-1"Wait," Kenny said. "Max, come on. Why would you…Danny. Oh, crap, that's what…Max."

She wiped her tears away, not wanting to admit it. "No."

"He told you I wanted to make you a notch on my bedpost."

"No."

"That all I wanted from you was sex."

"Stop!" Max cried. "Stay away from me!"

"Oh, Max," he sighed, his heart breaking for her, as it started to make sense. "And if he was right about that, he was right about everything else. That's it, isn't it? He was an idiot, and he should of never laid a hand on you. He shouldn't of killed your baby. I'm so sorry, I should of…He was wrong, about everything."

She shook her head, not able to deal with his words. How he knew her so well. "I need to go. Kenny, let me go."

"That's what I did the first time."

Max took a steadying breath, forcing herself to take control of her raging emotions. Not with Kenny, I can't do this with him. "That was a long time ago. We're not the same people. I don't want…I don't trust myself with you. He told me…all of that. I can't."

If he wasn't dead I would kill him, Kenny thought. Sam's safe for her. "Max…I'll never force anything on you. Don't move out. You want to get dinner tonight? We can…talk."

Max bit her lip fighting the urge to flee from him. "Okay.
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Too quiet, Kenny thought, glancing over at Max later that night. I didn't know…What did he do to her? Shifting his truck into park. "Hey, we're here."

"What?" Max said, shaking her dark thoughts out of her mind.. "Oh, sorry."

This isn't her, he thought, not from five years ago, from Seattle, any of it. She was due for a breakdown. Don't push her…just be her friend again. "You're a million miles away."

She pushed her door open, and slammed in behind her. What am I doing? What is he doing? Talk, he just wants to talk to me again. Kenny loves me? "It's been a rough month."

And I didn't make it easier for you. Be her friend. "You're doing great."

Max sighed, turning to look at him. "I'm sorry for not coming to you when I needed help. I think I was more embarrassed then anything else. I pushed you away, how could I expect…I'm sorry, Kenny, I'm so sorry."

"You're my best friend. I may have shoved some I told you so's in your face, but I would of helped you. I'm so glad that you're here."

He loves me, she thought again, Danny said…He wanted me, no…He's wrong. How can Kenny love me? All those years, partners, friends. "Did you mean it? When you told me you loved me?"

"Max?" he asked, as they stood looking at each other in the parking lot. "Yeah, I did. It's always been you."

She gulped, thinking of Sam…How? He's been so good to me. I can't just…Kenny. I'm not ready for this. "Kenny, I…I can't do this. I'm sorry it's not what you want to hear from me, but…This. Us."

Be her friend, he thought, that's all she wants. "Friends, then?"

Max nodded, not able to ignore the hurt in his eyes. He loves me? How can he love me? How couldn't I have known? "Yeah, let's eat."

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"This isn't right," Carter mumbled to himself, as he studied the autopsy report. "This is why I should autopsy everyone! Even if they're not in my jurisdiction! It just isn't consistent! Who is the moron that did this one?"

Flipping the file closed, he reached for the phone to call across the country, and try to figure out what exactly they were trying to pull.

"I should be deputized on this," he muttered again, smashing the buttons of the phone. "Hello? This is Carter Pike, and I need to speak with your medical examiner now! And I know what time it is! Just get him!"

He tapped his fingers impatiently as he waited for the man to come to the phone.

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Max curled up on Kenny's futon, and slowly pulled out the letter that Danny had left her after he had killed himself. Turning the envelope over in her hands, she was almost afraid to read it. Taking one last deep breath, she slid the paper out and unfolded it.

Dear Maxine,

What do I say to the woman who destroyed my life? All I ever wanted to do was love you, and take care of you. Is that so wrong? I wanted to shape you into the perfect wife, and that took a lot of discipline on my part. I wanted you to fit in, but you always insisted on embarrassing me. I gave you everything and you just threw it back in my face. I don't know why I insisted on loving you the way I did with the way you wreaked havoc on my career and life.

You were a disgrace as wife. Every bruise I ever gave you was well earned, and the fact that you lost our baby? You would have been a terrible mother anyway. It was the child's gain never to know you. I see why your parents didn't love you, and no one ever will. You're pathetic, weak and worthless.

You want to send me to prison for abusing you? It'll never happen. I won't allow it. I would sooner die first. You couldn't even die properly. You had to fake it. I'll haunt you forever my dear wife. You'll never be free of me.

Love always,

Danny

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"Max," Kenny called, rapping on her door late the next morning. "You up?"

Hearing silence, he poked his head and saw the tangled mess of sheets and blankets twisted on the futon. Listening to the quiet hum of the apartment, he slowly made his way out to the living room. Glancing around in the darkness, he caught sight of the white envelope on the table. Trying to ignore the dread building in him he picked it up and opened it.

