The Sleeping Beauty Killer Part 17

"And the gossip columnist who reported-falsely-that the two of you were moving in together was a woman named Mindy Sampson. That's the same columnist who ran the photograph of you with Hunter, speculating that he might not be getting married to Casey after all."

"What's the point of all this?" Gabrielle asked.

"It seems as if Mindy Sampson has a way of knowing-or at least reporting-about your supposed romantic relations.h.i.+ps, whether they exist in reality or not. Isn't it true that you were the source of both reports?"

"You're twisting things around."

"That's not my intent, Gabrielle." His voice was gentle, like an ally's. "We spoke a couple of weeks ago off the record. Do you remember that?"

"You were very rude at the time," she remarked, apparently rethinking her latest opinion of Ryan.

"I'm very sorry we got off on the wrong foot. I want to make sure I understand your side of the story. You conceded then that you may have-quote-leaned in toward Hunter when you saw the photographer. That-quote-Sometimes these matters need a little push. Maybe it's possible you spread the word to Mindy about relations.h.i.+ps that were . . . let's say, in the early stages, like planting a seed in the hope things would blossom. Is that what happened with Hans Lindholm?"

She nodded tentatively. "As I said, it was a misunderstanding. I was shocked when he accused me of stalking him. It was completely humiliating."

"And did you also plant a seed with Hunter? Did you call Mindy Sampson so she'd have a photographer at the Boys and Girls Clubs fundraiser, then lean in toward Hunter when the photographer came around?"

Now she was shaking her head in denial. "No. I admit I contacted her about Hans. I thought if he realized I was good publicity for him, it would spark his interest. But the only reason I thought to call her is that she had been the one to contact me about Hunter."

"What do you mean, she contacted you?"

"She said she'd heard rumors that Hunter was interested in me. She said he was going to the Boys and Girls Clubs fundraiser a few nights before his own gala. Mindy told me Casey had an auction at Sotheby's that night and couldn't attend. She was the one who suggested I go to the fundraiser. She told me she'd send a photographer. Hunter was so happy to see me. He was so sweet and asked me all kinds of questions about what I'd been doing since we last saw each other. I'm telling you, we had a connection. There was an understanding. He was going to leave her for me."

Jerry was writing another note next to Laurie: he just didn't know it yet!!

Ryan managed to maintain a neutral expression, even though Gabrielle was beginning to sound completely delusional.

"You said Mindy was the one who contacted you about rumors concerning you and Hunter. Was that news to you?"

Gabrielle mulled the question carefully before answering. When she finally spoke, the tone of her voice had changed. She came across as lucid and thoughtful.

"It was widely speculated that Hunter's father could not possibly approve of Casey. And there were rumors that Hunter might be caving to family pressure on that point. And yes, I suppose I wanted to believe that maybe he was remembering our dates fondly and thinking I might be a more appropriate choice."

"So how do you think Mindy Sampson knew that Hunter would be attending an event without Casey?"

"Honestly, I always a.s.sumed it was Hunter's father. As we were saying, sometimes things need a push. Maybe he thought his son needed a push toward a different kind of wife."

"Do you know for certain that General Raleigh was pressuring Hunter to break off his engagement?"

"Well, I can't be certain, but you should ask Hunter's brother, Andrew. The night of the gala, he was even drunker than Casey. I saw him fetching his umpteenth scotch at the bar. I said something like 'Aren't you supposed to be working the crowd?' He said no one cared whether he was there, and he was thinking of going outside because Hunter and his father sucked all the oxygen out of a room. He complained that his brother acted so rich and accomplished even though the family business had been handed to him. I made some joke because I thought the entire conversation was unseemly. And then he said, 'If I were engaged to someone like Casey Carter, my father would see her as too good for me. But G.o.d forbid that the chosen son should marry a normal person. Well, good going, General Raleigh.' Then he held up his gla.s.s, like he was giving a toast, and said, 'Keep going down this road, and this loser will be the only son you have left.' To tell you the truth, when I first heard about Hunter's murder, I thought about Andrew's dark mood that night. But once they arrested Casey-well, it goes without saying, she's the one who killed my Hunter."

45.

As soon as Gabrielle Lawson was gone, Laurie checked her watch. They had about half an hour before they needed to pack up their equipment. She looked for the General's a.s.sistant, Mary Jane, but did not see her.

Spotting a young woman placing flower arrangements near the podium, Laurie asked where she could find Mary Jane. If they moved quickly, Ryan could interview her now, leaving tomorrow's session at the country house entirely for Andrew and James Raleigh.

The woman with the flowers said she'd seen Mary Jane getting into a car on 42nd Street less than ten minutes ago.

Laurie pulled up Mary Jane's number on her phone and hit enter. She recognized the stern voice on the other end of the line. "Yes," Mary Jane said coolly.

"It's Laurie Moran. We have some time left in the schedule if we could have a few minutes with you."

