Cut and Run (Lucy Kincaid #16) - Allison Brennan Page 0,69
a bad influence on him,” Lucy said.
Sean leaned over and kissed her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a car pull into the driveway.
It was Max.
Sean turned off the water and poured Lucy a glass of wine. “She learned something from Grover Mills and wanted to talk in person.”
“I’ll disappear.”
Sean didn’t say anything, but by his expression she knew she wasn’t going to like this. “You mean she wants to talk to me.”
“I don’t know what specifically, but give her ten minutes. She’s good, Luce. She wouldn’t come here with a theory if she didn’t think it was important.”
“What happened to you giving me a heads-up?”
“She just texted me a few minutes ago.”
Lucy had a feeling that Sean and Max had conspired to bring her into their investigation. That probably wasn’t fair, but after the shooting today Sean had become fully invested in this case. He was angry and motivated to find out who was behind this … conspiracy. Because there was no better word for it.
Lucy had her own complicated case and she couldn’t get Ricky Albright out of her head. She kept picturing him as he looked when he was nine, a dimpled little boy with big brown eyes and freckles dotting his nose.
“Hey,” Sean said, and kissed her. “You okay?”
The doorbell rang.
“I’ll listen. Ten minutes.”
Sean went to let Max in and Lucy sipped her wine. What she really wanted was a giant bowl of chocolate–chocolate chip ice cream. Instead, she followed Sean down the hall.
“Thank you, Lucy,” Max said. “You’ll definitely be interested in my theory.”
“I’m still not getting involved in an SAPD investigation,” Lucy said. With Max, she had to be clear from the beginning what she wouldn’t do, or Max would see an in and try to exploit it. Lucy liked her on many levels—she’d read her true crime books, she admired her insight and ability to uncover the seemingly impossible truth, and her determination to find the truth—but the same determination made her difficult to work with, and she used intense pressure to get her way.
“I understand,” Max said. To Sean, she asked, “Do you have a whiteboard?”
“In my office,” he said.
“Can we use it? This will make more sense visually.”
Sean led the way down to his office. He opened a cabinet that concealed an eight-foot-wide whiteboard. He handed Max a set of colored markers, then sat down on the couch. “Luce,” he said, motioning for her to join him.
She did, though she was so tired she feared she wouldn’t get up.
Max wrote on the board. On the far left she listed several names:
VICTORIA MILLS
SIMON MILLS
STANLEY GRANT
MITCH CORTA
HARRISON MONROE
DENISE ALBRIGHT
“Stop,” Lucy said. “I’m not talking to you about my case.”
“Ten minutes,” Max said, ignoring her comment. Above the names she wrote Texas A&M. “Victoria and Denise were college roommates their freshman year. They grew up in the same general area in Fredericksburg, didn’t go to the same high school, didn’t know each other, but had a lot in common. According to Victoria’s father, Denise was her only close female friend. Denise named her oldest daughter Victoria—she went by Tori—after Victoria Mills.”
Lucy’s chest tightened. She knew where Max was going with this, but she didn’t say anything. If she put up the stop sign now, Max wouldn’t share anything with her.
And Max knew something about her case. Something that Lucy didn’t know. That grated on her and excited her at the same time.
Max created a timeline. Fifteen years ago, Mitch, Stan, and Victoria created MCG Land and Holdings. Simon and Grover Mills were silent partners, each holding a small portion of the company. Twelve years ago Mitch and Victoria got married. Denise was the maid of honor. A little over three years ago—over the summer—Mitch and Victoria legally separated. In September, the Albright family disappeared. The next spring, Mitch and Victoria legally divorced but remained in business together.
The Friday after Labor Day of this year, the graves were uncovered in Kendall County. Max wrote:
A FEW BONES FOUND AFTER LABOR DAY FLOODING.
GRAVESITE DISCOVERED FRIDAY MORNING.
MEDIA WIDELY REPORTED THE DISCOVERY.
V KILLED FRIDAY NIGHT.
“Max,” Lucy began.
“Let me finish,” Max said, and continued writing in her bold script.
TUES: GRANT ALLEGEDLY EMBEZZLED $2.1M, THREATENED BY UNKNOWN HISPANIC MALE W/BURN ON HAND.
WED: MARIE & KIDS IN ACCIDENT. SCARMAN PRESENT. GRANT CONFESSES. MUST HAVE FACTS FOR POLICE TO BELIEVE. NO MURDER WEAPON.
Max then drew a line down the board and wrote on the right:
FRIDAY: IDENTITY OF BONES REVEALED. SIMON VISITS STAN IN PRISON.