Betrayal (27 page)

She was up and dressed when Jim came back the next morning, and she was wearing jeans without holes in them for a change. Her hair was pulled back, and her face was clean and fresh. She looked wholesome and young and more relaxed. He had brought her an egg sandwich from McDonald’s, and they ate the pastry he’d brought her the night before.

“It’s going to be a long week,” she said, referring to the press still camped outside.

“They’ll give up eventually. Someone will shoot someone else, and they’ll move on.”

“That’s a cheering thought.” At least it wasn’t going to be her, and she realized more than ever that she had narrowly escaped it, and it might have been her if she had let Brigitte in. But she had known not to. Brigitte had sounded so crazy on the phone.

Jim stayed until he had to pick up his son for a ball game, and then he left her for the afternoon. He came back that night with more food, but he couldn’t stay. He said he had to go somewhere
with
his son, but he was worried about her alone in the house, ruminating over Hunt’s death.

“I had no idea that the FBI provided catering service too,” she teased him with a tired smile.

“Absolutely. I’ll have to make dinner for you sometime. We take culinary classes during our training.” He was smiling, and he had made the weekend more bearable for her, in the face of a bad situation.

“Thank you, Jim. It would have been a terrible weekend without you.” He had eased the pain of Hunt’s death, her guilt over not calling him, and her regrets about how his life and their relationship had ended.

By Monday morning, she felt sad but at peace with it, and the press had finally given up and left.

They came back again the day of Hunt’s funeral, but she hid out at her father’s for the day, and they talked about him. It felt better being with her father than standing at Hunt’s grave, and they talked to Max several times. Tallie went back to her own house late that night. The next day in the mail, she had a letter from Angela Morissey. She had meant to write to her, but hadn’t done it yet.

“Dear Ms. Jones,” it said politely, “I know that I caused a great deal of unhappiness in your life, and Hunt did too. But he truly loved you. He got caught in a difficult situation, and he didn’t handle it well, but he always told me how wonderful you are and how much he loved you. I’ll miss him so much, and I know you will too. I’m sorry for any pain we caused you. I hope everything comes out all right for you. Respectfully, Angela Morissey.” It was a sweet
gesture,
and Tallie appreciated it. It put balm on the wound Brigitte had tried to make worse when she told her Hunt had never loved her. He was a foolish man, Tallie knew, and a weak one, but also in some ways a good one, despite the mistakes he had made. She folded the letter and put it away, and silently wished Angela well too, and hoped that Hunt’s soul had found peace.

Chapter 16

MAX CAME HOME
for vacation before summer school, as planned, and her mother and grandfather were thrilled to see her. She went over to visit her grandfather almost every day, and when Tallie finished work, she took them both out for ice cream, and Sam had a root beer float, which he said had been his favorite when he was a boy. And in the afternoons, Max would take him out for walks in his wheelchair, which he used more now than the walker. He was less steady on his feet, but his mind was as sharp as ever. Sam loved having his granddaughter around and hearing her views of the world. And they were all still trying to recover from the shock of Hunt’s death and his betrayal before that, and Brigitte’s horrifying crimes. And both of them were worried about Tallie. She joined them at night when she finished work, and then she and Max went home. Sam loved spending time with his “two girls.”

Tallie was working on post-production on Hunt’s last film now, so her schedule was less pressured and easier to adjust, and she
could
spend time with Max while she was home. There was still a lot to do on the film though, so she was busy, especially without an assistant. The film was due out by Christmas. She knew it was the right time to bring out that particular movie, and the distributors were counting on it being a huge success, even more so in light of Hunt’s death.

“What’s happening with Brig now?” Max asked her mother one night after they came home from dinner at Sam’s. She knew that Jim Kingston had called her several times, but Max hadn’t met him yet, and she was curious about him.

