“I have just given you a motive for Denise Albright’s murder. Don’t tell me you already figured this out, because you had no idea Denise and Victoria knew each other.”
“I would have with enough time. We got this case less than forty-eight hours ago.”
“I have access to the Mills family. We can get information faster using my access than if you jump through hoops.”
“Those hoops are there to ensure a conviction when a case goes to trial. You don’t have to worry about things like that; I do.”
“You have no probable cause to interview Harrison Monroe. In fact, you made it clear that the Victoria Mills homicide is a local police issue, so you have no reason to interview Mitch or Simon or anyone else.”
“If you continue down this path and you are even partly right, then you could blow the entire investigation, and could very well put a young boy at risk.”
Max glared at her. “I do not blow investigations.”
“We believe that Ricky Albright is alive and in hiding. We think he knows something about his family’s murder, possibly as a witness. We have a plan to bring him home safely, but if he’s scared—and if those responsible find out we have a line on him—he may never come home, and could be in more danger.”
“I would never put a child in danger. Between the two of us, we have far more information than separately.”
“The difference is I have a badge and you have a pen. Would you seriously withhold information in a capital case because you want to be in the middle of the investigation?”
“It’s really hard not to take that as an insult.”
Sean spoke up.
“Max, can you excuse us for a minute?”
Max walked out without comment, closing the door behind her.
“What’s wrong?” Sean asked.
“Wrong? Are you actually taking her side?”
“I’m not taking sides because there is no side to take. We all want the same thing.”
“I want justice. She wants a story.”
“I don’t think that’s fair to Max.”
“That’s not what you used to think. It’s so hard to compete against her!”
That didn’t come out the way Lucy intended, and by the look on Sean’s face he didn’t understand.
“You sound jealous, and you don’t have a jealous bone in your body,” he said.
“It’s her way. I know you and Dillon are friends with her and she is so persuasive and smart, but she’s a reporter. She’s not a cop, and her concerns are not my concerns. I admire her work—she is truly brilliant on so many levels. Her books are textbooks in how to investigate cold cases—but also in what not to do.”
“I think I understand,” he said.
“You don’t.”
“Now you’re not being fair to me, Luce. I know that your hands are often tied, and I know that you wrestle with bending the rules.”
“I’ve done it, to save lives, and I’ve never regretted it.” She’d once broken a rule that resulted in saving a woman’s life … but also let a human trafficker walk. It hadn’t been a hard decision, because life is precious. That woman deserved to survive, and if she hadn’t gotten the information out of the trafficker the woman would have died.
But he walked, and that was a heavy burden to carry.
“But it adds weight. Max doesn’t have that burden. I don’t have that burden, at least not like you do. She’s on to something here, and you would not have had this information if she didn’t come here and open herself up like this. I told her when we first started working together not to tell me anything that would mean I had to keep a secret from you, because I won’t do that. But I couldn’t help her if she kept all this from me—and I can help. I’m running a deep background on Harrison Monroe as we speak. But neither of us have access to the Albright case. Max is willing to turn over all the research in this case—everything I’ve done and she’s done.”
“But she won’t walk away.”
“Would you?”
“That’s different.”
“If you weren’t a federal agent and you uncovered something big—a potential conspiracy—would you just turn it over to the police and walk away?”
“I can’t answer that, because I am a federal agent.”
“I think if you talk to Max about the Albright case she might have more information that she doesn’t realize is important, plus a unique insight.”
“You’re forgetting that the Victoria Mills murder is an active police investigation. I can’t get involved.”
“You’re not. But if you solve the Albright murders, I think you’ll also solve the Mills murder. And like you said, a little boy’s life is on the line. No one wants Ricky Albright to stay in hiding his entire life. What he must have been going through the last three years. If he’s alive, he deserves a life free from fear, free from running, right?”
Sean was taking Max’s side over hers. She rubbed her eyes. Sean was right. There really wasn’t a side in this situation. But what happened when Max crossed the line—which historically she was prone to doing—and it cost them a conviction?
As if sensing her indecision, Sean said, “Remember when we were looking for my cousin in New York, before you were an FBI agent, before you were even in the academy, and Suzanne brought you into the investigation because you had a unique insight into the situation? She didn’t want to. Noah vouched for you, and she trusted Noah. You helped solve a major case, even though you weren’t a cop. And before you went through the academy, that DC cop partnered with you to solve the murder of two prostitutes. Because you had insight and you wanted to help. I’m telling you, Max has insight and access right now, and I think she can be an asset.”
There had been several times when Lucy helped with criminal cases, even though she had no legal authority or jurisdiction. There had been times when she’d broken the rules because someone was in danger.
She looked at the timeline that Max had written on the board. She wanted to dismiss the coincidence, but she couldn’t. Victoria was killed the same day that the Albright bones were found, and Stan changed his plea the Monday after the Albrights’ identities were revealed. He must have seen a news report on it, but no … he couldn’t have. The information wasn’t released to the media until Monday afternoon.
“Who told Stanley Grant that the bones we found were the Albrights? That wasn’t information we released until yesterday, but he planned on changing his plea over the weekend.”
“Very good question,” Sean said. “Maybe he always knew.”
“In a perfect world, Max would give me everything she has and walk away.”
Sean smiled. “I don’t think she would agree, but I understand what you mean.”
“For the record, Sean, I don’t like this. I can see a hundred ways this can go sideways. But … I want her information. I guess I’m stuck.”
“No, you’re not. No one’s stuck. This is a win-win.”
Lucy wished she felt that way.
“Bring her back in. I’ll lay out some ground rules she won’t like, but at least tomorrow we’ll both know exactly what we need to learn.”