Betrayal

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.”

“How much time would that give her?” Tallie asked with a worried look.

“Five or six years, for the embezzlement, maybe eight or ten for the murder. It’s not a lot, but she’s a first-time offender. And the prisons are very crowded. If she’s acquitted of the murder, which she won’t be, she could serve five years for the embezzlement, or the judge could decide to give her more and not honor the deal, if he thinks it’s too light. And don’t forget she’ll have an increase in her time for abuse of trust with you.” Five years seemed very short to Tallie, given what she’d done. Ten for the murder seemed more reasonable, since she had taken a life.

“It’s too bad the electric chair is no longer used, or the guillotine maybe,” Tallie said in a merciless tone. “I don’t see why they should want to plea-bargain with her, given the severity of her crimes.”

“Because it will save the taxpayers money and you a lot of stress if she pleads and we don’t have to go to trial. We’ll do it, of course, if she doesn’t plead, but it just saves everyone’s time.” Tallie had to admit she wasn’t looking forward to the trial, far from it, but she also didn’t think Brigitte should get off too lightly. “We’ll see what her lawyer says tomorrow.”

“If it reduces her time in prison, she’ll be crazy if she doesn’t take the deal.”

“I agree with you,” Jim said firmly. “But you’d be surprised how many defendants want their day in court and to go out in a blaze of glory. They’re much better off making a deal in these instances than going to trial. In this case, that would be an agony for everyone involved, including you. Anyway, we have plenty of time, the trial is still eight months away.” Tallie wished it would hurry up. She felt like she had been dealing with this depressing situation for years. Jim assured her again that they were going to find a compromise that worked for everyone, not just the federal courts in avoiding a trial. And then they talked about Max in summer school in New York, and what ball game his son Bobby was playing that week. Josh, his other son, had gotten a summer job at a law firm, and he was liking it a lot. Jim said that if he didn’t play pro football, he would love him to go to law school, like Max. They talked a lot about their kids, who were the hub of their lives.

“What are you going to do now that you finished the film? Have you got other projects lined up?” Jim asked her with interest.

“Yes,” she said immediately. “Yoga class, shopping, sleeping late, going to movies, reading scripts, reading books. I’m looking for another movie to do,” she said honestly, “but I don’t want to rush into something. I want time to check it out. I need a break anyway. I’m not in any hurry to go back to work, particularly if there’s a trial, or even two or three of them, including the civil trial to recoup the money. I have to be available for that.” It was going to put her life on hold until they knew how the legal situation was going to evolve. It was a long time to sit around waiting, but there was nothing they could do to make it happen more quickly. The government, and to some extent the judge, were in control. Tallie had very little to say about any of it, even though she was the victim. “Are you going away this summer?” she suddenly asked him. It occurred to her that it gave her a level of comfort and security knowing that he was following the proceedings and giving her regular reports of what was going on. She would have been completely in the dark otherwise. No one else kept in contact with her to inform her or reassure her, but Jim always did.

“I’m taking my boys fishing in Alaska the last two weeks in August, but other than that, I’ll be here.” And they both knew that things moved so slowly that nothing would happen while he was away. There would be very little shift in the case for the next many months.

Tallie and her attorney were waiting for Brigitte’s lawyer’s response to Tallie’s complaint in the civil lawsuit. Victor was going over all her ledgers again to see if there were additional amounts of money she’d lost, the FBI was gathering more evidence in the case against Brigitte, and now the state was examining all the evidence in Hunt’s murder. It felt like it was going to take forever. Jim could sense what Tallie was thinking on the subject from the discouraged tone of her voice. “At least she’s in custody now. She’s not a danger to you or your family. That’s a lot. You don’t have to wonder where she is or what she’s doing or how much of your money she’s spending.” One of Tallie’s great concerns was how much Brigitte had taken out in mortgages on her house. If Tallie was to get the house, or the proceeds from a sale, if Brigitte had bled it dry in order to get more money, it wasn’t going to do Tallie any good.

