Page 13 of Fatal Betrayal

"Is that true? Did Larry bring valuable relationships to the company?"

"Yes. Larry is ten years older than Neil and has been around the business longer, so he has contacts that Neil doesn't have. Plus, Neil had had to rebuild after having to leave his first company when his marriage dissolved. Neil feels loyalty to Larry for joining him in his new venture and helping him restart his career." He thought for a moment about Jillian. "I'm sure Jillian dislikes Neil, but I can't see her kidnapping his child. Just because she was driving down his street and used to work for him means nothing. I would guess just about everyone in that neighborhood has a Hollywood connection."

"But she has a motive to want to hurt Neil, and she was on his block around the time Elisa went missing. She's the best lead we have."

His gut tightened, her words taking him back in time. "You thought my brother was a good lead, too. Just because a car that might have looked like his went down the street around the time Hannah was kidnapped. You still love to jump fast, don't you, Andi?"

"I don't think we should talk about what happened when we were kids. I wasn't leading that investigation. I told the police what I saw."

"That's not what you did," he countered, unable to stop himself from going back there, even though he probably should. "You told the police you saw my brother's car. But you didn't know it was his. You even asked me if it was my brother's, and I told you it wasn't. But you still pointed the police in Kyle's direction."

Her profile hardened, but she kept her gaze on the traffic in front of them. "The police had other reasons to question your brother's whereabouts that night. We know Kyle left the concert early, and his story kept changing as to where he'd been, who he'd been with."

"He was an eighteen-year-old kid, who had some mental issues that made it difficult for him to defend himself. But he didn't commit that crime."

"And he wasn't charged for it."

"He was arrested. He was interrogated. He was held overnight in jail before the police decided they didn't have enough evidence to keep him longer. His name was given to the media. His life was ruined. Everyone thought he was a kidnapper, a child molester. And it wasn't just my brother the community went after; it was my entire family." He felt his rage return with each word that he spoke.

She turned in to the parking lot behind the building they were going to and pulled into a slot. As she pulled the key out of the ignition, she turned and faced him. "I'm sorry, Cooper. I'm sorry that you and Kyle and your family went through all that."

Disappointment and anger ran through him. "But you're still not willing to take responsibility for what you did."

"Like I said before, I just told the police what I thought I saw."

He shook his head. "You did a hell of a lot more than that. But forget it. You're never going to admit you were wrong."

She stared back at him with a mix of emotions in her gaze. "I was a kid, Cooper. I wanted to find Hannah. I loved that little girl. I thought I was helping."

"Did you know Kyle killed himself?" he asked abruptly.

She swallowed hard, then gave a quick nod. "I read about his suicide in one of the press articles about you and your books. I couldn't believe it. I felt bad for you and your family, especially your mom."

He stiffened against the sympathy in her gaze. "It was probably inevitable from the moment he was targeted for that kidnapping. Kyle spent the next ten years in unrelenting pain and the shame from being falsely accused, from people looking at him like a monster who had gotten away with murder. He couldn't stand it anymore. He didn't think it could get better."

Cooper felt a rush of pain run through him at the memory of that horrible day when his big brother had taken his own life. From that day on, Cooper had vowed to find some way to help someone else so that their family didn't have to go through what his family had gone through. That's what had taken him into forensic psychology, into working with the criminal system, writing books, and trying to help others who were innocent and incarcerated, their lives ruined by a false accusation.

"I'm sorry," Andi said again.

"Well, that doesn't mean much."

"I get that." She paused. "Look, we need to talk to Jillian, and we can't be arguing with each other, Cooper. If you're not up to this—"

"I'm up to it," he said, cutting her off. In fact, he already regretted telling her anything about his brother. He shouldn’t have gone there, not now. They needed to find Elisa. "Let's go."

They got out of the car and entered the six-story building that showed a number of production and film-related companies on the listing of occupants. First Look Studios was on the second floor while Neil's company, Benedict and Friedman Productions, was on the sixth floor.

When they entered the lobby for First Look Studios, Andi flashed her badge to the receptionist, who gave them an alarmed look and asked them to wait before disappearing down the hall.

Andi tapped her foot impatiently. Even as a kid, she'd hated to wait. She'd been a whirlwind of energy and ideas. That hadn't changed.

The receptionist returned a moment later and said Jillian would be right out.

As they waited, he got a bad feeling. Jillian was taking a little too long. When he glanced back at the glass door leading into the office, he saw a flash of red. He dashed into the hall in time to see Jillian punch the elevator button in a frantic, desperate manner. Apparently, she'd found another way out of her office.

"Jillian," he said sharply, moving down the hall.

She gave him a startled look. "Cooper? What are you doing here?"

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