All Dressed in White (28 page)

Jeff had never seen his wife this emotional. “That’s not true, Meghan. Amanda was—we were so different. And people change. I’ve never felt as right with someone as I feel with you. But you’ve got to tell me why you called that lawyer.”

“I promise, it’s not what you think. I can explain. You just have to wait.”

There was a knock at the door. Meghan looked through the peephole, then wiped her face with her palms.

“It’s Kate. I told her to swing by here before dinner. Now can you please stop yelling and have a little faith in me?”

In an instant, her outburst was over, and she was back to her cool, levelheaded self. At this point, Jeff had no idea where to place his faith.

Five years ago, when he was about to marry Amanda, he had nagging doubts about how well he really knew her. Now after the bewildering rush of today’s events, he found himself questioning how well he knew his wife.

61

S
andra Pierce suppressed a wince as her son, Henry, confirmed with the hostess that their reservation was for four people. All these years, she knew that something terrible had happened to Amanda. Despite what the police and public wanted to believe, Amanda would never have vanished on her own. But some part of Sandra had always held out a glimmer of hope that they’d find Amanda alive—that they might be a table of five again.

Walter was remarking on the unusual aquarium bar when Sandra saw a familiar group already seated at the back of the dining room. She let out a gasp, and Charlotte immediately grabbed her hand.

“Mom, are you okay?”

Walter, Charlotte, and Henry followed her gaze. Jeff Hunter was there, with that traitorous Meghan, along with Kate and Austin. Sandra could not stop staring at Jeff. As Jeff lifted his water glass, Sandra pictured that same hand around her daughter’s throat.

“I can’t stand the sight of him,” she hissed. “He killed Amanda, I just know it.”

The hostess had obviously overheard her. “Shall I change your table?” she asked. “I have one at the other end of the dining room.”

Sandra felt a comforting hand on her back and turned to see Walter, looking at her softly. “You know what?” he said. “Now that we’re here, I’m in the mood for steak. Would you mind if we went
across the street? We can have the concierge call them for us on our way out.”

As they left the hotel, Henry pointed out the beginning of a beautiful sunset. The sky was purple and gold. Amanda would have loved it. That’s why she wanted to get married on the beach.

Sandra felt Walter’s strong arm around her. “I’ll never rest until we get justice for Amanda,” Walter said. “But tonight is about our family. We deserve a night in peace to remember Amanda.” They walked to dinner as a family.

•  •  •

Jeff Hunter saw the Pierce family turn away from the hostess stand and walk out. He had seen the expression on Sandra’s face. She was judge, jury, and executioner.

He wondered if he looked at Meghan in the same way. He wanted to stand up in the middle of the restaurant and scream at the top of his lungs, “I did not do this!”

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a text message from Nick:
Boca’s a beautiful place, but I wish I could be there with you guys. Hope you’re doing okay, man.

Jeff would tell Nick later he was lucky to have left early. This dinner was a terrible idea. Austin was clearly bored without Nick. Next to Austin, Kate kept inching her chair farther away from him, probably remembering all of Austin’s awkward passes in college. Meghan was sipping water and barely talking. And Jeff wanted to leave this dinner table right now and demand that Meghan explain why she called Amanda’s lawyer about the will.

Was this her plan all along? To marry Jeff once Amanda was out of the way, then spend his inheritance? He couldn’t believe he was even entertaining the possibility.

As they continued to eat in silence, he thought he saw a man
in the distance staring at them from the courtyard. Of course, he thought. The police are definitely watching me.

•  •  •

The man in the distance was not police, but Jeremy. He had followed Jeff and Meghan until they entered the elevator, then watched the numbers click in order until a stop on their floor. When Jeremy followed, he could hear raised voices. But then he saw a man lingering in the hallway. He didn’t want to call attention to himself by wandering around without a room to enter, so he rode back down to the lobby. He waited until he spotted Meghan and Jeff again, this time with Kate in tow. He could sense the coolness between them. Even without words, body language told the story.

He could also read the Pierce family. Their mood was heavy when they walked into the seafood restaurant. Of course it was, after the news about Amanda. But within minutes, they walked out, and this time, they all looked even more upset. When they left the hotel, Jeremy had a choice to make. Watch the family or watch the bridal party. The answer seemed clear.

Now he was wondering if he’d made the right decision. There was still tension between Meghan and Jeff, but the preppy male friend looked bored, and the other woman was sad. Nothing much to see.

Then Jeremy saw another familiar face. It was Laurie’s father, walking through the lobby, the man who had scared him so much at his home. Jeremy stepped behind a palm tree, and watched the older man go down the path toward the Italian restaurant. Once he was out of sight, Jeremy followed and, through the window, saw him join Laurie and several other people at a large round table in the back.

Laurie had asked him to take photographs of people
participating in her show. She didn’t tell him
not
to photograph her and her friends, too. Besides, whether this was part of the job or not, there was nothing illegal about standing here and taking pictures.

He changed to a longer-distance lens. Once he started shooting, he couldn’t stop. The young woman with the long black hair was gorgeous. And the man sitting next to Laurie was remarkably photogenic. Plus the boy was adorable. These would be wonderful photographs for his collection.

Jeremy was so engrossed that he didn’t notice when Jeff, Meghan, and their friends left the seafood restaurant and disappeared into the elevator.

