Claim of Innocence. Laura Caldwell

house and download Michael’s hard drive and Michael came home? There was no time for the series of checks you told me to run. I couldn’t listen to you.”

      He chuckled a little. We looked at each other. I think both of us heard the words—Lucy, Michael—hanging there.

      “How are you doing?” I asked.

      “How am I doing?” Mayburn echoed. “I am doing distinctly shitty.”

      “Will you be okay?”

      “No.” He said it simply, not like he was feeling sorry for himself, but rather like he was being matter-of-fact. “I’ve always wondered what was wrong with me, why I didn’t want to commit to someone before this.”

      “You wanted to commit to that gallery owner you dated. What was her name?”

      “Madeline Saga. I guess you’re right. I did want her to commit. I even bought my house in Lincoln Square hoping she’d move in. But in retrospect, I think I wanted that because she told me she didn’t. It was the ultimate challenge.”

      I looked at Mayburn, at his sad face, his eyebrows drawn together. His skin appeared grayish now that I looked closer, as if he wasn’t hydrated.

      “Have you been boozing?” I asked.

      A sharp glare. “What do you think, McNeil? The love of my life left me. Yeah, I’ve been drinking. Wanna talk more about it?”

      I shook my head, raised my hands in surrender. Mayburn’s show of emotion was unlike him, so much so that I suddenly felt a need to help. Aside from when he was with Lucy, Mayburn seemed happiest to me when he was involved with work. “Why don’t you do some investigating for me?”

      “I am. You’ve got me on this poison case.”

      “Yeah, I know. But I need you on something else. It’s Sam.”

      His narrowed eyes went wide. “Your ex-fiancé, Sam? The one who disappeared?”

      “He’s reappeared.”

      “What does that mean?”

      “He’s engaged now.”

      “Well, that doesn’t sound like much of a reappearance for you.”

      “He said he’ll break off his engagement if I want.”

      Now, Mayburn’s face turned to disbelief. “Are you telling me that you’ve got a boyfriend and you can get your other boyfriend back?”

      I thought about it, agreeing that my situation probably was unhelpful when set up against his. “I’m a mess!” I said, which wasn’t exactly true. “More than anything, I’m confused,” I said, which was precisely true. “I need you to help me with…”

      “With what?”

      “I want to know how serious he is. About me. About Alyssa.”

      “Well, ask him.”

      “I will. But tell me what to look for. Tell me what to ask. You work on all these infidelity cases. I mean, c’mon!” My voice had risen. I realized then that I was anxious to make the right decision—Sam, Theo, or none of the above?

      Mayburn’s face softened. “When are you seeing Sam next?”