And Greg Thomas had hired forensic accountants not only to double-check Tallie’s accounts and the missing cash, but also to examine Brigitte’s, when they got them from the bank, to see how the money had been spent, other than on Rodeo Drive. It was a long painful process. And ever since they had discovered it, Tallie was feeling broke. She wasn’t, of course, and her father had reminded her that she hadn’t even known the money was missing, which was embarrassing, but that often happened with an embezzlement, if it was cleverly done. She had the feeling that they had been spending a fair amount of money, and in fact she had been supporting a whole additional person who was pumping money out the back door as fast as it came in. In the long run, she would save money now, but she had also lost a great deal while Brigitte was in control. Looking back on it, Tallie couldn’t understand how she had trusted her so completely, and over the years developed so much faith in her, that she blindly did whatever Brigitte told her to do. She thought that Brigitte had been making her life easier and protecting her; instead she was the silent enemy in their midst, stealing everything she could lay hands on, materially and emotionally, even her boyfriend and her trust. It was a shocking experience, and Victor Carson was nervous about it as well.

Victor had admitted to Jim that he was afraid that Tallie might sue him for not discovering what Brigitte had been doing long before. And Jim had told him it was always a possibility; other lawsuits were often spawned from the original crime. Everyone got hurt. And in fact, Tallie had already discussed it with Greg. If Victor was checking her accounts, why hadn’t he seen what Brigitte had done? There was no plausible explanation for why he hadn’t except that he was negligent, or stealing it himself, which she now believed he wasn’t, and the FBI had concurred. But none of this felt good to her, nothing was reassuring; there was no one she could trust anymore, no one to protect her. She felt naked and alone in the world.

Jim promised to call her and give her an update before he left for Alaska, and Tallie hung up with a sigh. It all seemed so complicated and overwhelming, even with his help. And there were never any simple answers, clear-cut decisions, surefire resolutions or results. She had the feeling that she was in hell or purgatory and would spend eternity dealing with the embezzlement. And Jim had warned her that most victims got nothing or very little back. The embezzlers spent it, hid it, or it all went to the IRS for the taxes the embezzler hadn’t paid on the stolen money, which sounded ridiculous to Tallie. What criminal lists stolen money on their tax return? What line was that supposed to go on? Item 22B: fraud and stolen funds.

It was infuriating most of the time, although she was grateful for the information Jim provided, the explanations, sympathy, and consolation. He seemed like a good person, but he couldn’t change what had happened, or affect the end result. At least he had gotten Brigitte arrested, and brought the case far enough along to do that. Tallie had heard horror stories since then of people who had lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and the authorities had done nothing about it, or the criminal had destroyed all the evidence so there was nothing to build a case on. Jim kept reminding her that she was lucky. The proof of loss and Brigitte’s MO were pretty clear so far, and he felt they had a viable case that they could prove in court beyond a reasonable doubt. Tallie’s name and celebrity would help them, and the fact that Brigitte had murdered a potential witness against her in the case spoke volumes. She was a criminal to the core and had abused Tallie’s trust in her in every possible way, which also didn’t sit well with the courts.

One of the things that had unnerved Tallie was that she had received a “victim number” from a computerized information system, designed to keep victims of crimes informed. It was a very worthwhile effort and sent hearing dates and other information to the victims. But having a “victim number” had horrified Tallie. She didn’t want to be a victim, part of a faceless herd of people who had been foolish, naïve, or abused. It felt so wrong and wasn’t how she wanted to identify herself in the world. Victim. It had made her shudder when she read the form.

Her mind ran in circles all night, about Brigitte and the embezzlement, and she couldn’t fall asleep. When she finally did, she had nightmares. In her dreams, Brigitte kept shouting at her and tried to shoot her, and Tallie woke up with a start at four in the morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. Jim had told her that many victims of crimes saw psychiatrists for the trauma, but when he had suggested it to her, she hadn’t had time, and she didn’t know if she wanted to do that now, although Brigitte had certainly traumatized her with everything else she’d done as well.

