The Sleeping Beauty Killer

8

The woman who arrived at Charlotte’s office two minutes later was stunningly beautiful. Her long, honey-colored hair fell in perfect waves, and when she smiled, her teeth literally sparkled behind strawberry-colored full lips. She was even taller than Charlotte, maybe six feet tall, and was trim and graceful. She had the same blue, almond-shaped eyes as her cousin Casey.

She was juggling an armful of files and papers. “I drew up some tentative plans for the show, and I’ve got the warehouse lease. I negotiated a better rate, but we have to get the papers in by tomorrow morning.”

She stopped suddenly when she saw that Charlotte had a visitor in her office. She freed one hand for a quick shake. “Angela Hart,” she said.

Laurie introduced herself as the producer of Under Suspicion.

Angela seemed to realize the connection to her cousin immediately. “I should have known she’d go charging forward. Once Casey puts her mind to something, she’s like a dog with a bone.”

“She mentioned her interest in our show?”

“We were barely in the car at the prison.”

“You don’t sound particularly enthusiastic about the idea.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound so negative. I just wanted her to take a few days to think about it. Obviously, I know Charlotte’s family had a positive experience, so I was going to ask you about it today, Charlotte, and pass that on to Casey. But this lease situation got complicated-”

“The space we normally use for our fall show had an electrical fire last week,” Charlotte explained. “We had to find an alternative on short notice. Complete nightmare.”

“Charlotte said you’re in marketing here?” Laurie asked, realizing that she had jumped too abruptly into a discussion of the case.

“Ever since Ladyform opened a New York office,” Angela said brightly. “Gosh, that’s more than twelve years. If it weren’t for Charlotte, I’d probably be wandering the streets, scrounging for cans and bottles.”

“Stop it,” Charlotte said. “Any company would have been crazy not to hire you.”

“Charlotte’s too kind,” Angela said. “The truth is, I was a washed-up model when she hired me. You hit thirty, and suddenly your best gigs are for girdles and wrinkle cream. I blanketed the entire city with résumés, searching for some other job in fashion, and couldn’t even get an interview. No degree. No job experience besides posing for a camera. Now I’m a forty-four-year-old woman with an actual career, all because Charlotte gave me a chance.”

“Are you kidding?” Charlotte said. “You gave us a chance. I can’t imagine what you thought when you showed up for an interview to meet Amanda and me. We were just kids!”

Laurie knew that Charlotte and her younger sister, Amanda, had been the ones to push Ladyform in a new direction with offices in New York City. What had once been a small, family-owned business manufacturing “foundational garments” became a go-to brand for women’s fashionable athletic attire.

“Anyway,” Angela continued, “we had an hour-long interview and then wound up going next door to continue the conversation over wine. We’ve been pals ever since.”

“I know the feeling,” Laurie said. “Charlotte and I met when my show handled her sister’s case, but she’s the one who made sure we stayed friends afterwards.”

“For what it’s worth,” Charlotte said, “my family spent more than five years in a living hell, with no idea what happened to Amanda. Under Suspicion brought us out of that hell. Laurie could do the same for Casey.”

“I know your show can unearth new evidence,” Angela said, “but my aunt and I are worried about adding to Casey’s notoriety. It would be one thing if this were ten years ago when she was still in prison. But she’s free now. She did her time. I understand Casey’s desire to convince people that she would never hurt a fly, let alone Hunter. She loved him dearly. But I don’t think she has any idea of how much the world has changed in the last fifteen years. If she thought the tabloid headlines were bad, wait until she sees what Twitter and Facebook will do to her. There’s something to be said about leaving the past behind her.”

“I take it that your aunt is Casey’s mother?” Laurie asked.

Angela nodded. “Aunt Paula is Casey’s mother and my mom’s sister. But Casey and I were both only children, so we were very close growing up. I was probably five when I realized her full name was Katherine Carter, which meant we had different last names. I remember my mom having to explain that she wasn’t actually my baby sister.”

“It must have been hard on you when she was convicted.”

Angela sighed. “Absolutely devastating. I was so sure the jury would see the truth. I realize now how naive I was. She was only twenty-five years old then, barely out of college. Now she’s forty years old and has no idea how different things are now. She had a flip cell phone before she went to prison, and had no idea how to use my iPhone to look up something.”

“Paula’s opposed to Casey doing my show?”

“Extremely opposed. To be frank, I think Casey’s conviction killed her father prematurely. I worry about what the stress of the renewed attention will do to Paula.”

Charlotte patted her friend’s hand supportively. “I had the same concerns about my parents when my mother convinced Laurie to look into Amanda’s disappearance. I thought it was time for them to move on. But now that they know what happened, they’re finally free from the limbo they lived in for five years.”

Laurie had felt the same way after she learned the truth about Greg’s murder a year ago. Limbo was a perfect word to describe the state she’d been in until recently.

“Were you at all involved in the case?” Laurie asked, shifting direction. “Did you know Hunter?”

“Obviously I wasn’t there when he was killed,” Angela said. “But I saw both of them earlier that night at the gala for his foundation. And I was the first person she called from the country house when she found his body-after 911, of course. I had a photo shoot scheduled the next morning, but I hopped straight into my car. Even by the time I drove up to New Canaan, Connecticut, she was still completely out of it. It was obvious to me she had been drugged. In fact, I was the one who insisted that the police run a test on her blood. Sure enough, it turned up positive for both alcohol and Rohypnol. Would any sane person take Rohypnol on her own? Absolutely not. It’s not a recreational drug. It turns you into a zombie from what I’m told.”

Laurie found herself thinking of her friend, Margaret, who had been convinced that someone had dropped a drug in her drink while they were at a bar together shortly after graduating from college. She remembered how Margaret described feeling like she was watching everything from outside her own body.

“So you still believe Casey is innocent?”

“Of course. That’s why she turned down a plea deal that would have had her out of prison with a six-year sentence.”

“And if Casey and I wind up deciding to go forward with the show, will you help? As I understand it, you and her mother are the only people who have kept contact with her.”

“Is there any way I can convince you to give her some time to adjust before she makes a final decision? This entire thing feels rushed.”

“No, I’m afraid not. I have deadlines to meet.”

“Be honest: You don’t really need Paula and me, do you? You’ll go forward regardless of what we think.”

“Yes, as long as we have Casey and at least some of the alternative suspects.”

“Then what can I say? I’ll continue to support Casey because that’s what I’ve always done. But I can tell you right now: Paula will be in your way at every step. She’s convinced Casey is making a terrible mistake.”

“Well, I hope that isn’t true,” Laurie said. “And I’ll consider myself warned.”