Page 111 of The Truth You Told

“We had just stumbled onto a serial killer who Kilkenny profiled as being someone who would want to find an in on the investigation.”

“What else made Max think Beau was the Alphabet Man?” Tori asked, dodging the question once more. Shay tried to remember why she cared about the answer and then forgot anyway.

“Something about a Dallas trip,” Shay said, swirling the last remnants of her second glass. She should probably slow down, she realized. But then the waiter set another rosé by her elbow, and she smiled in thanks because she would never be rude to someone serving her drinks. It was the bartender in her. “Don’t ask me, honestly. It didn’t make any sense.”

“Did she say anything else?” Tori asked softly, coaxing out the details.

“Just that it felt ... familiar,” Shay admitted, because that part had stuck with her the most.

“Familiar how?”

Shay shook her head. “She never really explained that part.”

“Weird,” Tori said, and Shay giggled.

“Yeah, that’s Max for you,” Shay said. “You really never thought she was going to grow up to become a serial killer?”

“No,” Tori said with incredible sincerity. “I really didn’t. She’s not capable of killing.”

“Huh, all that worrying for nothing,” Shay said, still giggling. “Have any of your kids? The ones you see?”

“Shay,” Tori said after a beat. “You know I can’t tell you information about individual patients.”

“That’s a yes,” Shay said, and stared down at her empty glass as she remembered exactly what they were talking about. “Oh, that’s not good. What if one of those kids ishim?”

Tori went still. “I think we should call you a cab, my friend.”

Shay swallowed against the layer of sugar on her tongue, and all of a sudden, she wished the world had sharp edges instead of blurry ones. “Wouldn’t that be funny?”

“Hmm,” Tori hummed, already pulling out her phone. Somehow, they made their way outside, the process happening in that way it did when you were drunk. Blink, sitting down. Blink, opening the door to a taxi.

“Wouldn’t that be funny?” she asked Tori again, though of course it wasn’t. She didn’t even remember what would be funny anyway.

“No,” Tori said softly. She sounded sad. So sad. “I don’t think it would be.”

TEXT MESSAGES SENT FROM MAXINE BAKER TO BEAU SAMUELS

The morning of Nathaniel Conrad’s execution

(6:43 a.m.) Conrad isn’t lying ... Tori Greene killed Shay ... here’s her address ... if you need it for some reason

(6:44 a.m.) [address redacted]

(6:45 a.m.) I love you

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Raisa

Now

Kilkenny tapped the guard on the shoulder to get him to keep playing the footage after Pierce approached Max.

They talked for about three minutes, and then Max left the visitor lounge. The angle had been terrible, both of them tilted away from the camera so there was no chance of reading lips even if Raisa had been an expert. And, of course, she wasn’t.

The guard helped them track her out to the parking lot, but then she disappeared behind a large media van and didn’t emerge where they could see.

Kilkenny cursed and straightened. “She told him something.”