When she got up and went downstairs, in the morning she read the paper, and then called her father to see how he was feeling. She hadn’t liked the way he looked the night before. His housekeeper answered and said he didn’t want to get out of bed that morning. He said he wasn’t sick, she reported, but was feeling slow. Tallie decided to go over and check on him when she got dressed. It was a challenge having an elderly parent as frail as he was who lived alone. She wanted to respect his independence, but keep him safe at the same time. And he chafed and got irritable if she fussed over him too much. Until now, he had flatly refused to have anyone stay with him at night, but Tallie could see that her father was slowly going downhill.

She drove over to his house, and he was sleeping when she got there. She didn’t want to intrude on him so she sat in a little study near his bedroom and read some magazines. She heard him stirring after a while and went in to see him.

“How are you feeling, Dad?” she asked him with a smile.

“Tired,” he said, smiling back. “I was thinking about your embezzlement last night, and everything that happened with Hunt. I’m so sorry, baby. It was all so wrong. And I always thought he was such a good guy.”

“So did I.” She sighed and sat down in a chair next to his bed. And now Hunt was dead, and all because of his own bad judgment getting involved with Brigitte. She had burned them all, and had looked like dedicated innocence itself. But that had been no excuse for him to have an affair with her behind Tallie’s back. And the excuse that he’d been blackmailed into it, or Brigitte had forced him, didn’t hold water with her, nor with the FBI. Brigitte and Hunt had been greedy, dishonest, immoral people, both of them, and in the end they had paid a high price. So had she, but her life wasn’t ruined, and she wasn’t dead like Hunt. It was something to be grateful for as she looked at her father with sad eyes. She hated to see him so exhausted and weak. “I’ll be okay, Dad,” she reassured him.

“I want you to get back as much as you can. Be tough about it, merciless. You’ve already lost enough. I want you to put up a good fight.” He made it sound as though he were leaving on a trip, or wouldn’t be there when it happened, and that worried her even more. She was thinking of calling the doctor, and she noticed that her father was having trouble breathing. They had oxygen in the house for an emergency, but she didn’t want to use it without a doctor’s advice.

“Are you okay, Dad?” Everything she felt for him was in her eyes, and the way she gently touched his cheek.

“Maybe I’ll get up for a while. I’m tired of sitting in bed.” It was a beautiful day, and she wondered if he’d like to go out and sit in the garden. And when she asked him, he said he’d like that. She got him the navy silk dressing gown he wore. He put it on, went to the bathroom with his walker, and came out with his hair combed and freshly shaved, and she smiled at him. He looked very handsome, and she couldn’t remember a single day in her life when her father hadn’t looked immaculate and meticulously shaved. He had always teased her about her uncombed hair piled on her head and her ragbag look. She told him she didn’t have time to think about things like that when she was working. She said she never wanted to take the time to do her hair or get prettily dressed, and now she realized that she should. Not to the extremes that Brigitte had gone to, but just enough to look like a girl. She’d always been afraid that the ideas would fly out of her head if she thought of anything else. She was beginning to realize, at thirty-nine, that maybe that wasn’t true. Hunt liked to say she was a genius, which she knew she wasn’t, but she did focus on her work, much of the time, when she wasn’t thinking of Max. Some great ideas came to her when she least expected. And she never wanted to be caught short with a comb instead of a pencil in her hand.

She walked her father slowly out into the garden and sat him on a deck chair. She got a hat to shield him from the sun, and lay on the deck chair next to his, and she reached out and took his hand. They lay there in the sun, peacefully holding hands for a long time. She had her eyes closed, and she was wearing shorts and one of Max’s old T-shirts, and she felt her father gently squeeze her hand.

“I love you, Daddy,” she said softly with her eyes closed, feeling like a child again. She could remember all the times he had been there for her when she was young, all that he had done for her after her mother died, the endless support he had offered for her career, the wise advice, and as she thought of it, two tears slid down her face, and she wiped them away quickly so he wouldn’t see them if he was watching. She didn’t want to be maudlin just because he was tired and old, or having a bad day.

