The Cinderella Murder (29 page)

L
eo Farley sat back on the sofa to rest his eyes. Detective O’Brien, the lead detective, had e-mailed Leo a list of license plates from camera footage near Castle Crossings, the gated community where Lydia Levitt had been killed. Today, after taking Timmy to the zoo, he had stopped by the LAPD and gotten driver’s license photos for most of the cars’ owners, as well as their criminal history reports.

He had excused himself from the dinner table early, eager to pore through the materials. This house was luxurious, but at the moment, he missed the bulletin boards and laminate furniture of a police precinct. The documents and pictures were spread around him in layers across the sofa cushions, glass coffee table, and plush carpet.

Two hours later, he had finished his second perusal of every single piece of paper. He had been hoping for an obvious lead: a name associated with the Susan Dempsey case, something to connect the murder in Rosemary’s backyard to the murder of Rosemary’s daughter twenty years earlier. He had to believe that Laurie’s decision to feature the Cinderella Murder case had led to the attacks on both Rosemary’s neighbor and Jerry.

But nothing was jumping out.

Timmy came bounding out of the kitchen toward him. “Grandpa! Have you found anything yet?”

“Careful,” Leo warned as Timmy tipped over a stack of printouts on his way to Leo’s side. “I know this stuff looks like a mess, but I’ve actually got a system going here.”

“Sorry, Grandpa.” Timmy reached next to him and began straightening the pile that had been toppled. “What are these?”

“Those are photographs of drivers who were near Castle Crossings on the day I’m interested in but who have prior addresses in Los Angeles.”

“And you’re interested in that particular day because that’s when Mrs. Dempsey’s neighbor got killed?”

Leo looked toward the kitchen, where he could hear the others finishing up their dinner. Laurie didn’t like him talking so openly about crime with Timmy, but the boy had witnessed his own father’s murder and spent years under the killer’s threat to come for Timmy as well. As far as Leo was concerned, the child was going to have a natural curiosity about crime.

“Yes, that’s why we’re interested. And if the person who hurt Lydia has something to do with your mother’s case—”

Timmy completed the thought. “Then he might have lived down here when Susan was in college.” He was sneaking peeks at the driver’s license photos he was supposedly straightening.

“That’s right,” Leo said. “I tell ya, Timmy. You can do anything you want when you grow up, but you’ve got the chops to be a better cop than I was.”

Timmy suddenly stopped fiddling with the pictures and pulled one from the pile. “I know him!”

“Timmy, we’re not playing police right now. I’ve got to get back to work here.”

“No, I mean it, for real. I saw him in the restaurant in San Francisco, the one with the huge meatballs and all the pictures of celebrities on the walls.”

“At Mama Torini’s?”

“Yes. This man was there. He was sitting at the bar, right above our table. Whenever I looked at him, he turned around really fast.”

Leo took the photograph from his grandson. According to the driver’s license, the man was Steve Roman. His current address in San Francisco had been changed with the DMV two years earlier. Before that, he had been a longtime resident of Los Angeles.

“You’re saying you saw this man, in person, when we were in San Francisco?”

“Yes. He had big muscles and pale skin. And his head was shaved. Not like bald when the hair falls out, but it was shaved, like when you say you have five o’clock shadow, Grandpa. And I remember thinking it was funny he’d shave his head while other grown-ups complain all the time about their hair falling out. Plus the bartender had long dark hair but kept it in a ponytail, so in a way he was hiding his hair too.”

“Timmy, are you sure?” But Leo could tell Timmy
was
sure. As much as he credited Timmy’s ability to deal with hardship, the threat of Blue Eyes had trained the boy to constantly monitor any man in his vicinity.

Leo believed that Timmy had indeed seen Steve Roman. Still, he’d like to have something more to connect this man to the case.

“Do me a favor, kiddo. Can you fetch me your iPad from the kitchen?”

Seconds later, Timmy was back with his gadget in tow. “Are we playing a game?”

“Not quite yet.” Leo opened the browser, typed in “Steve Roman,” and hit
ENTER
.

He found listings for a Boston Realtor, a New York City investment banker, the author of a book about rain forests. He scrolled to the next page of results.

Timmy touched his index finger to the screen. “Look, Grandpa. Click on that one. Weren’t Mommy and Alex talking about that today?”

Leo knew immediately from the name of the website that he had found the correct Steve Roman. He finally had the connection he was looking for between Lydia Levitt’s murder and
Under Suspicion
.

“Laurie!” he called out. “You need to see this!”

57

“A
lex, that was delicious.” Laurie could still smell the aroma of cooked red wine and mushrooms as she filled the cast-iron pot with sudsy water to soak overnight.

“I’ll pass the compliment on to Ramon. He’s the one who taught me everything I know about coq au vin.” It had been Alex’s idea to send craft services away early so they could have one home-cooked meal in this gourmet kitchen.

“A five-star dinner,” Laurie said, “and then in the morning, little elves will appear to carry away the dirty dishes. I could get used to this.”

She had just stacked the final plate in the sink when she heard the sound of her father’s voice from the living room. “Laurie!” Was it her imagination, or did he sound excited? “You need to see this!”

