All Dressed in White

61

Sandra Pierce suppressed a wince as her son, Henry, confirmed with the hostess that their reservation was for four people. All these years, she knew that something terrible had happened to Amanda. Despite what the police and public wanted to believe, Amanda would never have vanished on her own. But some part of Sandra had always held out a glimmer of hope that they’d find Amanda alive-that they might be a table of five again.

Walter was remarking on the unusual aquarium bar when Sandra saw a familiar group already seated at the back of the dining room. She let out a gasp, and Charlotte immediately grabbed her hand.

“Mom, are you okay?”

Walter, Charlotte, and Henry followed her gaze. Jeff Hunter was there, with that traitorous Meghan, along with Kate and Austin. Sandra could not stop staring at Jeff. As Jeff lifted his water glass, Sandra pictured that same hand around her daughter’s throat.

“I can’t stand the sight of him,” she hissed. “He killed Amanda, I just know it.”

The hostess had obviously overheard her. “Shall I change your table?” she asked. “I have one at the other end of the dining room.”

Sandra felt a comforting hand on her back and turned to see Walter, looking at her softly. “You know what?” he said. “Now that we’re here, I’m in the mood for steak. Would you mind if we went across the street? We can have the concierge call them for us on our way out.”

As they left the hotel, Henry pointed out the beginning of a beautiful sunset. The sky was purple and gold. Amanda would have loved it. That’s why she wanted to get married on the beach.

Sandra felt Walter’s strong arm around her. “I’ll never rest until we get justice for Amanda,” Walter said. “But tonight is about our family. We deserve a night in peace to remember Amanda.” They walked to dinner as a family.

Jeff Hunter saw the Pierce family turn away from the hostess stand and walk out. He had seen the expression on Sandra’s face. She was judge, jury, and executioner.

He wondered if he looked at Meghan in the same way. He wanted to stand up in the middle of the restaurant and scream at the top of his lungs, “I did not do this!”

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a text message from Nick: Boca’s a beautiful place, but I wish I could be there with you guys. Hope you’re doing okay, man.

Jeff would tell Nick later he was lucky to have left early. This dinner was a terrible idea. Austin was clearly bored without Nick. Next to Austin, Kate kept inching her chair farther away from him, probably remembering all of Austin’s awkward passes in college. Meghan was sipping water and barely talking. And Jeff wanted to leave this dinner table right now and demand that Meghan explain why she called Amanda’s lawyer about the will.

Was this her plan all along? To marry Jeff once Amanda was out of the way, then spend his inheritance? He couldn’t believe he was even entertaining the possibility.

As they continued to eat in silence, he thought he saw a man in the distance staring at them from the courtyard. Of course, he thought. The police are definitely watching me.

The man in the distance was not police, but Jeremy. He had followed Jeff and Meghan until they entered the elevator, then watched the numbers click in order until a stop on their floor. When Jeremy followed, he could hear raised voices. But then he saw a man lingering in the hallway. He didn’t want to call attention to himself by wandering around without a room to enter, so he rode back down to the lobby. He waited until he spotted Meghan and Jeff again, this time with Kate in tow. He could sense the coolness between them. Even without words, body language told the story.

He could also read the Pierce family. Their mood was heavy when they walked into the seafood restaurant. Of course it was, after the news about Amanda. But within minutes, they walked out, and this time, they all looked even more upset. When they left the hotel, Jeremy had a choice to make. Watch the family or watch the bridal party. The answer seemed clear.

Now he was wondering if he’d made the right decision. There was still tension between Meghan and Jeff, but the preppy male friend looked bored, and the other woman was sad. Nothing much to see.

Then Jeremy saw another familiar face. It was Laurie’s father, walking through the lobby, the man who had scared him so much at his home. Jeremy stepped behind a palm tree, and watched the older man go down the path toward the Italian restaurant. Once he was out of sight, Jeremy followed and, through the window, saw him join Laurie and several other people at a large round table in the back.

Laurie had asked him to take photographs of people participating in her show. She didn’t tell him not to photograph her and her friends, too. Besides, whether this was part of the job or not, there was nothing illegal about standing here and taking pictures.

He changed to a longer-distance lens. Once he started shooting, he couldn’t stop. The young woman with the long black hair was gorgeous. And the man sitting next to Laurie was remarkably photogenic. Plus the boy was adorable. These would be wonderful photographs for his collection.

Jeremy was so engrossed that he didn’t notice when Jeff, Meghan, and their friends left the seafood restaurant and disappeared into the elevator.