“I love you too, Tallie,” he said gently, and then he drifted off to sleep and she could hear him snoring gently. She smiled to herself and fell asleep, lying on the deck chair near him. It was an easy, peaceful morning, and she felt as close to him as she always did, and so grateful to have him in her life. She woke up after a while, and gently took her hand away. He had stopped snoring, and looked as though he were sleeping peacefully in the deck chair, and then with a start, she realized he wasn’t breathing at all. She put her fingers to his neck to check for a pulse, and there was none, and suddenly she felt frantic, with no idea how long it had been since he had stopped breathing, a minute or an hour. She shouted to Amelia in the living room to call 911, and then with all her strength, she scooped her father up in her arms and laid him on the grass, and began giving him mouth-to-mouth, but he was lifeless. She gently tried to compress his chest and continue breathing for him, and after an eternity she could hear sirens in the distance, and suddenly there were men in paramedics’ uniforms beside her and they took over, as Tallie knelt on the grass watching them and crying.

They stopped after a few minutes, and the chief paramedic helped her to her feet and took her inside while the others covered her father. “I’m sorry. He looks as though he died peacefully,” he said gently. Tallie was overwhelmed with wracking sobs as she listened. She couldn’t imagine a life without her father in it. And she realized that everything he had said that morning had been a goodbye to her, even his last “I love you,” as he drifted off to sleep forever, still holding her hand, and she had been able to say the same to him for one last time.

“He was asleep,” she said, choking on a sob. “Thank you… I’m sorry…” The paramedic patted her arm and went back to the garden. They had put her father on a gurney, covered him completely, and were rolling him to a police ambulance outside. There was a fire truck and a rescue truck in front of the house with them. And her father’s housekeeper put her arms around her and cried with her.

The head of the paramedics came back inside to ask her some questions. Her father’s name, his age, what illnesses he’d been suffering from, but essentially it was just old age and what he himself referred to as “the machinery wearing down.” He had never had any serious illnesses, and he had never loved any woman other than her mother, or anyone in the world as much as his daughter, and she knew it.

“Where would you like us to take him?” She looked at him blankly, with no idea what to say. “We can take him to the morgue until you decide,” he said gently and she looked horrified.

“No! No!… please… just give me a minute…” She got her phone out of her bag and called information for the phone number of a funeral home where she’d been to several funerals. Her father had never been religious, but she wanted a church ceremony and a Christian burial, since he had been born Protestant, but first they needed a funeral home.

They were instantly attentive when they answered, sounded unnervingly calm, assured her they would take care of everything, and told her what to tell the paramedics. And she could come in and discuss arrangements with them afterward. They assured her they would do everything to help her. They had recognized her name immediately, and were used to celebrities and their families and assured her of their utmost discretion. Talking to them was the kind of thing that Brigitte would have done for her before, and now she had no one to help her.

When she finished speaking to the funeral home, Tallie went outside to speak to the paramedics and told them where to take her father. She gave them the name of the home and the address, and they assured her that they were familiar with it, and told her again how sorry they were. She could see his still form covered by a blanket on the gurney in the ambulance, and she stood for a long silent moment, crying. Just moments before he’d been next to her, telling her he loved her, and now he was gone. She had known this would happen one day, but she hadn’t expected it to happen so soon and with no warning. She wasn’t ready for it.

She watched the ambulance and the emergency vehicles pull away and walked back into his house. Amelia was crying too, and they held each other for a long moment.

“I thought he was just tired,” Tallie said, blaming herself. “I should have called the doctor this morning.”

“It was his time,” the kind Salvadoran woman said. She had loved Tallie’s father too. “He’s been so tired lately. I think he was ready.” Tallie didn’t want to believe that, but she knew it was true. And now she had no father. She had lost so many people she loved lately, and he most important of all. Now Tallie had no one, not even her father, only Max.

“But I wasn’t ready for this,” Tallie said sadly as she went back to the garden to find her sandals, and she saw his hat lying on the grass and burst into tears again. She wanted to go home, it was too sad being here, and then she had to go to the funeral home to make arrangements. And she knew she had to call Max and tell her, and she was dreading it. She would be heartbroken too.

