Poisonous: A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

never got married, but she didn’t need to know everything.
    If Emma hadn’t helped them write the letter, Austin didn’t think they’d have captured the attention of a New York reporter. But Emma had made Austin swear that he wouldn’t tell anyone that she’d helped because her mother hated her dad and therefore hated everyone associated with her dad, including Max Revere. Once, when they were at the library, he’d asked her why.
    “Is your dad a jerk or something?”
    Emma shook her head. She was pretty, with blond hair and big green eyes. And she wasn’t stuck on herself like other middle-school girls. “He was an Army Ranger. A real hero—my granddad told me how he saved a whole bunch of people when he was in Afghanistan. A school of girls. They don’t let girls learn anything over there.”
    “That’s fucked.”
    She frowned.
    “Sorry,” he muttered.
    She touched his hand. A little jolt rushed to his stomach. He really liked Emma. She listened to him. She got it.
    “My mom doesn’t like my dad because he’s gay.”
    The librarian shushed them and Emma leaned forward so she could whisper. “Well, not because he’s gay, but because he didn’t tell anyone and they dated in high school. He told me once that he wanted to prove that he was, like, normal so he tried to act like all the other guys.” She paused, looking at him but not really seeing him.
    “You like your dad?”
    “Yeah. I love him. Sometimes he’s sad and won’t talk to me about it because I’m a kid. I wish my mom wasn’t so mean to him. She’s not like that most of the time … well, she has her moments, I guess. She dates jerks. It’s like she thinks she has to have a boyfriend or she’s not pretty or something. I don’t get it.” She frowned, then continued. “I just think she’s more hurt than anything because she really loved my dad and was surprised when he told her the truth. And that was after she got pregnant—after they were engaged—and he said he couldn’t go through with getting married and everything because it wouldn’t be fair to her. They’d just graduated from high school. My mom is super emotional about everything. She goes up and down, that’s what my nana says—my mom’s mom. My mom loved my dad, but he couldn’t love her back and she’s never forgiven him.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Me, too.”
    “Is it weird that he’s gay?”
    She shrugged. “I don’t really think about it. I mean, he’s my dad first, you know?”
    He nodded. He did know, because that’s how he felt about Tommy. Tommy was technically retarded, but Austin didn’t think about him like that, he was his brother—stepbrother, but Tommy always called him his brother.
    Emma said, “I just wish my mom could forget about my dad and find someone who’s nice to her, because she always dates assholes.” She put her hand over her mouth. “You’re a bad influence on me! Nana would wash my mouth out with soap.”
    Austin locked his bike outside the bookstore and went inside. When he saw Emma, all the frustration and anger he’d been holding inside all day just disappeared and he smiled.

 
    Chapter Three
    Max’s working relationship with cops was unusual. Since she only looked at missing persons and cold cases, she wasn’t a traditional reporter. Her goal in any investigation was never to dig up dirt on law enforcement but too often they stymied her pursuit for the truth, and that’s when she dug deeper, to determine if there was another reason for their hostility. Some cops simply didn’t like outsiders, reporter or not. Some cops actually despised reporters. Others were indifferent. A few were friendly, and usually only after having worked with Max. And some were bad cops. She told the truth, always. And law enforcement never liked it when one of their own was proven to be incompetent—or worse.
    Detective Grace Martin of the Central Marin Police Authority didn’t fit any mold. Even cops who were willing to talk to