The Sleeping Beauty Killer

47

When Ramon opened the door at Alex’s apartment, Laurie could tell from his expression that he knew something was wrong. He usually welcomed her with a wry joke and an offer of a cocktail, but tonight, he simply told her that Alex would be out soon, and left her by herself in the living room.

When Alex emerged from the hallway leading to his bedroom, his hair was damp, and he was still adjusting the collar of his shirt. “Laurie, I’m sorry you were waiting. When you called, I was at the gym. I rushed home, but obviously you were quicker. Can I get you something?”

She very much wanted a glass of Cabernet, but that would come later. “I’m here about the show. Based on Ramon’s demeanor at the door, I assume you figured out this wasn’t entirely a personal visit.”

“I didn’t know for certain.”

Not for certain, perhaps, but he must have been expecting this moment to come in some form. After all, he was the one who was always telling Laurie that she was better than any investigator he’d ever worked with.

“The last time we spoke, you warned me to be careful with this case-that I was dealing with some very powerful people. You were referring to James Raleigh, weren’t you?”

“You don’t need me to tell you that a three-star general whose name was at one point frequently mentioned as a presidential candidate is a powerful person.”

“No, but I needed you to tell me that you have some kind of involvement with him.”

He reached for her, but she pulled away. “Laurie, what I need is for you to remember that I have a job that existed well before I knew you or your show. Please don’t expect me to say any more than that.”

“I’m tired of you speaking in code, Alex. You’ve been talking to me like a lawyer since the first time I mentioned Casey Carter’s name.”

“That’s because I am a lawyer.”

“And because of that, you have attorney-client privilege. But your client isn’t James Raleigh. Your client is-or was-Mark Templeton. But you knew James Raleigh first. You met him at a picnic when you were in law school. And then you went on to become one of the city’s best criminal defense attorneys. And somehow that connection to General Raleigh is what led you to represent Mark Templeton when questions arose about his handling of the Raleigh Foundation.”

“That’s not fair, Laurie. I can’t confirm or deny knowing Mark Templeton-”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“I don’t have a choice here, Laurie, but you do. You can choose to believe me. You know me, and you know I care about you, including your work. And I swear to you: You can-and should-leave Mark Templeton out of your story. You are barking up the wrong tree here.”

“So that’s it? I’m supposed to take your word for it and move on?”

“Yes.” He made it all sound so easy.

Laurie felt completely powerless. Ever since she began working on this case, she had been acutely aware of Alex’s absence, and it wasn’t just because Ryan Nichols was such an annoyance. Something about Alex put her at ease. When they spoke, ideas flowed like water. Following her instincts came easily, at least when it came to work. And now Alex was telling her to ignore the facts, based solely on his word, and her instincts were screaming in opposition.

He reached for her again, and this time she let him pull her into a gentle embrace. He stroked her hair. “I’m sorry I can’t say more, but please trust me. Why won’t you trust me?”

She stepped back so she could look him in the eye when she answered his question. “Because I think you’ve been lying to me.”

“Laurie, I have never lied to you, and never will. If what you’re asking me is whether Mark Templeton was involved in Hunter Raleigh’s murder, I will personally vouch for his innocence.”

“You’re still working for your client, aren’t you? Alex, I’m talking about us. I was here, in your apartment, with my family right after I first met Casey Carter. Even then, you seemed to be steering me away from the case. Why didn’t you tell me then that you knew some of the key players? You’ve been forcing me to drag every snippet of information from you, like it’s a cross-examination.”

“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you everything.”

She shook her head. She could not believe that the man she knew she loved was standing in front of her, defending the difference between a lie and a failure to tell her the full truth.

“Please, Laurie, play back the conversation we had after you met Casey. You never once mentioned Mark Templeton, Hunter’s father, or the foundation. It was a fifteen-year-old homicide case, not a case about whatever may have happened years later at the foundation. And his murder was always thought to be about Casey and Hunter’s relationship, which I know absolutely nothing about. So even if I knew something about the foundation, why would I have brought that up, especially if I was forbidden to talk about it?”

“You sound like the worst kind of lawyer right now-”

“And you’re treating me like a suspect on your show.”

“Okay, I get it, you’re never going to tell me the truth. But tell me this: Do you owe a duty of loyalty to your clients, even if they’re guilty?”

He sat down on the sofa, resigning himself to entering a new phase of the argument. “Of course.”

“And that duty is forever; I think you told me once that it extends beyond the grave.” He didn’t need to answer. They both knew where she was going. “So it follows that if one of your clients-someone like, hypothetically, Mark Templeton-were desperately afraid that a show like mine would reveal that he did something horrible-like, for example, kill his friend to cover up embezzlement-it would be part of your job to undermine that show.”

“Yes. Yes, Ms. Moran, you’ve got me. You’re a better cross-examiner than I am. You win. Are you happy now?”

No, she was not happy at all. “You said you don’t have a choice, Alex. Well, neither do I. Just before he was murdered, Hunter was looking into hiring a forensic accountant to audit the foundation’s books. That gives Templeton motive. And his wife and children were asleep by the time he got home from the gala, so he has no alibi. Call your client: he can either talk to us on camera, or deal with the repercussions of what we choose to say about him in his absence. We plan to wrap filming in two days.”