The Sleeping Beauty Killer

3

Laurie Moran smiled politely to the waiter and declined another refill on her coffee. She stole a glance at her watch. Two hours. She had been at this table at 21 Club for two full hours. It was one of her favorite restaurants, but she needed to get back to work.

“Mmmm, this soufflé is absolute heaven. You’re sure you don’t want a bite?”

Her companion at what was turning out to be a painfully long meal was a woman named Lydia Harper. By some accounts, she was the brave widow from Houston who’d been raising two boys on her own since a deranged stranger killed their father, an esteemed medical school professor at Baylor, after a road rage incident. By others, she was the manipulative woman who’d hired a hit man to kill her husband because she desperately feared that he was going to divorce her and sue for custody.

The case was perfect for Laurie’s show, Under Suspicion, a series of true crime-based “news specials” focusing on cold cases. It had been two weeks since Lydia agreed on the phone to participate in a reinvestigation of her husband’s murder, but she still hadn’t signed the paperwork. After telling Laurie repeatedly that she “kept meaning to go to the post office,” she suddenly declared two days ago that she wanted to meet in person-in New York, with a first-class airline ticket and two nights at the Ritz-Carlton-before signing on the dotted line.

Laurie had assumed that Lydia was looking for a free five-star trip on the show’s dime, and was willing to oblige if that’s what it took to get her to sign her participation agreement. But each time Laurie tried to broach the issue over lunch, Lydia had changed the subject to the Broadway show she’d seen the previous night, her shopping trip to Barneys that morning, or the excellence of 21’s classic turkey hash she’d ordered from the lunch menu.

Laurie heard her cell phone buzz from the outside pocket of her handbag once again.

“Why don’t you answer it?” Lydia suggested. “I understand. Work work work. It never stops.”

Laurie had ignored several other calls and texts, but was afraid to ignore this one. It might be from her boss.

She felt a pit in her stomach as soon as she saw her phone screen. Four missed calls: two from her assistant, Grace Garcia, and two from her assistant producer, Jerry Klein. She also saw a string of text messages from both of them.

Brett is looking for you. ETA?

OMG. Crazy Casey is here about her case. She says she knows Charlotte Pierce. You’re going to want to talk to her. Call me!

Where are you? Are you still at lunch?

CC is still here. And Brett is still looking for you.

What do you want us to tell Brett? Call ASAP. Brett’s head might explode if you don’t get back soon.

And then a final message from Grace, sent just now: If that man comes back to your office one more time, we might need an ambulance on the 16th floor. What part of “she’s not here” does he not understand?

Laurie rolled her eyes, picturing Brett pacing the hallways. Her boss was a brilliant and renowned producer, but he was impatient and petulant. Last year, a Photoshopped image of his face pasted onto the body of a swaddled baby with a rattle in hand had made the rounds among studio employees. Laurie always suspected that Jerry was the guilty party, but she was confident that he’d covered his electronic tracks so as not to get caught.

The truth was that Laurie had been avoiding Brett. It had been a month since their last special aired, and she knew he was eager for her to start production on the next.

Lord knew she should be thankful. It wasn’t that long ago that Laurie had been losing sleep wondering if she still had a career. First, she’d taken time off from work after her husband, Greg, was killed. Then when she returned, her track record was bumpy at best. With each flop of a show, she heard ambitious, young production assistants-each of them eager to take her place-wondering aloud whether she was “in a funk” or had “lost her touch.”

Under Suspicion had changed all that. Laurie started toying with the idea before Greg died. People loved mysteries, and telling the stories from the perspective of the suspects was a fresh take on cold cases. But after Greg was killed, she sat on the idea for years. In retrospect, she realized she didn’t want to look like a widow obsessed with her husband’s own unsolved murder. But, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention. With her career at stake, she finally pitched what she knew was her best idea. They’d had three successful specials, with ratings and “viral trending” increasing each time. But, as they also say, the reward for good work is more work.

A month ago, Laurie had been convinced that she was well ahead of schedule. She had what she thought was the perfect case. Students from the criminal law clinic at Brooklyn Law School had contacted her about a young woman who was convicted of murdering her college roommate three years earlier. They had proof that one of the prosecution’s key witnesses had lied. It didn’t fit her show’s typical model, which looked at unsolved cases from the perspective of the people who’d lived for years under a cloud of suspicion. But the possibility of freeing a woman who had been wrongly convicted tapped into the sense of justice that had drawn Laurie to journalism in the first place.

She fought like the dickens to get Brett to approve the idea, selling him on the concept of wrongful convictions as a hot narrative trend. Then three days after Brett gave her an enthusiastic green light, the prosecution announced at a joint press conference with the law students that they were so convinced by the new evidence that they had agreed to release the defendant and reopen the case on their own initiative. Justice was served, but Laurie’s show was dead before arrival.

And so Laurie had moved on to her second choice: the murder of Dr. Conrad Harper, whose widow was now seated across from her, almost done with her dessert. “I’m terribly sorry, Lydia, but there’s an urgent matter at my office. I need to get back, but you said you wanted to speak in person about the show.”

Lydia surprised Laurie by setting down her spoon and signaling for the check.

“Laurie, I did want to meet in person,” she said. “I felt it was only fair. I won’t be participating after all.”

“What-”

Lydia held up a palm. “I’ve talked to two different lawyers. They both say I have too much to lose. I’d rather live with the dirty looks from the neighbors than put myself in legal jeopardy.”

“We already talked about that, Lydia. This is your chance to help find out who really killed Conrad. I know you have deep suspicions about his former student.” Her husband had been stalked by a student he’d failed the previous semester.

“And by all means, if you want to investigate him, be my guest. But I won’t be submitting to any interviews.”

Laurie opened her mouth to speak, but Lydia immediately interrupted. “Please, I know you need to get back to work. There’s nothing you can say to change my mind. My decision is final. I just felt that I should tell you the news in person.”

At that exact moment, the waiter arrived with the check, which Lydia promptly handed to Laurie. “It was very nice to have crossed paths with you, Laurie. I wish you all the best.”

Laurie felt a chill run up her spine as Lydia rose from the table and left her there, alone. She did it, Laurie thought, and no one will ever be able to prove it.

As she waited for the server to return with her credit card, Laurie sent a joint text message to Grace and Jerry: Tell Brett I’m ten minutes away.

What was she going to say once she got there? Her murdered-professor case was down the drain.

She was about to hit enter when she remembered Jerry’s earlier text about Crazy Casey. Was it possible? She revised her message. Did Casey Carter really ask to see me?

Grace immediately responded. YES! She’s in conference room A. A convicted killer is in our building! I nearly called 911.

As a journalist, Laurie had interviewed several people accused and even convicted of murder. Grace, however, still flinched at the thought. Jerry’s response arrived immediately after Grace’s. I was worried she’d leave but when I thanked her for waiting, she said we wouldn’t be able to get rid of her until she saw you!

Laurie found herself smiling as she signed the bill for lunch. Lydia Harper’s pulling out of the show may have been a blessing in disguise. Casey’s release had been the lead story on every network last night, and now she was asking for Laurie. She typed a new message from the cab. Buy me as much time as possible with Brett. Tell him I have a lead on a promising new case. I want to talk to Casey first.