“They arraigned her for Hunt’s murder, they’re saying it was premeditated, so she’ll stand trial for murder one. She’s in custody now, and they’re going to try her for both matters. The federal one for embezzlement. And murder for the state. Our embezzlement trial is set now for April 19. I’m not looking forward to it, to say the least. I’m sure she isn’t either, but so far she’s not willing to plead guilty. She has nothing to lose or to gain now. Between Hunt’s murder and the embezzlement, she’s going to be in prison forever. And we have the civil trial too, to try to get whatever we can back. I really want the house so I can sell it. But Jim Kingston says the IRS will want it too, for the tax evasion charges.” It was unbelievable to think how Brigitte had destroyed her own life in a short time, impacted Tallie’s, and ended Hunt’s.

“Did she ever contact you again after the day she came by for her briefcase?” Max was curious about it. It seemed so weird to her, and to Tallie, that Brigitte had never written to apologize and say that she was sorry for anything she’d done.

“No. I got a note from Hunt’s girlfriend though, telling me how
much
he loved me. Hard to believe, but nice of her to say so, now that he’s gone. And I sent her one too.” She had gotten a note from Victor Carson too, expressing his sympathy, and saying his wife had left him and he was getting divorced.

The embezzlement trial was still ten months away. It seemed like a lifetime, and by the time they got there, everything that had happened would seem so remote and unreal. In some ways it already did. Tallie was trying to make the most of Max’s time in L.A. and they spent time with Sam and went out whenever they had time and Max didn’t want to see friends. They talked about Hunt and Brig sometimes, but Tallie wanted to try and forget.

Jim called her from time to time to check in and see how she was. And the day before Max left, he came by to meet her. He dropped by for a few minutes on his way to pick up his son. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, and he looked athletic and fit. It was the first time Tallie hadn’t seen him in a suit, and Max looked impressed when she met him. He was good-looking and smart, and he seemed very relaxed and attentive around her mother. And Tallie seemed to enjoy talking to him. As soon as he left, Max pounced on her.

“He is
cute
!” she said the minute the door closed behind him, and Tallie hoped he hadn’t heard her. “Now what’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?” Tallie laughed at her.

“I mean, why don’t you like him?”

“I do like him. He’s very nice.”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it. Why don’t you go out with him?”

“For one thing, he hasn’t asked me. For another thing, he is the FBI agent assigned to our case, and for yet another thing, I’m not dating. I don’t even want to think about that now, and maybe never again.”

“Why not?” Max looked disappointed as she glared at her mother.

“I think Hunt cured me. For a while anyway. I just found out that I spent four years being conned by the guy I was living with and my best friend. It doesn’t exactly make me want to rush out and try again. I wasted four years of my life. I’d say the evidence is pretty convincing that my judgment sucks and dating isn’t for me.”

“Don’t be stupid, Mom,” Max scolded her. “Is he married or divorced? I mean the FBI guy.” Tallie knew exactly who she meant.

“Widowed.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Does he have a girlfriend?”

“I didn’t ask him, and I’m not going to. At best, maybe we could be friends. I don’t get the feeling he’s dying to date either. I think he still misses his wife.”

“That’s pathetic. You’re both ridiculous. Don’t waste your lives.” Max looked at her mother in frustration.

“Thank you for the free advice.”

“Well, I think he’s very good-looking, and he seems like a good guy. You should ask him for dinner sometime.”

“Max! I’m not going to ask our FBI agent to dinner!”

“Why not?”

“He’ll think I’m putting the make on him, and I’ll look ridiculous.”

“Maybe you should put the make on him,” Max said smugly.
And
then she looked more serious as she met her mother’s eyes. “How do you think Grampa is doing? He seems a lot weaker than the last time I was home. He doesn’t want to use the walker anymore. He just wants the wheelchair.” Tallie had noticed it too. He was fading.

“He just turned eighty-six, and you’re right. But he seems livelier to me now that you’re here, he loves spending time with you, but I don’t think he feels well a lot of the time.” He was so frail and seemed weaker and more bent every day. Tallie didn’t want to think about it, but she knew that eventually he wouldn’t be able to get out of bed at all. He seemed to be heading in that direction.

