All She Ever Wanted - Barbara Freethy [117]
"You came here with Natalie?"
"Yes." Cole's eyes narrowed as he looked at Dylan. "I still don't understand why you don't like Natalie. Why you thought it was conceivable she had pushed Emily off the roof. What's that about?"
"I heard them fighting that night about you. I knew Natalie was drunk, and it was possible she and Emily continued their argument out on the roof. The fact that she claimed not to remember was always a little too convenient for me."
"That's it? That's all you have against her? That's weak."
Dylan tipped his head. "All right. Fine. Natalie didn't like me. Okay? She didn't want Emily to work the magic clubs with me. She didn't like my bike or my cigarettes. She thought I was leading Emily astray. I didn't like her. She obviously felt the same way."
"Good for her." Cole felt strangely pleased and proud of Natalie. She'd done what she'd promised his parents she would do—she'd tried to protect Emily.
"You're obviously back under her spell."
"Actually, I think I'm finally beginning to see Natalie for who she really is, not who I want her to be, or who other people think she should be. Natalie didn't owe any of us anything, Dylan. She didn't have to look out for Emily. She didn't have to protect her. She wasn't her mother. She was her roommate, her friend. I think she did her best to protect the friendship they had. What happened with me was never meant to get in the way of what Emily and Natalie had together. And I blame myself for that. I wasn't up-front with Natalie; that's why she went to Emily for answers. I'm the one who put Em in the middle."
"You're not the one who pushed her off the roof."
"Neither was Natalie. I'd stake my life on that."
Cole took a breath. "Are there any more secrets? Something else you know about Emily or Natalie or the rest of them? Were you the one who gave Emily the pills we found in her drawer?"
"Hell, no. That was McKinney."
"Drew McKinney?" Cole asked in surprise. Although was he really surprised? Drew had always been a little sleazy.
Dylan nodded. "I saw them in Emily's purse one night. I tried to take them away from her, but she told me to mind my own business and stop acting like her brother. Since I was trying to get out of the 'brother' category, I let it go. She told me Drew had gotten them for her. I guess she was feeling a lot of pressure about failing some of her classes. She didn't want to let the family down by flunking out of college or lose her chance at being free, living away from home." Dylan paused for a moment, his gaze turning reflective. "I thought for a while that McKinney might be Malone. He was around all the time. I figured he would have known a lot of what was in the book. And he was always out to make a buck. That's why he got Emily the pills in the first place. She had cash, and he needed the money."
Cole remembered what his investigator had told him—that Drew's roots went back to a trailer park in Modesto. "So now you're telling me Drew was selling the drugs to Emily, and you didn't think that was important enough to share with me? What the hell was wrong with you, Dylan?"
"It wasn't heroin, dude. Emily swore she wouldn't take them unless she talked to me about it first. I don't think she ever took one of those pills." He paused. "But I do realize that I made a few mistakes back then."
"You certainly did. Well, now I know why Drew was so nervous the other day when Natalie and I dropped by his house. He was probably wondering if we knew about the pills. If we were somehow going to pull him back into this scandal."
"It happened a long time ago. Do you really think McKinney is worried about getting in trouble for it now?"
"He might be. Laura said he has his eyes on a political career. I'm sure he wouldn't want any incident with illegal drugs to come out, especially if he was dealing. Maybe Emily wasn't his only customer."
Cole's phone rang. He saw Natalie's name on the screen. "Natalie?"
"Where are you?" she asked. "Did you find Dylan?"
"I'm with him right now."
"Good. Why don't