62

L
aurie tasted salt on her lips as the night wind from the Atlantic Ocean blew into her face. Her linen pants were rolled up high on her calves. She carried her sandals in one hand while Alex held the other. They must have walked a mile by now.

As Alex had suggested, they’d talked through everything they knew about Amanda’s case over dinner. There was evidence against Jeff, but against Meghan, too. It could be either of them, or both working together. At this point, they may as well flip a coin. Then there was the question of whether to keep investigating or to rush to air. If it were up to Brett, the show would be on television tonight.

By the time dessert arrived, Laurie knew in her gut what she had to do. She just wanted one final talk with Alex alone before committing to a final decision.

“I really thought we’d solve another one before calling it a wrap,” she said wistfully.

“That’s not always going to happen, Laurie. And look at how much you’ve accomplished. You’ve brought closure to a family who were forgotten by the system. Sandra told me today how grateful she was to finally have an answer about Amanda.”

“But it’s a bad answer. She’s dead, and we still don’t know who killed her.”

“But at least they’re able to say good-bye,” Alex said. “It sounds like you’ve reached a decision.”

“I have. We’ll have one more film session tomorrow when you can lay out everything we know. You might want to repeat some of what you just said to me about saying good-bye,” she said with a sad smile. “It would be the perfect way to end a story that doesn’t really have an ending.”

Alex stopped walking and turned to face her. “Speaking of my wrap-up for the program, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“That sounds ominous.” Maybe my father was right, she thought. I told him Alex and I were fine, but maybe we aren’t.

“No, not at all. But I won’t always be able to keep working on the show.”

“Is it because of us—”

“No, not at all. It’s my practice. As much as I love an excuse to leave New York for days at a time, and with you no less, it’s too hard to juggle my schedule. So far, it has worked out, but that won’t always be the case.”

It was hard to imagine ever doing the show without Alex. And Laurie immediately wondered how it would affect their relationship. She didn’t want him to see how disappointed she was. “You mean judges won’t halt the wheels of justice so you can be a TV star?”

“Apparently not,” he said.

His smile made her heart swell. Laurie grasped his hand more tightly and continued walking along the beach. “Brett won’t be happy until I find another narrator as handsome as you.”

“Well, that’s impossible, of course,” he said dryly. “But I already have someone in mind. Besides, it’s about time Brett realizes you’re the show’s real special ingredient.”

•  •  •

They were on their way back to the hotel when Laurie felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. If that’s Brett again, she thought, I’m throwing this thing into the ocean. She checked the screen to find a New York phone number, but not Brett’s.

“This is Laurie,” she answered.

“Ah, good, I caught you. I’m sorry to call at night. It’s Mitchell Lands.”

It took Laurie a moment to place the name of the lawyer who had written Amanda’s prenuptial agreement and will. “Oh hi, Mitchell. You’re working awfully late.” She whispered an apology to Alex. She shouldn’t have even answered.

“The life of a lawyer, I’m afraid.”

“I imagine you’re calling because you heard the terrible news about Amanda. I’m so sorry.”

“I hate to say it, but in my business, you get accustomed to hearing about death. I feel terrible for poor Sandra and Walter. They must be heartbroken.”

“They are. Is there something I can help you with?” she asked.

“No, but something’s been eating at me all night, and I finally thought I better call you. It’s about Jeff Hunter. He told me he’s down there as part of your show.”

“You spoke to Jeff?” She stopped walking. Alex’s expression grew concerned.

“Yes, I called him as soon as I heard about the discovery of Amanda’s remains. I thought he should know the next steps before Amanda’s estate enters probate.”

“Not to question your tactics, Mitchell, but isn’t that awfully soon? The identity hasn’t even been officially confirmed yet.”

“I know, it’s not my usual process, either. But since there seemed to be an urgency to have the funds dispersed, I figured there was no harm in getting the ball rolling. But then he told me he was being
questioned for your show. Is Jeff considered a suspect? If so, Amanda’s parents could intervene to try to freeze the assets until the investigation is complete. I hate to call them about a legal matter at a time like this, but, as I said, it’s been eating at me all night. Maybe I shouldn’t have phoned Jeff after all.”

“What do you mean an urgency? I thought Jeff had never sought to collect on the will before?”

“He hadn’t. And I guess he still hasn’t. So I was a little surprised this morning when I got a phone call asking me about the inheritance.”

“Jeff called this morning about the will?”

Alex’s eyes widened.

“No, not Jeff,” Lands said. “His wife, Meghan.”

Laurie’s suspicions had been right. “Meghan was the one asking about the inheritance? What time was this?”

“First thing when I showed up at nine
A.M.
”

Not even Amanda’s parents had known yet about the discovery of her body. Laurie remembered Detective Henson saying that the person who called in the anonymous tip could even have been a woman, given the easy availability of voice-distortion equipment.

“And she knew Amanda’s remains had been found?” Laurie asked.

“No, I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m being very clear. Jeff’s wife called prior to the news reports. She was asking about the process for Jeff to inherit—how to go about having Amanda declared legally dead and the timing. I told her they’d have to hire their own lawyer since I represent the estate. But then once I heard the news, I called Jeff as the beneficiary to let him know that he wouldn’t need to pursue a declaration once the death certificate was signed.”