Max smiled back, and Lucy wanted to throttle both of them. She knew where this was going: Sean was going to side with Max and want Lucy to get involved with Max’s case. It was clear as day.

“You believe that Victoria’s murder is connected to the Albrights’ murders three years ago,” Lucy said bluntly.

“You took my thunder.”

“You wrote it on the board.”

“Yes, they’re connected. But more than that, I think Victoria really believed that Denise left the country. I think that when the bones were uncovered, whoever killed Denise thought Victoria would come forward with damaging information, even though it would have gotten her in trouble, too.”

“You jumped ten steps ahead,” Lucy said, “and I’m too tired to try to decipher.”

“I don’t know much about your case,” Max said, “but I’ve read every news report from both three years ago and this week. Denise was suspected of embezzling three million dollars from one of her clients and then fled the country when she learned he was auditing the accounts. That was the theory, and I think that’s completely wrong.

“Denise was an accountant. Grover told me she did work for Victoria all the time—usually for free. Mostly tax advice, setting up accounts, things like that. According to Stan, Victoria was short-tempered and testy in the weeks before her murder, and keeping information from him and Mitch. He claimed she had a straw buyer named Harrison Monroe, and said he didn’t know who he was. That is a lie. He knows Harrison Monroe because they all went to college together.”

“Why would he lie if he wanted your help to get out of prison?” Lucy asked.

“Because I think in the back of his mind he was trying to protect Mitch and Simon. I think they all knew that Victoria was doing something illegal with Monroe—and has been since she and Mitch separated. I think that’s why they separated—either because Monroe, who Victoria dated for four years in college, was back in town and they may have been having an affair or because Victoria was doing something illegal with him. Maybe she separated so it wouldn’t come back on Mitch, or maybe he found out and left her.”

“But they still worked together,” Sean said. “Their livelihood was deeply entwined.”

“That’s interesting, too. Their business continued to thrive, and in fact Victoria was making a lot of money these last three years, over and above MCG. That’s why I’m leaning to a personal reason for their separation.”

“If they went to college together, the Harrison Monroe we’re looking for is in New Braunfels. He’s the only one of that age. And he’s married to a lawyer.”