I used my key to get inside the house. It was too quiet. I flipped on a few light switches in the kitchen and placed my keys on the hook by the fridge.
I waited several hours for one of the Maxwells to show their faces, but it wasn’t until a little after one in the afternoon that Dr. Maxwell left the mansion without stopping in the kitchen and then, an hour later, Lola came downstairs.
I was on the phone with the landscaper, scheduling a time for him to come, when I noticed her enter the kitchen and grab a bottle of water from the fridge.
“Let me call you back,” I said hurriedly before hanging up. I rushed into the kitchen, where Lola was now pacing in front of the counter, chewing on her thumbnail.
“Morning, Mrs. Maxwell. Are you feeling better today?”
Lola whipped up her head, as if she’d just noticed me. Her face was clear of makeup, still pale, her eyes puffy. “Georgia—what are you doing here? I thought I told you to take the day off.”
“You told me to take the rest of the night off last night. I didn’t realize you wanted me to take today off too.” Just as I said that the doorbell rang.
She panicked then, looking from me to the way out of the kitchen. “Oh, fuck. I can’t do this!” she cried.
“Do what?” I asked as the bottle of water slipped from her hands and dropped to the floor. She clutched the edge of the counter.
“That’s a cop at the door, Georgia. He called me twenty minutes ago and said he needed to speak to me right away. Something horrible happened last night and now he’s here to talk to me.”
“What do you mean? What happened, Lola?” I walked closer to her and picked up her hands in mine, giving them a squeeze.
She sniffled, and her nose was red now. “I . . . I don’t know. It was all so sudden. So scary.” She took a moment to collect herself, and then she used her fingers to wipe the tears from under her eyes. “Okay . . . um, do me a favor. Tell Tonia to get a quick snack ready—maybe some fresh-cut fruit and yogurt for parfaits. I’ll get the door.”
This wasn’t like her. She never answered the door, but a cop was knocking, and she looked sick with worry.
I followed her orders and went to the chef’s kitchen, where Tonia was just walking in with groceries. I told her to get some parfaits going and that it was urgent, and then I left the kitchen, following the sound of Lola’s voice.
I stopped in the hallway near the front den as I heard Lola say, “It truly was an accident and I can’t have this on my hands.”
“What are you saying?” the cop asked.
“My reputation is important to me. This would tarnish all I’ve built. If people find out about this, it will ruin me, you get that, right? They’ll blame me and look at me in a different way. I was—I was visiting my doctor for an emergency appointment. The weather wasn’t on my side, and then . . . well, things happened, you know? I felt some pain and I lost control.”
It was quiet. My heart pounded. What the hell was going on?
Lola said in a quieter voice, “I would like my name to be off the record for this. I don’t want any journalists getting hold of the information from this accident and using this to spark a scandal. My lawyer already came to you to discuss this incident. He said you told him my name would remain anonymous when the story was reported—that this wouldn’t jeopardize my reputation just yet because you’re still investigating.”
“Whether it was an accident or not, Mrs. Maxwell, two people are dead. You got off last night with your lawyer and the whole distress thing, but this is you and me. One-on-one.”
“I called my lawyer right after you called and he’s on his way right now. He knows you’re here. Until he gets here, I’m not discussing anything one-on-one with you.”
“If it weren’t for the health risk you were under yesterday, I would be having you arrested for manslaughter right now, Mrs. Maxwell. And not for just one count but two. We don’t need him here. Like I said, this is between you and me.”
“What is it that you want?” she demanded. “What will it take for you to let this go? You’re obviously here to get something out of this because you didn’t instantly arrest me yesterday, there were no witnesses, and you drove over three and a half hours to get here, so don’t hang that manslaughter bullshit over my head. What is it that you want, Detective Shaw?”
I took a step forward with bated breath.