She and Jim talked for a while about everything that had happened, and then he left again, and said he’d be back in the morning. She was a hostage in her own house. She thanked Jim again for dinner before he left, locked the door behind him, and left the TV on in her bedroom all night. There were bulletins and news flashes and commentaries about Hunt. And occasional mentions of her, Angela, and Brigitte. An unidentified source at the Sunset Marquis had volunteered that Hunt had been involved with Brigitte for several years, and a reporter questioned if the fatal shooting had been the result of a lovers’ quarrel, or a love triangle with the woman carrying his child. Tallie was awake for most of the night.
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
“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