Tallie told Amelia she could go home, it had been upsetting for her too. She could come back on Monday and tidy up. Tallie would have to figure out what to do about his house, and go through his things. She felt as though she had nothing but painful jobs to do now, and she was glad she had finished the picture so she didn’t have to worry about that too.

She and the housekeeper hugged again, and Tallie left. She felt so distracted she could hardly drive. It seemed impossible to believe that on the way there that morning her father had been alive, and now he wasn’t. It had all ended so quickly, but painlessly for him at least. She was grateful it had been peaceful. But she felt devastated by the loss.

Tallie called Max from the car on the way home, but her phone was on voicemail, and then she remembered she had gone camping for the weekend and probably had no cell reception where she was. It made her feel even lonelier. Hunt was gone, Brigitte, her father-she had no one to call, no one to tell, no one to hold her or comfort her, and she had lost her father, who had been her best friend in the world and her staunch supporter. Tallie felt lost as she got out of the car, and her cell phone rang. There was no one she wanted to talk to. She looked and saw that it was Jim Kingston. She answered in a raw voice, and he could hear that she’d been crying. He didn’t want to bother her but was concerned to hear her so distressed. He had forgotten to tell her something minor the night before, so he called back.

“Are you okay?” She shook her head, unable to speak for a minute.

“No, I’m not… I’m sorry… my father just died a few minutes ago…” She couldn’t stop crying, and he was a voice to talk to.

“Oh I’m so sorry… was he sick?” She hadn’t mentioned it, and he knew how close to him she was, from what she had said, but maybe she had been discreet about an illness.

“No, he was very tired… he’s kind of been running down lately… he’s… he was eighty-six.” She couldn’t bear the thought of using the past tense for him. Everything in her life was past tense now. Hunt, their life together, Brigitte, and now her father.

“Do you want me to come over?” he offered, and sounded sincere. He didn’t know what else to say. Sorry didn’t seem like enough. And he knew how much she’d been through lately. This seemed like one blow too many. She felt that way too.

“I don’t know…” She sounded disoriented and scared.

“I’ll be there in a minute… I’m just a few blocks away.” He had gone to his office on a Saturday to fill out some forms he hadn’t gotten around to. There was always a mountain of paperwork on his desk, and Bobby was away for the weekend, which gave him a chance to catch up.

They hung up, she got to her house, and couldn’t remember how she got there. She walked in feeling dazed. She left the front door open by accident, with her keys in it, and a few minutes later Jim walked through it. He had gone to Starbucks and picked up lattes for them both.

He quietly closed the front door and walked into the kitchen. She was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the garden without seeing it, and then turned her eyes to him with a look of surprise.

“How did you get in?”

“You left the door open,” he said, handing her the keys. It illustrated to him why she shouldn’t be alone, although with Brigitte in custody, Tallie was in no danger that he knew of, but she was in no condition to be on her own from what he could see. He was here as a friend this time, not for the FBI. He gave her one of the lattes, and she took a sip without thinking, like a robot. Her eyes looked glazed, and her hand was shaking as she held the cup.

“Thank you,” she said softly, and then her eyes met his. “He was such a wonderful person. When my mom died, he became everything to me, just like you are with your kids,” she said sadly. It had been a special relationship like no other. “And he was always so loving to her. He was such a good man,” she said, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Jim said nothing, and just rubbed her shoulder, and then she leaned over to him, and he pulled her into his arms and hugged her. He wished he could take the hurt and the loss away for her, but he couldn’t. She just clung to him and cried like a child. And then finally she looked at him with red eyes. “Thank you for being here. I didn’t know who to call… everyone’s gone now…” He knew what she meant and he said nothing. There had been a lot of changes in her life lately, and now this.

“That’s what friends are for,” he said quietly. He liked the idea of being her friend, and so did she. There was no way he could have just hung up after what she told him. He wanted to come and see her. They sat in the kitchen, quietly talking. He just wanted to be there for her.

