All Dressed in White

37

Sitting in the resort’s cocktail lounge, Laurie perused the adventurous options on the list of “signature drinks.” According to the menu, they were all handcrafted by the resort’s in-house mixologist. With the art deco surroundings, she felt like she had stepped into a speakeasy.

She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Alex. He gave her a quick kiss. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”

“I just sat down myself. So who won?” Alex and Leo had sneaked off to a nearby sports bar to watch the Yankee game on a big screen. Leo had vowed to stick to the heart-healthy diet he’d been following since having two stents inserted in his right ventricle last year, but Laurie would bet her life that he’d been unable to resist a few chicken wings.

“The Red Sox,” Alex groaned. “Nine to one, a complete blowout. How was your mother-son dinner?”

“Excellent. Timmy ate an entire plate of spaghetti and meatballs, as well as half of my lasagna. My little boy has a very big appetite. And he’s still pestering me about getting you to go on that water slide with him.”

“I’m happy to take him,” Alex said. “We could go early in the morning before we’re shooting for the day.”

“And ruin that perfect hair?”

“First Grace, and now you.” He grinned. “As long as you think it’s perfect.”

A waitress arrived with two glasses of water and a tray of olives. Laurie asked for a vodka martini, and Alex ordered a ginger ale. “Your father and I already knocked back a few. And you don’t want my eyes puffy on camera tomorrow, do you?” He reached across the table and held Laurie’s hand. His hand was warm; it felt good.

“I, on the other hand, was a teetotaler at dinner. When your date is a nine-year-old, you’re the designated driver. Switching topics,” Laurie said, “is anything Henry said today about the rental car helpful to us?”

Alex sighed. “Not really. I bumped into Austin a little while ago in the lobby. He confirmed Henry’s story about the four of them using the car to drive downtown. I assume Kate, Charlotte, or Meghan will verify that the women in the bridal party used the car for a shopping trip, too.”

“I’ll recheck the police report about the search of the rental car,” Laurie said. “Jerry said there was no relevant evidence found there, but I’ll make sure.”

“I reread it after the interview with Henry.” He took a sip of his drink and chuckled.

“An older gentleman found the car three days after Amanda’s disappearance and reported it to the police. When the police pressed him on what he was doing behind the abandoned gas station, he admitted he had to relieve himself and was concerned that he wouldn’t make it home.”

Laurie smiled. “What made him call the police?”

“He wasn’t going to, but then he spotted a set of keys on the ground near the driver’s-side door. He assumed the car was stolen and abandoned and called 911 when he got home.”

“Any DNA or fingerprint evidence?” Laurie asked.

“The police checked for both. They were able to lift prints belonging to Amanda and Jeff from the steering wheel. They crosschecked Amanda’s prints against some personal items from her room. Jeff volunteered his. Both had driven the car, so the results weren’t surprising. The DNA trail also didn’t lead anywhere. All six members of the wedding party had been in the car so finding their DNA wouldn’t tell us anything. And remember, this was a rental car. Even though it would get a quick wipe and vacuuming between uses, it would be loaded with the DNA of previous occupants. The police checked the DNA samples they found against their database of sex offenders but didn’t find any matches.”

“So the car tells us nothing,” Laurie said.

“That’s not exactly true,” Alex replied. “If they had found blood or clumps of hair, that would have suggested a struggle took place. But they didn’t. And one more thing: The night before the car was found it had rained really hard. Footprints that might have been made by Amanda or anybody who was with her or potential tire tracks from another car would have been washed away.”

“A dead end,” Laurie sighed.

“Oh, don’t look now, but we have company, at the bar,” Alex said in a low voice.

Laurie stole a glance to the front bar. Austin and Nick were drinking what looked like scotch. Their heads turned in sync as a group of young women in cocktail dresses walked by.

“Looks like they’re on the prowl,” Laurie said.

“It sure does.”

“Think they’ll mind if I interrupt? I want to ask them if they remember Jeremy Carroll.”

“I was thinking about him this afternoon,” Alex said. “I bet the police have never connected him to Amanda.”

“I’m sure they haven’t. The photographer, Ray Walker, didn’t think of it himself until Jerry called him. It was only after Amanda disappeared that any clients complained about Jeremy. And the neighbors didn’t seek a protective order until last year. There would be no way for the police to realize that Jeremy had been working on Amanda’s wedding photographs.”

“Have you considered approaching him for the show?”

“We certainly can’t ignore him. If only there were some way to know if he was the man who turned to follow Amanda in the surveillance photo. Let me see what Nick and Austin remember.”

“Want me to go with you?” Alex asked, beginning to stand.

“No, I think you intimidate them. Too much competition for best-looking man at the Grand Victoria.”

He was smiling as he watched her walk away.

“Ms. Moran,” Nick exclaimed. “Let us get you a drink.” Laurie noticed that Austin did not look happy at the suggestion that she join them. Hers was probably not the kind of female company he was hoping for tonight. “Please call me Laurie, and thank you, but I already have one.” She gestured to Alex, who gave a small hand salute. “I don’t want to interrupt for long, but something’s come up in our investigation. Do you happen to remember a younger man who was working for Jeff and Amanda’s wedding photographer? His name was Jeremy Carroll.”

“The intern,” Austin said immediately. “Kind of a nosy, nondescript fellow. He took good pictures as I recall.”

“So you do remember him!”

“Austin remembers everyone,” Nick said. “He’s the Rainman of people-watching. Me on the other hand? I don’t even remember there being a wedding photographer.”

Austin launched into a detailed description of the photo shoot by the swimming pool the afternoon of the bachelor party, but Nick’s face was still blank.

“Did you notice anything unusual about him?” Laurie asked.

“Are you thinking he might be a suspect?” Austin asked, his voice tense. “We’ve been telling people all these years that there’s no way Jeff would hurt Amanda. Henry said from the beginning she probably went for a walk and ran into a dangerous creep. Is it possible this intern’s the one?”

“At this point, we’re just trying to make sure we have a complete list of people Amanda would have encountered down here.”

“Come to think of it, the guy did seem very interested in everyone,” Austin said. “I thought he was just too eager, the way interns can be.”

“Did he seem especially interested in Amanda?”

“Yes, I think so.” His voice was deeply concerned now. “That seemed normal at the time. After all, she was the bride. Maybe someone should have mentioned it to the police.”

“It’s a big leap from being overly interested in your job to hurting someone.” She saw no reason to mention Jeremy’s more recent problems with the law.

Nick downed the rest of his scotch and signaled for the bill. “Is that all we can help you with for now, Laurie?” They were clearly eager to move on to more fun conversations with more available women.

“Just one more question while I have you here: We were trying to clarify who had access to rental cars that week. Jeff and Amanda rented a car; did either of you have one?”

“No, only Jeff had one. On this trip we’re yacht people,” Nick said with a smirk at his own joke. Austin began to tell Laurie in agonizing detail about their newfound love for boats and putting their Ladies First and Lonesome Dove nameplates on their charters.

“So is that it?” Nick asked. Laurie had the impression that he either needed to leave right now or would be ordering another drink.

“Yes, and, please, let me get this,” she said, reaching for the tab. “It’s the least I can do.”

Nick placed a gentle hand on her forearm. He certainly was a flirt. “I hate to break this to you, Laurie, but you’ve been picking up more tabs than that one. We’ve put everything on our rooms.”

Brett Young will be so thrilled, Laurie thought.