They had dinner with him that night, and they were all in good spirits, except Tallie was sad that Max was leaving again. She had to start summer school in two days, and wouldn’t be home again until the end of the summer vacation.

Tallie drove her to the airport at the crack of dawn the next morning, and spent the rest of the weekend doing projects around the house and paying bills. It reminded her of what had happened the last time she paid them, when Brigitte showed up, and then went to kill Hunt. It still made her sad when she thought about him. It was such a waste.

The following week Tallie met with Greg Thomas about the civil suit against Brigitte. She now had a criminal attorney and a civil one, and Tallie had sued her for the million dollars that Victor was sure she had stolen, and he was checking their ledgers more closely for more. Tallie wondered what would happen to all Brigitte’s things when she went to prison. Hers was another wasted life. It all seemed so senseless to Tallie.

And when she wasn’t talking to her lawyer, Tallie was working on finishing the film. She finally wrapped it up, after Max left. And the final edit looked beautiful to Tallie. It was even better than she had hoped, the performances were strong, the cinematography was spectacular, even the score was impressive. She knew that Hunt would have been proud of it, and she was too. She had had them add a memorial line to the credits, in memory of Hunt. It was coming out nationwide on December 15. And the day she left the studio, after she finished, she stopped off to see her father. He was quieter than usual and looked like he was in pain.

“Are you all right, Dad? Is there something I can do? Do you want me to call the doctor?”

“No, I’m fine. My arthritis is bothering me, that’s all.” She tried to get him out of bed to move around a little, but he wouldn’t. And Amelia said he hadn’t eaten. Tallie had been thinking lately that she needed to find someone to spend the nights with him, whether he liked it or not. He was too unsteady on his feet now to leave alone. And she was constantly afraid he would fall and get seriously hurt.

She stayed for dinner with him that night, and Jim called her with an update while she was there.

“Can I call you later? I’m with my dad.”

“Sure. Just call me on my cell. It’s nothing important. I just wanted to tell you that we proposed a deal to Brigitte today. I’ll give you the details later.” What deal could they possibly offer her? Tallie wondered. A hundred years instead of a hundred and fifty? Jim had already told her that she was going to try a temporary insanity defense on the murder one, and Jim said no one was going
to
buy it. She had been totally sane, just pissed off, which wasn’t a defense.

“Are you happy with your movie?” her father asked her over dinner. He was always interested in her work. Even now, losing strength, he always wanted to know what she was working on and how it was going. And he still enjoyed watching movies on TV.

“Yes, I am. I think it’s one of my best ones. It’s a shame Hunt’s not here to see it.”

“That’s a shame in a lot of ways. I hope that woman goes to prison for a long time.”

“I don’t see how they could do otherwise with her. Between the embezzlement and Hunt’s murder, I think she is totally screwed.”

“She deserves to be,” he said strongly. He had no sympathy for a criminal like her. “Anything new from your attorney or the FBI?”

“The special agent on the case just called me. I told him I’d call when I get home. I’ll let you know.” Her father had given her lots of good advice on the civil suit. He still had a sharp legal mind. And he was always reminding her of things to tell her attorney. Greg Thomas laughed when she relayed messages from her father, and he was surprised by how often he was right. He still read the
Harvard Law Review
, and loved reading legal websites on his computer.

Tallie waited until her father was ready for bed that night, and didn’t leave until she had tucked him in. And then she quietly left to go home. He was already dozing. And she called Jim when she got home, and he explained the government’s offer to Brigitte. He was very diligent about keeping her informed.

“If she pleads, they’re willing to cut her time down to five years
on
the embezzlement. If she doesn’t, it’s up for grabs. They want to put restitution to you in the deal, using the proceeds from a house sale, and the contents of the house, cars, bank accounts, whatever she has. It looks like the state will try her for murder one, and her defense lawyer is trying to work a deal with the state to serve both sentences concurrently, if she’s convicted or she pleads.”