“Thank you for doing this,” she said again, and he smiled at her gently.

“I know what it’s like. I was devastated when I lost my wife.” Jim was happy to be there for her, even though they didn’t know each other well. It felt a little strange to her to be sitting in her kitchen and crying with him. “At least you know he had a good life, and went peacefully. But I know that doesn’t make it any easier for you. Life isn’t easy sometimes.”

“Not lately,” she said with a tired smile. “I wish all the other stuff were all over,” she sighed. It was so wearing and so unsettling.

“It will be over soon, Tallie. I know it feels like forever when you’re going through it.”

“Yeah, like childbirth, only you don’t get any reward at the end of this.”

“We’ll try to get you what we can from the embezzlement. Her house is a solid asset. And I know the U.S. attorney is asking for a restitution order for you if she’s convicted or pleads. You’re going to win either way. You won’t get back all of what you lost, but at least part of it.” And as Max had reminded her at one point, they weren’t starving or in the street, but it hurt to lose that much money, for anyone, even Tallie.

“I just want it to be over,” she said, then closed her eyes and leaned against him as he put an arm around her and supported her. “I want it all to be done, all the horrible stuff that’s been happening, and instead there’s always one more thing.”

“Bad things come in clumps, like grapes. Ever notice that?” he said, and she laughed.

“Yeah, very, very, very sour grapes. I’ve had a few too many lately.”

“I know you have,” he said, and rubbed her shoulder again. She barely knew him, but she appreciated his kindness to her. She was grateful not to be alone just then. She was relieved that he was there.

“I guess I should go over to the funeral home,” Tallie said, and looked like she was dreading it. She couldn’t think of anything worse. She was glad she hadn’t gone to Hunt’s funeral, and now she had to arrange her dad’s.

“May I go with you?” he asked respectfully, and she nodded, appreciative of his help and support. She felt very lost. And it occurred to him as he looked at her that in the world she was a celebrity and important person, but all he saw was a sad woman who needed help, and he was more than willing to give it.

“I’d like that,” she said quietly as she went to get her purse, and a few minutes later they left. She was thinking about it as he drove her there, how different everything was now. She felt very alone and vulnerable. Having been robbed and cheated on and lied to made her feel that way. It was a reminder of how fragile we all are and how fast things can change. “Brigitte used to do everything for me, or with me,” she said quietly as they drove to the funeral home. “Having someone like that who takes care of everything is like having a mother, or an older sister. I never had a sister, and I lost my mother when I was very young, so having someone shield me and take care of everything was wonderful. It makes you feel very safe, and then I realized I wasn’t safe at all. It was like being attacked by the person you trust most and think will never hurt you. I felt that way about Hunt too, but more so about Brigitte. She was with me for a lot longer. Seventeen years. It was like losing a member of my family when I found out what she’d done. I never even had a close woman friend because I had her. Now I’m on my own. It’s not like I can’t do it,” she said as though reminding herself, “it’s just very hard.” It was why he had come over to be with her that afternoon, because he understood perfectly how she felt.

“That’s why crimes like that are so terrible,” he said as he glanced at her in the front seat of his car. Bobby’s baseball shoes were on the floor at her feet, and one of his baseball bats was on the backseat. There was nothing glamorous about Jim’s life or his car, but he was totally at ease with her. “It’s also why they give people more time in prison for abuse of trust. It’s a big deal. It’s not just about the money-it’s about abusing someone who is totally vulnerable to you and trusts you.”

“Maybe it’s a lesson to me not to rely on anyone,” she said sadly. She had learned the hard way just how big a target she was and how naïve. “I guess it made me lazy about taking care of myself.” It felt good to realize now that she could fend for herself, although she had been thinking lately of getting a new assistant. Her life was too busy not to have one. But the thought of starting to look for someone else depressed her, especially after her experience with Brigitte.

“You have to trust someone in life,” he said, and she shook her head.