She turned off the faucet and ran to the living room. Her father and son were next to each other on the sofa.

“We’ve got something, Laurie. It was actually Timmy who made the connection.”

“Dad, I told you I didn’t want him exposed to all this.”

Now Timmy was on his feet, extending a printout of a driver’s license. “I recognized this man right away, Mommy. His name is Steve Roman. His car was photographed right outside Mrs. Dempsey’s neighborhood the day Lydia Levitt got killed in her yard.” Laurie
could not believe she was hearing her nine-year-old son talk this way about a homicide. “And I also saw him right next to us at the restaurant in San Francisco, at Mama . . .”

He looked to his grandfather for help with the name. “At Mama Torini’s,” Leo said. “Timmy got a good enough look at him to recognize this picture. The man’s name is Steve Roman. He lives in San Francisco, but until two years ago, he was in Los Angeles. And get this.”

Her father handed her the iPad. Part of her didn’t want to look. She didn’t want to believe that Timmy had been sitting right next to someone involved in Lydia Levitt’s murder. She didn’t want to believe that the woman’s death had anything to do with her decision to reinvestigate the Cinderella Murder.

She saw the name “Steve Roman” multiple times on the screen. The website was for Advocates for God. Someone named Steve Roman was a frequent poster to the community forum.

She shuffled a pile of documents off a chair so she could sit and process the information.

A member of Keith Ratner’s church had been watching them in San Francisco and had been spotted near the murder of Rosemary Dempsey’s neighbor? This couldn’t be a coincidence.

She thought back to that moment at the end of filming today. When Alex had pressed Nicole about her fight with Susan, Keith Ratner appeared to know more than he was saying. Did the fight have something to do with AG?

Laurie stood from the sofa and steered her son into the kitchen. “Grace? Do you mind keeping an eye on Timmy? I have a few more questions for Nicole.”

58

W
hen Laurie knocked on Nicole’s hotel door, Alex was at her side. He and Leo had insisted that she not leave the house alone. They finally agreed that Leo would stay home with Timmy and Grace while Alex accompanied Laurie to the hotel.

When the door cracked open, it was Nicole’s husband, Gavin, who answered.

“Laurie, hi. It’s after nine o’clock. Were we expecting you?”

“We need to talk to Nicole.”

“I hope this is important. My wife is in bed.”

He stepped aside, allowing them to enter. Laurie was surprised to find a large living area, with a separate dining room to the side. Clearly Gavin had used his own money to upgrade them beyond the standard suite provided by the show. “She’s not in any danger, is she?” Gavin asked. “She’s been so darn nervous ever since Rosemary called her about this show.”

Laurie heard Alex intentionally clear his throat. He was reminding her not to slip into her normal mode of trying to comfort her witnesses. “Actually, yes, there’s a real possibility she’s in danger, Gavin.”

“That’s impossible,” he snapped. “Nicole, you need to get out here.”

When she emerged from the separate bedroom, Nicole was
wearing a pajama set topped by a robe. “Sorry, I was getting ready for bed.”

She did not sound sorry.

“They said you’re in danger.”

“I said you
might
be in danger,” Laurie emphasized. “Have you ever seen this man?” Laurie handed her a printout of Steve Roman’s driver’s license photograph, monitoring Nicole’s face for a reaction.

Her expression was blank. “No, I don’t think so.”

“His name is Steve Roman. We believe he’s the man who killed Rosemary’s neighbor, Lydia Levitt.”

“How would I know a burglar?”

“We think Lydia interrupted this man snooping behind Rosemary’s house, but he wasn’t a burglar. He was trying to learn more about the people involved in
Under Suspicion
. In fact, just days after Lydia’s death, he was following my family and me in San Francisco. He was probably watching you as well. He could also be the person who attacked my assistant producer, Jerry.”

“I’m afraid I’m not following your logic,” Nicole said.

“Steve Roman is a longtime member of Advocates for God.”

Laurie had been prepared to lay out AG’s connections to Keith Ratner and her theory that Keith may have sent one of his church friends, Steve Roman, to sabotage the show and stop production. But the expression on Nicole’s face at the mention of Advocates for God made it clear that Nicole already knew something about them.

“Today during the shoot, you said you didn’t remember what you argued about with Susan. And when I first met you, you were vague about your reasons for leaving Los Angeles. It has something to do with this church, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t—I don’t know anything about it.”

Alex handed her the file folder they had prepared before leaving the house. Laurie slipped the first photograph from the file, an eight-by-ten of nineteen-year-old Susan, smiling up at the camera.
Laurie quickly followed it up with a second picture, this one of Lydia Levitt.

“These two women are dead. This is no longer about whatever personal history you want to keep private,” Laurie said. “People are being hurt. My friend Jerry is in the hospital right now. And it has something to do with Advocates for God.”

Gavin wrapped a protective arm around his wife’s shoulder. “Nicole, if you know something—”

“I never meant to hide anything from you, Gavin. I was trying to protect myself. To protect
us
.” Nicole took Gavin’s hand in hers and faced Laurie directly. “I’ll tell you. But only to help. No cameras.”

Laurie nodded. At this point, the truth mattered more than the show.

59