Saving Max (29 page)

The lights come up slowly. Danielle looks at Hempstead. Both have tears streaming down their faces. As Danielle turns, Sevillas and Doaks rise to meet her, while Max and Georgia enter the room. She puts her arms around them all. They walk her to her seat.

Hempstead clears her throat and recovers sufficiently to nod at the court reporter. Her fingers prepare to take down the record. “Mr. Langley?” says the judge.

He looks as if someone has thrown a grenade into his foxhole. “Yes, Your Honor?”

“Does the State have a motion it would like to make?”

“What, Judge?”

She taps her pen impatiently. “On your feet. You have a motion to make.”

He scrambles to comply. “I—uh—the State hereby moves to dismiss all charges against Max and Danielle Parkman.”

Hempstead nods grimly. “Ms. Parkman, please rise.”

Danielle stands.

“Ms. Parkman, the Court hereby dismisses all pending charges against you and your son. You are both free to go.” She stands and clasps her hands before her. “Before you do so, however, I must offer you the abject apologies of this Court and the State of Iowa. You have been subjected to a most terrible ordeal—one I most fervently wish could have been spared you. Unfortunately, when confronted with the evil and tragedy we have seen today, apparently nothing is as
it seems.” She sends a small smile to Sevillas. “The contempt charges against Mr. Sevillas are, of course, also dismissed.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” he says.

“Although I could still make that one stick,” she mutters. She gathers up her robes and sweeps from the bench. The bailiff puts his hands on his hips and bellows. “All rise!”

Doaks jerks his head toward the door. “Let’s get the fuck outta here.”

“Amen,” says Sevillas. Tony wraps his arm around Danielle’s shoulders to shield her from the onslaught of the press and well-wishers who swarm the aisle. She buries her face into his neck as exhaustion and emotion finally overcome her. She sobs as she realizes that Max will be all right. Although she never let herself believe it, a wave of relief so intense washes over her that she realizes how profoundly in the dark grip of that diagnosis she has been. Georgia hugs her hard—her eyes brimming with tears. Danielle releases her and holds Max so close, he grins up at her. “Hey, Mom, I’m not going anywhere.”

She smiles through her tears. “And I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

Tony holds her closer, his voice gruff. “Thank God it’s over.”

She looks up at him. “But Marianne got away with it.”

“For now,” he says. “They’ll find her.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t think so.”

Doaks tugs on her arm. “Hey, cookie, ain’t you had enough? I need a goddamned drink.”

She smiles. Shoulder to shoulder, the five of them march down the aisle. Danielle walks through the door. She doesn’t look back.

Danielle leans back in her deck chair and shades her eyes from the blazing afternoon sun. She waves at Max, who has returned from a long hike through the wooded hills near their new home—just north of Sante Fe. The wind has whipped a healthy glow into his cheeks. The sun glints in his hair. He stops and waves back, a big grin on his face.

She left the firm a year ago and put out a shingle in this small town. Her practice is now low-key—wills and estates. Tony spends every free moment he can with them, shuttling back and forth from Iowa. Max has recovered from Maitland, although it took months to undo the harm Fastow’s experimental chemicals wreaked on his system, much less the trauma he suffered as a result of the entire experience. After the hearing, Danielle learned from Reyes-Moreno that Fastow was finally found in an isolated fishing town in Mexico and that Maitland is pursuing criminal charges against him.

She watches Max—so strong and happy—and can’t believe her good fortune. Once the poisons were cleansed from his system, Maitland confirmed that he was not psychotic, not violent, not crazy. Reyes-Moreno correctly diagnosed him as bipolar—which explained his wild mood swings and anger—and gave her back her boy.

Danielle gives him another long look and checks her watch. It is almost time to leave for the airport to pick up Tony. He just accepted a partnership with a firm in Sante Fe. She looks
at the antique band on her left hand, the diamonds afire in the bright sunlight. Soon he will never have to leave her again.

She picks up her wineglass and makes the short journey to the mailbox. Inside is an envelope, forwarded from her old New York address. She opens it. A postcard falls out, the postmark smeared and illegible. Danielle holds it up. It is an African scene of bolting antelope and wildly colored birds flying across a veldt. She turns it over. A flowing, elaborate script fills every available writing space.

I would like to thank all of my family and friends who have steadfastly supported and encouraged me. They have read my manuscript ad nauseam—and still love me. For my brilliant agent, Al Zuckerman, for taking a chance on a new writer and for his insistence on excellence; for Donna Hayes and Linda McFall, for loving the book and making this happen. For Glenn Cambor, who first told me to write and then kept my head on straight while I did. For Beverly Swerling, my reader, without whom this novel would still be in a box under my desk.

My heartfelt thanks to Jim and Jeanine Barr, who provided their judicial and criminal-law expertise; Wayman Allen, for his police and private investigator savvy; for Cynthia England and Dawn Weightman—for their steadfast devotion and love; for Lane, Tom and Kelly—who made me laugh every day.

For Jim Sentner, my other father, who has supported me in every wild endeavor with love and patience. A special thanks to my three sons—Brendan, Sam and Jack—who have inspired me and given me the privilege of being their mother.

And for Bill—my editor, my love, my life.

Photo Credit

Roger Winter,

Fredericksburg, Texas

• 1.)
  What is the novel about?
  Does the book have a central theme? If so, what? Does it have many themes? If so, how do you think they interlink? Is one theme more dominant than others? What do you think the author is trying to get across to the reader?
  
• 2.)
  How important is the setting to the story?
  Does the author provide enough background information for you to understand the events in the story? What is unique about the setting of the book and how does it enhance or take away from the story?
  
• 3.)
  Do the characters seem real and believable?
  Can you relate to Danielle’s predicament? To what extent does she or the other characters remind you of yourself or someone you know?
  
• 4.)
  How did the book affect you?
  Do you feel “changed” in any way? Did it expand your range of experience or challenge your assumptions? (For example, did it deepen your understanding of autism and what it means to raise an autistic child?) Did reading it help you to understand someone better—perhaps a friend or relative, or even yourself?
  
• 5.)
  What do the characters do?
  Do they react the way you think you would in a similar situation? Are their actions consistent with their characters? If not, perhaps ask yourself if it is reasonable for anyone to be expected to act consistently in the situation confronting Danielle.
  
• 6.)
  What do you know about the author?
  The novel is partly based upon the author’s experience in raising an autistic child. Does she effectively convey the emotions you would expect her to have in the novel?
  
• 7.)
  Did certain parts of the book make you uncomfortable?
  If so, why did you feel that way? Did this lead to a new understanding or awareness of some aspect of your life or the world you might not have thought about before?
  
• 8.)
  Discuss the mystery aspect of the plotline?
  How effective is the author’s use of plot twists and red herrings? Were you able to predict certain things before they happened, or did the author keep you guessing until the end of the story?
  
• 9.)
  How do characters change or evolve throughout the course of the story?
  What events trigger such changes?
  
• 10.)
  How is the book structured?
  Does the author use any narrative devices like flashbacks in telling the story? How did this affect your reading of the story and your appreciation of the book? Do you think the author did a good job with it?