“Maybe not.” There were fewer and fewer people in her life now that she could trust. With her father gone, only Max, and she was very young. Tallie couldn’t lean on her and wouldn’t have wanted to, she was her child. But at a peer level, as an equal, she had no one, which made Jim’s gesture of friendship even more meaningful to her.

They reached the funeral home then. He parked in their lot, and followed her inside. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt and running shoes, but he looked solemn and dignified. She was still wearing Max’s T-shirt, and shorts, and she didn’t care. What she cared about was what was in her heart, not on her back. That hadn’t changed. And Jim liked what was in her heart. She was a good woman, and he liked what he knew of her after their many conversations, time together, and everything he had learned in his investigation. He had come to respect her a great deal. She was nothing like the Hollywood film people he’d met before.

The funeral director on duty was helpful and polite. They looked at caskets and made plans. She selected a program that would be distributed by the ushers in church. And she had to pick a photograph of her father, but she already knew the one she wanted. She had to pick a suit for him to wear, buy a cemetery plot, write an obituary, pick music, speak to the church, and find a minister to do it. There were so many details to think about that her head spun.

She signed a series of forms, and an hour later they left, and Jim drove her to the cemetery, where they picked a peaceful spot under a tree and arranged to have her mother moved there afterward. Tallie bought four plots, to include herself and Max one day, which seemed awful, but she wanted to know that they’d all be together. She hated the things she had to plan now. Everything in her life was about loss and death at the moment. She couldn’t think of anything good that had happened in a long time. And afterward Jim took her to the Bel Air Presbyterian Church, to make arrangements with the pastor there. Jim spent the whole day with her. It was six o’clock when they got home, and she had to write the obituary that night. She was exhausted as they walked into the house, and she dropped her canvas plumber’s bag on the couch, and looked at Jim.

“Thank you. I could never have gotten through it without you.” He could see that she meant it, and her eyes looked huge in her face. If he had known her better, he would have put her to bed, but he didn’t, so he couldn’t suggest it. He made her a cup of tea instead and handed it to her, while she sat on the couch looking decimated. She smiled as she took it. It was exactly what Brigitte would have done. “I’m so sorry to eat up your whole day like this.”

“I have nothing to do this weekend,” he reassured her. “I’m happy to do it. Do you want me to go and get some groceries? You have nothing in your fridge again. Don’t you ever eat?” he scolded her, and she laughed.

“I just buy at the deli on the way home if I’m hungry. Hunt was the cook.”

“Well, maybe you should hire one. You’re going to starve otherwise. You never have any food here.” He was used to stocking a fridge for two growing boys. He couldn’t have fed a canary with hers. Their hamster ate more than she did.

“I hate having people around,” she said quietly. “I don’t like all that fuss. Or sitting down to dinner all by myself. I used to cook when Max was home, until Hunt moved in. He was such a good cook, that nobody ever wanted to eat my food again, not even me.” She smiled at Jim. “Do you cook?”

“Self-preservation. I had to feed the boys when Jeannie got sick, and then afterward. I’m better at barbecue, but I manage. I do really good takeout, mostly Chinese and pizza,” he said, and she laughed. “Why don’t I pick up something for you to eat tonight?” She looked blank as he said it. She wasn’t hungry and she hadn’t eaten all day.

“I don’t think I can eat,” she said honestly. “And I have to write that obit before tomorrow.” She needed to go to her father’s house to get the photograph of him for the program, but she didn’t have the heart to go tonight after what had happened there only that morning.

“You have to eat something,” Jim insisted.

“I’ll grab something later,” she said vaguely, and Jim laughed out loud.

“Yeah, like a lime. I’ve seen your fridge.” She laughed too.

He left a little while later, and she went to work on her father’s obituary. She was trying to remember all the important details of his life, and she kept thinking of Jim. He had been so kind to her all day, and she didn’t even know what to say to thank him. And at eight o’clock as she was writing furiously on her computer and moving things around, the doorbell rang, and he had sent her a whole Chinese dinner. There was enough for several people and leftovers the next day. She called to thank him, and he told her to be sure to eat it, and she promised she would. It was midnight when she finished her father’s obituary and was satisfied with it, and she ate the Chinese food then. She texted Jim her thanks again, and he didn’t respond so she assumed he was asleep.

