All Dressed in White

48

Jerry was waving in Laurie’s direction. “Is everything okay? We’re ready to go over here.” They had scheduled Charlotte Pierce and Kate Fulton in back-to-back interview sessions.

“Just a second.” She turned to Leo and said, “Dad, let’s not share this discovery yet. If word gets back to Jeff that we’ve connected him to Carly, he might panic. We’re supposed to question him this afternoon.”

Leo nodded. “I agree.”

Laurie approached the set, smiling calmly at Kate, and then explained she just needed to speak to Alex briefly before they began.

Alex knew her well enough to know that something unexpected had occurred. They stepped aside, out of earshot of the others.

“Remember how I told you that a girl was killed near campus when they were all in college?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Dad found some photographs of Jeff and Carly together online. It looks like they may have dated.”

“How come no one ever mentioned that?” Alex asked quickly.

Laurie shrugged, still trying to process the new information herself. “The girls probably didn’t know; Kate said they weren’t friends with Carly, and they weren’t close to Jeff yet. But Jeff’s friends presumably knew.”

“Should I ask Kate? Or maybe we should just wait until we have him on camera.”

“Don’t ask Kate anything about this. I want to make sure we catch Jeff off guard later.”

Grace was making her way toward them, her tanned legs revealed by an impossibly short minidress. “How are we doing over here? I told Jerry to calm down, but you did look a little worried.” Grace’s ability to read Laurie was almost eerie.

“We’re all set,” Alex said confidently. He reached over and squeezed Laurie’s hand. Don’t worry, Alex is a pro, Laurie reminded herself. He’ll handle this perfectly.

“Now, Kate, you said Amanda expressed doubts about going through with the wedding. Can you tell me exactly what she said?” Alex asked pointedly.

Kate pressed her lips together, appearing to concentrate deeply. “I don’t recall every word, but we were alone in the pool, and she was asking whether I ever wondered if I got married too young. She wanted to know if I had regrets, if I would have experienced more in life if I hadn’t-that kind of thing. She even asked if I thought it was too late to call things off.”

“That sounds like more than last-minute nerves,” Alex said. “She actually mentioned the possibility of canceling the wedding?”

“She didn’t say she wanted to cancel, but yes, I remember she said, ‘How bad would it be to pull the plug at this point?’ I told her it was normal to be nervous, but that she shouldn’t go through with a wedding just to avoid upsetting other people.”

“If this is true, Kate, you’re the only person we know of to whom Amanda expressed her reluctance. Pardon me for saying this, but wasn’t Meghan closer to her than you were? She was the maid of honor, after all. Why wouldn’t Amanda have disclosed these concerns to her?”

She shrugged. “Maybe because Meghan was also friends with Jeff? She might have been worried Meghan would tell him.”

“Are you sure that’s the only explanation?” Alex persisted. “Meghan made it sound as if she and Amanda were extremely close friends. Wouldn’t Amanda trust her with such an important confidence?”

Kate cleared her throat. “It’s possible that over the years, I may have let it slip that, yes, I did used to wonder if I married too young. That I would picture how things might have been different if I had ventured off on my own for a while. But I told her when she asked if I loved my husband and my children. How could I possibly regret them? Later, when I asked whether she was seriously having second thoughts about marrying Jeff, she was a bit evasive.”

“How so?” Alex asked.

Laurie leaned forward, not wanting to miss a single facial expression or syllable.

“She said that something had come up-she was very vague-and that she needed to learn more about it before making a final decision.”

“What exactly did she need to learn?”

“I have no idea. That’s all she would say.”

“Was it something about Jeff?” Alex suggested. “Was she planning to talk to him?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Kate said.

Alex turned and looked to Laurie to see if he should press any further. She gave him a small headshake, indicating not to push. She didn’t want Kate to tip off Jeff that they were leaning in his direction.

Alex was bringing the session to a close when Laurie saw Sandra Pierce walking quickly toward the hotel lobby, a handkerchief in her hand, her husband one step behind her. What was this all about? Seconds later, Amanda’s brother, Henry, emerged from the same door and ran toward Laurie.

“Mom asked me to find you. The police said they found a body that they believe is Amanda’s.”