Page 106 of The Me I Left Behind

Maggie wished Julia hadn’t gone there—she didn’t want Jason to get on the defensive any more than he was—but what’s done was done.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He eyed his mom. “I need a shower. I’ll bring it down later.”

“No.” Maggie stood firm. “I’ll come up with you now and get it.”

The look on his face told her all she needed to know. He was pissed. Confused. Annoyed. Maybe even a little defeated. Not a good place for a fourteen-year-old boy to be, and that worried her.

“Fine,” he said. “Take it. Just take fucking everything.”

When Maggie returned homeafter the school drop-off, she found Julia huddled over her laptop at the kitchen island, her leather briefcase spilling open with papers, her yellow legal pad full of scribbles, and several wadded-up pieces of paper littering the counter.

“You’ve been busy,” Maggie said.

“I’ll have more to do when I get home.” She looked up. “I’m going to leave in an hour, if it’s okay with you.”

“Sure. I know you need to get back.”

“I want to make sure you are okay, though, Mags, and I have a few things I think we should discuss.”

Maggie noted Julia was making a list on the legal pad. She leaned in, reading over her shoulder. “What’s this?”

“Just things I want to make sure I mention.”

Maggie gave Julia a nod.“Alright. Have at it.” She had to admit she was curious about some things on the list.House. Attorney. Storage. Sell things. Kids.

“Have a seat. I will belabor nothing. I just want you to know what I know… What I’m getting a sense of….”

Where was she going with this? “You’re alarming me, to be honest. Just spill it.”

Julia sighed and nodded. “I spoke with the agent about the house. It’s listed as coming soon, so it’s not officially on the market and people can’t request a showing yet—but they can request a viewing as soon as it goes on the market.”

“How long is it on ‘coming soon’ status?”

“The agent said a few weeks. I’ve asked her to keep me in the loop.”

“Did you explain the situation?”

“Vaguely,” Julia said. “Max is her client, so I don’t want to overstep boundaries. My gut says he’s going to hold it on there for a while. Probably just to annoy you.”

She figured that was right. “But I don’t have to worry about showings, or inspections, or moving, and all that right now. Correct?”

“No, you don’t. And if anyone shows up, tell them to contact the agent. If that doesn’t work, call me.”

Maggie thought about that. “Sure. What about the attorney?”

“He was in a meeting. I left another message. I’m sure he’s avoiding me.”

“Typical.”

Julia agreed. “Yes.”

“And the McDowell case? Caroline’s death? Anything there?”

She shook her head and stacked some papers, sliding them into her briefcase. “I found a few things I want to dive into this afternoon. I’m also going to make some calls on my way home. I will keep you posted.”

“Thanks, Julia. You’ve done a lot already this morning. I hope you know how much I appreciate it.”

Julia gave her a nod and a quick grin. “I do.” She picked up her phone. “While you were gone, I took pictures of the desk and the golf clubs. I hope you don’t mind. I’ll see what I can do to get those sold and I’ll be in touch. If you can, look around the house for anything else to sell. I’m happy to help.”

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