Cut and Run (Lucy Kincaid #16) - Allison Brennan Page 0,26

any discovery they plan to use at trial. It sounds like you want to cut corners.”

“I want to know why Stanley Grant confessed, if out of guilt or threat, and whether he really embezzled the funds and, if so, why; I want to find out what the real motive is if he’s guilty because it sure wasn’t embezzlement; but mostly, I want to find out if he’s being framed for Victoria’s murder and if he knows who was behind it.”

“Yet he confessed. Said he took the money to pay off gambling debts. I don’t have to tell you that money is a powerful motive for murder.”

“And he retracted it.”

Lucy shook her head. “Max, generally when someone confesses—and it sounds like he went in on his own, he wasn’t held by the police for hours of intense questioning that may have led to a false or coerced confession. Guilt propelled him, and after time sitting in lockup, he’s realizing that spending the rest of his life in prison is not what he wants, so he’s having second thoughts. Unless you have hard evidence to the contrary.”

“That’s why I’m here, to find the evidence to prove he killed Victoria, or prove he didn’t.”

“The San Antonio Police Department is more than competent. They’ll find the evidence if there is evidence to be found, and the prosecution will have to prove the case in court. In my experience, it’s rare for a prosecutor to go for a trial if they are not at least eighty percent certain that they’ll get a conviction.”

“And yet there are holes. Oddities. The police haven’t been forthcoming, and Grover deserves to know who killed his daughter. The man is seventy and this tragedy has aged him more than a decade.”

“I have sympathy for him, but I’m not going to step all over SAPD because you think they may have missed something. Let them do their job. They’re a good department and I have no authority to go in and demand anything.”

“I’m not asking you to demand information, you’re far too diplomatic for that. I’m asking for assistance.”

“You want me to give you confidential information.”

“I want you to give me your analysis of confidential information,” Max said, though in Lucy’s mind there was no distinction. “And it’s not strictly confidential. It will eventually be made public. But I have a bit more experience than you with police departments that drop the ball or—worse—a cop who gets it in his head that someone is guilty and will not even consider alternative scenarios.”

Sean sat down. “We’re friends here, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“I’m just asking.”

“You’re badgering.”

Lucy shook her head. “It’s okay, Sean.”

He reached down and took her hand, squeezed it. Lucy was relieved. Sean had been silent for so long she’d wondered if she was overreacting or if he thought she should cut corners like this.

“I’m with you on this, Max,” Sean said. “There are oddities, as you say. And I’ll help you find them. But keep Lucy out of it.”

Max wanted to argue—Lucy could see it as clear as day. But the reporter had changed over the last year. Subtly, but Lucy could see her working to be more diplomatic and less confrontational. “I hope you’ll change your mind,” Max said, “but I understand.”

“Thank you,” Lucy said.

She turned to Sean. “I’m meeting with Jones tonight, then I’ll call you about meeting with Grant tomorrow.”

“If you get the meeting.”

Max raised her eyebrows. “You doubt me?”

Sean smiled. “Nope. I’ve already cleared my week. I’m all yours.”

“Thank you again for dinner. Jesse is a terrific kid, I’m glad I met him—and that the bumpy road is a little smoother.”

“He is, and thank you.”

Sean walked Max to the door and Lucy fetched herself some chocolate ice cream. She was feeling a little out of sorts—she always felt like she had to be 100 percent focused in any conversation with Max; it was draining. She could be both smart and infuriating, and while Lucy considered her a friend, she didn’t know if she could ever truly trust her.

But maybe that was her own biases against reporters in general, and Lucy’s overwhelming need for privacy. Max had hired both Dillon and Sean in their respective capacities, and Dillon even went on Max’s crime show, where she interviewed him about the Blair Donovan trial, one of her past investigations where Dillon served as an expert witness. Dillon had helped her in several of her investigations—as a criminal psychiatrist—and they’d become friends. It seemed odd to