Page 22 of Take Your Breath Away

“Since when did you do salvage?”

“It’s a buck. Anyway, I’m here. Come to the south service door. That’s about the only way in. Look for my truck. You might see Julie.”

“Julie?”

“She’s great. You’ll like her. She’s easy to spot. Turquoise hair. She’s kind of edgy.”

“I’ll be there,” I said, and pocketed the phone.

I had my hand on the door when I realized Max was heading toward me.

“Andy, wait up,” he said. “Could you see her on Brian’s security camera? Did you see her?”

“I saw somebody.”

“Was it Brie?” he asked almost breathlessly.

“I don’t know who it was.”

Max bit his lower lip for a second. “I hope I haven’t opened up some can of worms. I know this whole thing, it really put you through the meat grinder. And you need to know, I never believed any of the bad things they said about you. I heard the rumors, saw what they did to you. But I think I know you, the kind of person you are.”

Max paused, as if waiting for me to thank him for not believing I was a murderer. But I said nothing.

“So when I saw what I saw, I was thinking, oh my God, if that really is Brie, I had to let you know. Not just because it’d be amazing news that she was okay, but it would blow away that cloud that’s been hanging over your head all this time.”

“You don’t have to worry about me,” I said. “I’ve learned how to roll with all of it.”

Max nodded his understanding. “Sure, sure, I get that.”

I opened the door and put one leg up, ready to haul myself into the driver’s seat of the Explorer.

“One thing, though,” Max said.

I brought my leg back down and put it on the pavement.

“What’s that, Max?”

“You have to understand, what I did, I was trying to help.”

It was all coming back to me, what I used to find exasperating about Max when I lived next door to him. The man always took a long time to get to the point.

“Spit it out, Max.”

“Okay, well, you weren’t the only person I called.”

I waited.

“I put in a call to Detective Hardy. You remember Detective Hardy?’

I definitely remembered Detective Hardy.

Eight

Statement of Isabel McBain, June 8, 2016, 3:14 p.m., interviewed by Detective Marissa Hardy.

Isabel: Have you arrested him?

Detective Hardy: No, Ms. McBain, we have not arrested him.