Page 17 of Ruthless Cross

"But she has problems with depression and anxiety."

"Half the people in the world suffer with similar problems. She's been fine the last few years. She has been happy." That was partly why she'd been against her mom's whirlwind love affair with Arthur. When her mom was in love, she tended to lose grip on her other emotions. She became less interested in her own mental health and more interested in making a man feel good.

"She was first hospitalized after your father died, right?"

"I can't believe that there's an FBI file on my mother," said, amazed by that fact.

"My team worked all night compiling information on the people most closely connected to Arthur. Your mom is at the top of that list. And you didn't answer the question."

"Yes. She had a breakdown after my father died. She felt responsible because she was driving the car when they skidded in the rain and crashed into a tree."

"I'm sorry."

"It was a very difficult time. My dad was a great guy. He was always smiling and laughing. He was my biggest cheerleader. I used to play softball, and I'd hear his voice over everyone else's. He'd always shout, 'You can do it, Callie.' It's been eighteen years, but I can still hear him saying that." She felt a wave of sadness, because she hadn't just lost her father that day; she'd lost her mother, too, for a very long time.

"He sounds like a great dad."

"He was the center of our family universe, our anchor. He grounded us, especially my mother. She's very creative, very dreamy. She has big ideas but often no practical application. When I was young, she'd get lost in whatever new project had caught her interest, whether it was crocheting a blanket, or painting a vase of flowers, or practicing yoga. My dad would come home from work and have to run to the store to get us food for dinner. He always did what had to be done, and after he died, my mom fell apart. She'd always been fragile, but without her anchor, she was lost."

"So, you stepped up—at the age of ten."

"I tried. I instinctively knew that she needed me to do what my dad used to do. My aunt was around then, too. My mom's sister, Diane, helped us a lot, especially the first several years. But then she got a job in New York and had to move away when I was thirteen. My mom was better for the next few years. She'd still have some depression every now and then, but she was significantly improved."

"How long did that last?"

"She had a bad spell when I was in high school. But then she recovered. She's a fragile person. But she's not a killer."

"Then why are you worried?"

"Because she was arguing with Arthur right before he died. And when people hear that she's had some mental health issues, they look at her differently. You've been suspicious of her from the start, and now I'm sure you're even more so after what you just saw upstairs."

"And from what I heard. She said she's responsible for his death."

"She didn't mean that she killed him. She probably just feels guilty because she argued with him." She took a breath. "You asked me about an affair. I don't believe he was having one, but my mom did say a few times that she didn't like the way he flirted with other women, but I think it was just his manner. I told her that, but she didn't seem convinced. She has a high level of anxiety that takes her to the worst-case scenario in ten seconds flat. Arthur could have smiled at someone, and my mother would have assumed the worst. She's not an easy person to love sometimes."

He gave her a long, thoughtful look. "You're having a rough day, aren't you, Callie?"

For some reason, his kind words brought an unexpected rush of tears to her eyes. She hadn't cried at all since Arthur had plummeted to his death, but now she felt a tidal wave coming. "Don't be nice," she said, shaking her head, grimly hanging on to her emotions. "I can't take it."

"I think you need someone to be nice."

"Well, not you. I can't trust you."

"You actually can."

"I need to know more about you. Tell me about your relationship with Arthur. I know you dated Olivia, but what's the bigger story?"

Flynn frowned at her question, and she liked the fact that he was suddenly the one who didn't want to talk.

"If you want me to trust you, then you need to open up," she added.

"All right." He wiped his mouth with a napkin, then pushed his empty plate away as he rested his arms on the counter. "I met Olivia my senior year of high school. We had our first date at the winter formal and we spent almost every minute together from January to June. After graduation, we planned on moving to Santa Barbara. She'd gotten into the university there, and I, well, I didn't have the best GPA, so I was going to go to the community college. But, as you know, she and her mom went on a trip. It was Olivia's graduation present. On a ferry crossing in the Greek islands, there was an accident, and five people drowned. Olivia and Francine were two of them."

His voice was stoic, but she could see the pain in his eyes. "I am sorry."

"Olivia had so much potential, so much promise. She was smart and ambitious and wanted to be independent. She railed against Arthur's controlling personality. That's one reason why she wanted to move away to school. She wanted a little distance from him, but she loved him, too."

"He loved her as well. When he told me about her, he got choked up. And he made it clear to me that her room was off-limits. He said he goes in there sometimes because it's the only place where he still feels close to her." She paused. "Did you go upstairs while I was dealing with my mother? Did you look in Olivia's room?"

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