She lay awake for a long time that night, thinking of her father and everything that had happened. And she still had to tell Max when she got back from her camping trip. Tallie was dreading that and knew what a loss it would be to her too. She adored him.

Jim called her the next day and asked how she was feeling. She thanked him for dinner again, and he asked if there was anything he could do to help her.

“I don’t think so. But thank you, Jim. You’ve been amazing.”

“Just call if you need me. And don’t forget to eat!”

She nibbled at the Chinese food that afternoon, and then went to her father’s to find the photograph, get him a suit to wear in his casket, with a tie, shirt, and shoes. The photograph she was using was of him in his fifties, when she was still very young. It was how she always remembered him, and she realized that she looked a lot the way he did when he was younger. She found a box of photographs of her mother too and decided to take them with her. She dropped off the suit at the funeral home, gave them the obit, and went home. And Max called her the moment she walked in the door.

“Hi, Mom. How was your weekend?” She sounded excited and happy and said she’d had fun with her friends. They’d gone rafting in New Hampshire.

“Mine wasn’t so great,” Tallie said with a sigh as she sat down, dreading what she had to say. “Max… it’s bad news.” She started to cry as she said it. “Grampa died yesterday. In his sleep. He didn’t suffer. He just drifted away.” Max burst into tears the minute she heard her mother’s words.

“Were you with him?” she asked through sobs.

“I was holding his hand,” her mother cried. “He told me he loved me, and then he fell asleep. We were in the garden, but he’d been very tired for the past few days.”

“Oh Mom… I’m so sorry… I’ll come home tomorrow.” It was already too late for her to catch a plane then, it was almost nine o’clock at night in New York. “I’ll catch the first plane tomorrow morning.” Tallie had already booked her a seat on it and told her what time it was.

“The funeral is on Tuesday.”

“Oh God… poor Grampa… and poor you…” Max was sorry she wasn’t there to put her arms around her. Her mother had been through so much. “Can I do anything to help with the funeral?”

“No, I took care of everything yesterday. It’s pretty much organized.” And the obituary going into the paper on Monday morning would tell everyone about the funeral on Tuesday, and there was visitation at the funeral home on Monday night. Interment would be private, like Hunt’s. Tallie didn’t want anyone at the graveside with them at the end, just she and Max. And she had realized that afternoon that people would want to come to her house after the funeral and burial. She could tell people about it at the church. She had to call a caterer in the morning, but she didn’t think she’d forgotten anything so far. She’d been very efficient.

She and Max talked for a while, and Max was arriving in L.A. at eleven o’clock. The time difference was in their favor coming west, and Tallie was relieved that they’d be together. It was too agonizing to face alone. It made her even more grateful that she’d had Jim with her the day before. It would have been infinitely harder without him. She didn’t mention it to Max, it didn’t seem important. But he called her that night to check on her.

“Did you tell your daughter?” He had been thinking of her all afternoon.

“I did,” Tallie said sadly.

“How is she?”

“Okay. Sad. Thank you for everything you’ve done, Jim.”

“Well, let me know if there’s anything else I can do. I’m just a phone call away.” She didn’t have the feeling that he was trying to take advantage of her, or the situation. He was just a kind man, who was trying to be a friend, and she was grateful.

Max was home the next day at noon, and she and her mother put their arms around each other and cried. Neither of them could imagine a life without Sam in it now. Tallie felt as though she and Max had been shipwrecked together, and were clinging to the wreckage and each other for dear life. All Tallie could hope was that they would reach safe harbor soon. She felt as though she had been out in the storms for too long. It had been months, but at least the grief she felt was pure, clean, and uncomplicated. No one had betrayed her, they hadn’t lied to her or cheated her, or stolen from her. She had just lost someone that she loved with her entire being. It was like having her heart sliced in two with a surgical knife. It was brutal.