has a business trip.”
“Going where?”
“China.”
“Kind of sudden, don’t you think?”
“I’m sure it’s been planned for a while, he doesn’t keep me apprised of all his business trips,” he said with thinly veiled sarcasm. “What’s going on, Maxine?”
She hung up and headed for San Francisco International Airport.
It was two in the afternoon, so rush hour hadn’t started yet, but Max was still frustrated that it took thirty minutes to get to the international terminal. She’d used the time wisely, however, by conning Andy’s secretary into giving her the flight information. It was scheduled to leave in just under an hour; he’d probably already gone through security.
Max bought a ticket to get through security check, then she detoured to Andy’s gate.
He was sitting in an open bar, drinking Scotch, across from the boarding area. She stood in front of him and didn’t say a word.
He looked up and stared. He raised his glass to his lips, sipped, and put it down, never breaking eye contact.
She stepped forward and said quietly, “Do you remember when we were freshmen and Duncan was a junior? He wasn’t paying attention, arguing with his girlfriend or something, and backed his car into the willow tree? I said, now it’s a weeping willow tree. And you called it the weeping willow tree from then on. Maxine, meet me at the weeping willow tree, you’d tell me. Or, Maxine, I’m parked next to the weeping willow tree. I always thought it was cute, but you were the only one who called it that, other than me. You kissed me for the first time, up against the weeping willow tree.”
“Sit down and have a drink.”
She took his Scotch from his hand and drained it, then put it down on the table. “Kevin didn’t kill Lindy. His car was never parked next to the weeping willow tree the night she died. Why did you frame him?”
“You don’t want to do this.”
“Someone attacked me last night when I found Lindy’s diary. I thought it was Lindy’s killer, that her diary contained evidence against him. That means you attacked me.”
“I didn’t know you were attacked.” He briefly glanced down. Lying? Guilt?
She pointed to the scrape on the side of her face and the bruise on her nose. “I’m good with makeup, but even you can see the bruises.”
“I didn’t kill Lindy.” His voice was barely above a whisper.
“I don’t believe you. You made the call.”
“I had to.”
“Someone held a gun to your head?”
“I was protecting someone.”
She stared at him, her mouth open, feeling foolish for wanting to believe him. For wanting to believe she hadn’t been so horribly wrong about Andy Talbot for all these years. She’d slept with him—not only that, he’d been her first. Her first for everything. For sex, for love, for betrayal.
But he was willing to send an innocent man, their friend, to prison to protect someone else. That meant only one thing: family.
“I’ve known you since I was ten years old. I loved you once. Tell me who you’re protecting.”
“No.”
“Yes!”
She hadn’t meant to raise her voice, but the patrons around her glanced at them. She took one step closer and was only inches from Andy’s face. “If you don’t think I won’t call security and have you kept off that plane, you’re wrong. I will use every contact I have, every amount of charm and wits to make sure you are arrested.”
“You do that, you destroy your own family.”
Mixed emotions flooded through her. But she stood firm. “Tell me the truth, Andrew.”