Kenny,

I'm not running away, so please calm down. After last night I had some thinking to do, and I couldn't sleep. I finally opened Danny's letter as well, and it's here for you to read. I just need some time to contemplate everything. Please don't worry about me.

Max

He swallowed as he picked up Danny's letter and as he read it he was surprised that he could hate the bastard anymore they he did. How can he do this to her, Kenny wondered, trying to picture what her life had been like with him. Feeling the emptiness of his apartment, he sunk onto the couch cushions.

"Jimmy! I'm telling you the truth! I'm not crazy, these autopsy results we got aren't right! Something is missing, I know it," Carter chattered excitedly into the phone. "They're trying to cover something up!"

"What did their medical examiner say?" Jimmy asked, trying to stay patient with him at this late hour.

"Something about special rope, and how the body was cut down before the blood settled," Carter dismissed. "It's just not possible though. The body was cremated so quickly, did anyone ever identify it?"

"Yes," Jimmy verified, not wanting this thing to get dug up again for everyone's sakes. "Carter the man is dead and buried. That's the end of it!"

"Are you sure? Jimmy," Carter said firmly. "These are not conclusive results and this thing reeks of a cover up."

Jimmy groaned internally. "Drop it Carter. It's done with."

"Fine, good night," Carter relented, as they hung up,. "I know I'm right with this."

"Thank you, thank you," Carter said into the phone. "You're sure?"

He hung up, and turned back to the medical report in front of him as the fax machine hummed. Pages pored in, and excitement ran through him. He hated the havoc that this was going to bring, but Carter couldn't help feeling that he was saving the day before it was ruined. Snatching the pages from the machine, he inhaled sharply at the pictures that were faxed in from the Greenwich Police Department. Pictures of a very alive Danny Shreve dated three days after his suicide.

"Shit," Carter mumbled, grabbing his stack and racing for the door.

"She wouldn't just take off again," Jill theorized to her husband after they had both talked to Kenny. "Even she had to agree."

Jimmy shrugged, very unsure of where Max's head was at these days. "Usually I'd say no, but it's not like it hasn't happened before, Jill."

Jill glanced through the office window to an obviously distracted Kenny. "She has every reason to stay."

Jimmy followed his wife's train of thought and gaze toward his young deputy. "So it seems. Her boyfriend is here."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Jill sighed, as Carter burst into the office.

"I knew I was right," he said breathlessly after running all the way from the morgue. "I can prove it!"

"What, did you find semen?" Kenny commented dryly joining them.

"No! The medical reports about Danny's suicide were all wrong," Carter exclaimed. "Facts were off, details skewed! The body was cremated so soon, and I have pictures! Not of the body, but of Danny three days later after his death!"

Not possible, Kenny thought wildly. "Bullshit."

Carter dropped his pile on Jimmy's desk as the four of them skimmed through it quickly, as the missing details came into place.

"Find her," Jimmy stated, thinking Max had picked a fine time to go soul searching. "This story has too many holes for Danny not to realize that someone is going to figure it out."

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Kenny," Max called softly as she entered the dim apartment. "Hello?"

Hearing muffled footsteps from the bathroom she smiled to herself, as she tossed her purse on the sofa. Flipping on the lights, she shrugged off her jacket and contemplated her next move. Driving is more therapeutic then anything else, she mused as she thought of her conclusions. Danny isn't going to haunt me anymore, and I can do this. Kenny, damn it, Kenny… The way he looks at me, Max thought, why didn't I see it sooner? Well because we were both dumb and I really hope that we can pull it together now. I'm not letting my dumb insecurities get in the way. Her grin broadening, she slowly made her way back to the bedroom. Pausing outside the door, she heard closet doors being open and shut and drawers being slammed. He sounds kind of pissed, Max thought, hoping he wasn't too angry that she snuck out last night. Burying her fear, she pushed the door open and wished she hadn't as she stumbled back into the hallway in shock.

"You're not the only one who can fake their death," Danny sneered, following her from the ransacked bedroom.

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"When Max wants to disappear, she does it well," Skeeter commented, as Kenny hung up the phone. "Still not back yet?"

Kenny shook his head. "If that bastard hurts her . . ."

"We don't even know that he is here," Skeeter interjected. "He might just want to disappear too. He's facing a heavy jail sentence if he turns up."

"I don't think that matters to him," Kenny argued, as he remembered the last few lines of his letter. "He's obsessed, and Max is the only thing that matters to him."

"What about Sam?" Skeeter trailed off not wanting to bring up a touchy subject. "Nothing?"

"He's not answering his phone either, and we tried him at his parents in Green Bay," Kenny replied dully. Impulsive, she wouldn't run off with him. Not again. "I don't think she would go to him."

