Read Online Poisonous: A Novel by Allison Brennan - Free Book Online

today.”
    David said, “And you just tell me this now?”
    She knew David would be irritated with Austin and with her, which was why she hadn’t told him earlier. “He didn’t talk to me, bolted when I spotted him. I didn’t know it was Austin until I dug through my files and found a photo. I want to talk to him as soon as possible.”
    “You told Tommy where you were staying?”
    “No—I hadn’t even e-mailed him at that point.”
    “How did he know you were in Sausalito? At the Madrona?”
    “Ben’s looking into a possible leak from staff.” She was just as curious, but planned to ask Austin outright. “I’ll find out.” Before David could get all security-conscious on her and start an argument—which she would inevitably respond to by reminding him she had been an investigative reporter for years before he was on staff—she said, “Tomorrow morning I’m meeting with Lance Lorenzo, the local crime reporter who covered the Ivy Lake homicide. Grace Martin doesn’t like him, and I’d like to get his impression of the case. See what he’ll share, where he thinks I should look.”
    “I’m not going to tell you how to do your job,” David said.
    Max laughed. “You’re not?”
    “Do I have to remind you of what happened the last time you reached out to the local press?”
    “A totally different situation,” she said.
    “Hardly.”
    The last time was a confrontation with an old-time print reporter who had been taken by surprise by the Internet revolution. Not wanting to change his methods or format, he ended up a bitter drunk. Worse, he directed his animosity toward Max because she was young, attractive, and had embraced the new media. It hadn’t been pleasant.
    “I can handle Lorenzo,” Max said confidently. “He’s twenty-four. Graduated from Sonoma State with a degree in English and a minor in journalism. He’s from Mill Valley, just like you. His parents still live there. He’s looking to move up, I’m fairly certain, and he maintains a blog. Very active online. I’ll bet he has both information and opinions. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t talk to him. And no—you can’t come. You would scare him.”
    “And you won’t?”
    She arched her eyebrows. “I can be nice when I want.”
    David laughed, the sound brief but genuine. “Poor boy.”
    After his intense afternoon with Brittney, Max was pleased she’d gotten David to loosen up some. She paid the check and they walked back to the hotel.
    Out of habit, David inspected her suite first. When he first started working for her, she’d been irritated by what she felt were far too intensive and intrusive security measures; now she was grateful to have someone looking out for her. Well, not someone. She doubted whether she would tolerate anyone else. It had taken her and David nearly a year before they stopped disliking each other, and even longer before they became friends. It had been two years since Ben hired him; now Max found him indispensable. That bugged the hell out of her.
    David inspected the timeline she’d set up around Ivy’s death. “You were busy this afternoon.”
    “I did most of the work back in New York. Once I sleep on it, I’ll have more to add, but the timeline is accurate.” She tapped the two hours prior to Ivy’s murder, when no one knew where she’d been or who she was with. “This is key. I hope the segment on Thursday will give us the answer.”
    “You seem confident that Paula Wallace will agree to talk with you on camera.”
    “Her agreement is irrelevant. I would like to include her, but it’s certainly not necessary for me.” She kissed David on the cheek. “Sleep well. This will be a busy week.”
    She was about to close the door when David said, “Max—you’re the one who needs to sleep.”
    “I’m fine.”
    He didn’t respond.
    “I’ve always had problems sleeping,” she said. “This isn’t because of what happened.” She didn’t want to talk about it. She