Page 65 of See You Again
“You think it’s this Matt Crawford guy, don’t you?”
“I don’t want to jump to any conclusions…”
“I can hear it in your voice.”
“There is definitely an angle worth looking into. Why bother getting a lawyer if this was a girl you only met once? Yeah, she called him, but if he has an alibi, why refuse to talk? Even if he brought his lawyer along?”
Cami pressed her tongue into her teeth. She’d never held back information from her friend before, but James had trusted her with the information about the other deaths, and she didn’t want to betray that.
“Call it gut instinct.”
Madison’s eyebrows rose but left it alone. “So that’s the thread you want to pursue?”
Cami nodded, squashing her guilt.
Madison looked worried. “Didn’t you say he’s rich and powerful? If we go after him and can’t prove it, it could be a problem.”
“There is one thing I left out.” Madison’s face tightened, and Cami hastened to say, “It’s nothing bad… just a weird coincidence.”
“What?” Her voice was wary, as if one more piece of bad news might break her.
Cami scrunched her nose. “He is not just rich. He’s uber rich. It turns out he’s James’s stepbrother, and Matt’s mother inherited the entire Bloom fortune.”
Madison gasped.
“But realistically, what can he do? Go after our advertisers?”
“I don’t know.” Madison ran a hand through her long blonde hair, twisting it between her fingers. Cami frowned. She’d never seen Madison like this. Her friend was normally the unflappable one. Never afraid to meet a challenge head on. “You hear stories about retaliation, and if he’s a murderer… I just… with Jax.”
Realization hit Cami and her heart sunk. “You’re worried that it could put something into motion. Something that will affect your custody fight.”
“I’m so sorry. I know it’s selfish?—”
“Stop,” Cami said firmly. “You are my best friend, and Jax is more important than anything right now. The two of you are my family.”
She couldn’t help the disappointment filling her, though. Cami didn’t want to let Amy down, but she could see how right now wasn’t the best time for Madison to make herself a target for someone rich and powerful.
“We only have a few episodes out right now. We haven’t gotten into…” A thought took root in Cami’s brain. “What if I do this one solo?”
“I can’t ask you to do that. It’s not fair. Besides,” Madison continued, “we’re a duo. How would you even do it alone? That’s not our brand.”
Cami thought for a minute. “If I take the lead, and you just provide limited commentary, it should keep you out of the line of fire. We could even have you play a strong devil’s advocate. Defend him, poke holes in my arguments. Not only would that make for a balanced show, but Crawford wouldn’t have any reason to attack you personally. Then slowly, we just phase you out. I think it will work.”
“Because he’d be focused on you, you mean.” Madison frowned. “I can’t let you do that. You’d be taking all the risk.”
“Look, Madison, this case is really important to me. Not just because of my personal connection, but I think about all the young women out there just trying to live their lives. Amy should have been safe at that party, surrounded by people she’d known her whole life.”
Plus, if she could help James, that would be icing on the cake.
“Unfortunately, I think that just goes with the territory of being a woman.” Madison’s voice was uncharacteristically bitter.
However, Cami was determined and continued to argue until she wore Madison down. “This is the right thing to do. I only have me to worry about. You have Jax.”
Madison slumped in her chair. “Fine. You win. On a totally different subject, are you looking forward to your self-defense class tonight?”
Butterflies swooped through Cami’s stomach. She was looking forward to seeing James again, even if she shouldn’t. They had an arrangement. Cami had reread his text with the location several times already this morning.
“I wish you could see your face right now,” Madison crowed. “Too late, I already saw it.” Madison tucked her hands under her chin and pretended to swoon.