Jimmy joined the two men silently, not wanting to inform them of the news he had just received from Sean and the other from his own deputies. Just when we don't think that it can get any worse, Jimmy thought sadly, as he prayed for his former deputy. The two younger men turned to him, and saw the bad news written clearly on his face.

"Jimmy?" Kenny asked tentatively, fearing that something horrible had just happened to Max.

"It's not good," he stated, "And it's not Max. Sean called, and they found Amanda Morris, Danny's fiancee murdered in her house a few hours ago. Stabbed and beaten badly, and rumors of Danny not being dead are flooding Greenwich right now. The supposed cover up is going to explode in the news soon."

"Poor girl," Skeeter said sadly. "What was she? About 23?"

Jimmy nodded. "About, she never stood a chance. Secondly, we finally found Sam, and he was in almost as bad shape as she was. He's alive, but Jill said it is going to be touch and go for awhile."

"Shit," Kenny said without thinking.

"Yeah," Jimmy agreed. "We have to find Max before he does."

The three men stood in unison and began to plan out their next strategy.

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"My beautiful wife," Danny continued as Max stumbled backward down the hall. "I was actually waiting for your boyfriend to come home, but you'll do nicely. Your first boyfriend was easy to take care of, but as for Kenny . . . I want to make him suffer a bit more."

No, Max's mind screamed, as he advanced toward her. A frantic glance around the hallway for a weapon proved useless, he can't hurt Kenny! Sam? Oh my god, Sam! How many people can this man destroy before someone stops him?

"You should have never tried to beat me," Danny snapped, pushing her up against the wall. "I own you, till death do us part."

"I'd rather be dead, then with you," Max finally spat, as his warm breath invaded her nostrils.

"Oh, that's an option," Danny agreed. "I am quite angry with you Maxine, and you will be punished for what you have done. I want to enjoy you first."

"Go to hell," she cried, shoving him with all of her strength. "I hate you!"

"You love me," he said coldly, as he held her firmly against the wall. "We're leaving this place together and it'll be just the two of us, as it should be."

"No," Max said matching his tone. "No."

He crushed his mouth to hers as she stood as still as a statue and tried not to vomit. "No choice here. Let's go."

He loosened his grip, as he began to drag her down the hall. As they made their way through the living room, Max eyed Kenny's bowling trophy on a table. As he dragged her by, she stretched her hand as far as it would go and felt the cool metal between her hands. He turned, just as Max raised it above her head and brought it down with all the force she could muster.

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Kenny and Skeeter pulled into the lot of Kenny's apartment building, on the vague hope that Max might be there and not picking up the phone. Amanda was murdered in her home, and Sam in his hotel room, so both were praying that when they opened the door they wouldn't be looking at a body.

"That's her car," Kenny said quietly. "And she didn't pick up five minutes ago."

"Maybe she's in the shower?" Skeeter said doubtfully, as they stepped out into the cold night, "Or has a pair of head phones on?"

"Yeah," Kenny said distantly, ready to blow off Danny's head if he had harmed her in any way. "Let's do this."

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"No damn it," Max cried, as he tossed her aside and the trophy crashed in the coffee table, "Damn!"

She scrambled to her feet, as he flung her across the room toward the kitchen. If only Kenny had left his gun, she thought, eyeing the drawer that he kept it locked in. Pulling herself to her feet in the kitchen, she grabbed a small knife off of the counter, and blocked it from Danny's view. Better then nothing, she thought, as she dodged his grasp.

"I said we're leaving," he said flatly. "Stop playing games!"

"You're insane," Max spat, more disgusted then fearful of him. "I'm not going with you. Now or ever."

He lunged and she landed on the kitchen table. Grabbing her by her wrist, Danny began to drag her by her wrist again. Contorting her leg at an impossible angle, Max smashed it into the back of his knee, and as he fell to the ground, her other foot connected with his nose.

"Bitch," he hissed, lunging at her again, as she raised the knife at his chest.

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"What was that?" Kenny asked, shoving his apartment door open, gun raised as they heard crashing and muffled voices.

"Freeze! Police," both men yelled in unison as they burst in to the totaled apartment and saw the two bodies on the floor. One kneeling, and one face up on the floor.

"What took you so long?" Max asked hoarsely, the small knife sticking out of Danny's chest, as blood bubbled around it.

Both men quickly re-holstered their weapons, as Skeeter quickly checked for a pulse, and Kenny grabbed a blanket to wrap around a trembling Max.

"You seemed to do okay on your own," he said softly into her ear.

"He's dead," Skeeter announced, turning toward them. "Right in the heart."

Max nodded, as she tried to digest his words, and couldn't quite manage a response. Hazily she saw them radioing you back up, as she gazed at her dead husband on the floor.