The Cinderella Murder

67

Laurie’s first instinct was to rush to the hotel after Rosemary’s panicked phone call. This woman, whom she’d convinced to trust her with her daughter’s case, had learned the news of both Dwight Cook’s death and an arrest warrant being issued for Jerry’s attacker from the television. Laurie owed her an in-person update.

Alex insisted on coming with her, while Leo stayed at the house with Timmy and Grace. “Alex, thank you for keeping an eye on me,” Laurie said once they were in the hotel lobby. “But I think I should speak with Rosemary one-on-one.”

“No problem,” Alex said. “I’ll check in with hotel security to make sure they’re on the lookout for Steve Roman.”

Outside Rosemary’s hotel room, Laurie heard the muted sounds of a television. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Rosemary answered immediately.

“Laurie, thank you for coming. I’m so afraid. I don’t understand what’s happening. Yesterday it was that whole scene at the house with Susan’s friends. I can’t believe Nicole, after all these years, never told me about that fight. And now Dwight Cook is dead? And the police think this man who attacked Jerry, who’s on the loose, is connected to Advocates for God? Now I’m wondering if I was right all along: maybe Keith Ratner is behind everything-Susan’s murder, the attack on Jerry, now Dwight.”

On the television screen behind Rosemary, Laurie spotted Martin Collins at an impromptu press conference in front of his house.

“Hold on,” she said. “Can you turn up the volume?”

“It’s not my place to speculate about the motivations of a sick mind,” he was saying. “But our best guess is this person-obviously ill at some level-was making a misguided attempt to protect Keith Ratner, another AG member who has been unfairly under suspicion all these years in the death of his former girlfriend. That’s all I have for now, folks.”

Martin Collins was attractive and charismatic. He duped thousands of people into turning over their hard-earned money to him every year. Now he was using those skills to sweet-talk the viewers watching him on television.

Laurie muted the volume and led a ghostly pale Rosemary to a wing chair in the living area of the suite. Laurie sat on the couch facing her. “I wish I had all the answers,” Laurie said. “But we don’t know much more than you do, and new information is coming in fast. The reports about Dwight Cook are true, but police suspect foul play. We think this Steve Roman person is trying to shut down the production, but on whose behalf? We’re not sure.”

“Because of Susan? Is this the man who killed my daughter?”

Laurie reached out and held Rosemary’s hand. “We honestly don’t know. But the LAPD is on top of this. They’re going to search Steve Roman’s apartment tonight in San Francisco, and they’ve got out a high-priority arrest warrant throughout the state. Alex is downstairs right now speaking to security. We’ll be sure there’s security around the clock for you, Rosemary. And we’ll all breathe a sigh of relief-and hopefully learn more-once Roman is caught.”

As she made her way to the elevator, Laurie checked her phone. There was a text from Alex: All set with security. Waiting in lobby.

She almost missed the familiar face of the man exiting the room at the end of the hall. Richard Hathaway.

On instinct, she turned her back, continuing to check her phone, until she heard the ding of the elevator. What was Hathaway doing here? He had turned down the offer of a hotel room.

Laurie walked quietly to the end of the hall, pressing her ear gently to the door of the room he had left. She could hear music playing inside. Before she could even think about what she was doing, she was tapping on the door.

When it opened, Madison Meyer appeared in a white robe.