The Sleeping Beauty Killer

38

Laurie’s father had just buckled his seatbelt when he asked what she was thinking. “Do you really believe Hunter may have been killed because of problems at the foundation?”

“I’m not sure, but I definitely get the feeling that Hunter’s father put his thumb on the scales of justice at some point.” She explained the role of the General’s editor, Holly Bloom, in assisting both Mark Templeton and Jason Gardner.

“But you can’t believe the General was actually involved.”

“Of course not.” The possibility was unimaginable. James Raleigh was a national hero and by all accounts adored his older son. Even if she doubted him, his whereabouts were accounted for up until the moment he was notified of Hunter’s death.

“Why would he cover up for his own son’s murderer?”

“If he thought his other son was responsible. According to Casey, Andrew Raleigh could be very resentful of his older brother, especially when he was intoxicated. Even when I met with Andrew, he made it very clear that Hunter was the favored son. Or General Raleigh may have genuinely believed that Casey was guilty. But what if he was wrong?”

“Or maybe he was right, Laurie. Even if he did get Jason Gardner that book deal, even if he had something to do with the RIP_Hunter posts, even if he was trying to stack the deck against Casey-she could still be guilty.”

Maybe, Laurie thought.

They were only two days from filming, and she was finding more questions than answers. She now knew that police had found the numbers of forensic accountants on Hunter’s desk, along with a note to Ask Mark. That likely corroborated Casey’s claim that Hunter was looking into irregularities at the foundation. She was going to have to take another run at Templeton.

In the meantime, she had one more stop to make before they could return to the city. The rental car’s GPS instructed her father that their destination was on the left.

“You coming in?” she asked.

“No thanks. Never met a defense lawyer I liked until Alex. I think I’ll quit while I’m ahead.”

The lawyer Laurie was going to see was Casey’s trial lawyer, Janice Marwood.