The Cinderella Murder

39

Three hundred sixty miles north, Dwight Cook was just waking up in his Palo Alto mansion. Though the home had more than nine thousand square feet, he spent most of his time in this enormous master suite with sweeping views of the foothills. But this morning, he was more interested in another one of his real estate holdings. He immediately reached for the laptop on his nightstand and opened the viewer for the surveillance cameras in the Bel Air house.

The first camera to appear overlooked the entryway. Laurie Moran was walking toward the front door. He recognized the man behind her as Alex Buckley, the show’s host.

Dwight used the right-arrow key to flip through the cameras situated around the house.

The assistant, Grace, was coming out of one of the bedrooms on the second floor, singing an old disco song. The others were all finishing breakfast in the kitchen, the child asking whether they’d have time for a trip to Disneyland. The surveillance equipment-built into the walls, completely undetectable-was working flawlessly. Dwight had had the system installed in all his properties for extra security, but now it would be serving another role.

Dwight wouldn’t be going to Los Angeles until this weekend, but for all practical purposes, he was right there with the production team. And once the summit sessions began, he’d be able to see and hear everything.