"Why don't we speak tomorrow when things won't be so rushed."

"It will be quick," Laurie promised. "And since you were so instrumental in planning the gala that night, it seems only fitting that you should speak to us at Cipriani rather than the country house."

"Well, I'm afraid that's impossible. You see, I'm on my way to pick up tonight's seating charts, which I managed to leave behind at the townhouse. With traffic, I won't be back for at least another forty-five minutes."

Laurie thought the woman was more likely to forget her own birthday than the seating arrangements for a Raleigh Foundation event. She was tired of Mary Jane stonewalling her.

"Is there a reason you don't want to be interviewed, Mary Jane?"

"Of course not. But you're not the only person who has a job to do."

"Speaking of jobs, were you aware that Hunter actively disliked you and was trying to get you fired from your job?"

There was a long pause before she spoke. "I'm afraid someone has misinformed you, Ms. Moran. Now, please, keep your word and have your camera crew off the premises by the time I return."

As the line went silent, Laurie was certain that Mary Jane was hiding something.

46.

After they were finished at Cipriani, Jerry, Grace, and Ryan gathered in Laurie's office to recap the events of their first day of production. As usual, Jerry and Grace did not see eye to eye on the subject of Andrew Raleigh.

"He was pretty lit up and talking out of turn," Jerry insisted. "Please, if I got accused of murder every time I said some petulant thing about my brother, I'd be on death row by now."

"No, no way." Grace raised her index finger in the air, which was always a sign that she felt strongly about her point. "It's one thing to say your brother's a bore or a blowhard, but calling Hunter the chosen son? That shows serious resentment, against both brother and father. That's some call-your-therapist business."

"If we don't make better progress," Laurie said, "I might be the one calling a therapist."

After such a successful day in front of the cameras, Laurie had been prepared for Ryan to try to take over the meeting, but so far he had been silent, fiddling with his phone to catch up with missed messages.

Laurie was an only child, and so was her son, so she didn't have much experience with sibling rivalry. On the one hand, she'd seen Andrew in action and could see he was a heavy drinker. She could imagine him speaking irreverently, but harmlessly, at the bar. On the other hand, she sensed when she met him at the townhouse that he was the disfavored son in an extremely accomplished family. His comment about being the only son his father would have left was disturbing, coming only hours before his brother's murder.

"We know that General Raleigh entertained a circle of donors late after the gala," Laurie said, "but Andrew supposedly went straight home."

"See?" Grace exclaimed. "That explains why he'd do it. Hunter left early because Casey was sick. Andrew probably thought, This is my chance to step up and show my worth. And then Dad didn't even invite him to the after-party. I bet he snapped."

"That doesn't make any sense," Jerry retorted. "Why would he frame Casey? And how did he just happen to have Rohypnol for that very purpose? Besides, you're the one who said from the very beginning that Casey was guilty."

An idea was floating at the edges of Laurie's consciousness, but she couldn't quite vocalize it. She looked to Ryan to see if he had any input, but he continued to tap messages on his phone. She forced herself to concentrate. She played back Jerry's comments about the Rohypnol pills, and then thought again about Gabrielle's interview.

"The father," she muttered.

"He sounds like a nightmare," Jerry said. "Used to being in charge at work and at home. You know what I think? I think Hunter really did love Casey. He wasn't going to cave to his father's pressure. And that's why Andrew said he'd be the only Raleigh son left. Maybe Hunter was going to choose Casey over his family. But the General had other plans. He plotted with Mindy Sampson-or had his a.s.sistant, Mary Jane, do it to keep his hands clean-to get that picture of Gabrielle and Hunter together. He was sowing discord. And then after Hunter was killed, he kept greasing the wheels, controlling the media coverage and planting online comments to make sure Casey was convicted."

"That's it," Laurie said. "The Rohypnol. This whole time, it was the drugs that didn't quite make sense in any scenario. But what if it was Hunter's father?"

On this point, Jerry and Grace agreed. They were both shaking their heads. The General loved his son, plus he had an alibi.

"No," Laurie explained. "He didn't kill Hunter. But what if he was the one who slipped the drug in her drink so she'd be an embarra.s.sment-so Hunter would finally see her as an unsuitable wife. He could have put a few pills in her evening bag with the intention of making her look even worse if she claimed to have been drugged involuntarily. Then after Hunter was killed, he could have been so certain of her guilt that he decided to help the case along with the prejudicial online comments and Jason's book deal. And given Mary Jane's constant presence at the General's side, she probably knew about it or even did the dirty work herself, which would explain why she's trying to avoid being interviewed."

The room was silent. Her theory made sense. If they had an explanation for the Rohypnol that wasn't directly related to the murder, then it opened all sorts of possibilities about Hunter's killer. Even his brother could be guilty.

Ryan was typing on his phone again.

"Ryan, do you have an opinion?" she asked.

"Sorry. I need to make a call."

"Seriously? We're going to question Andrew and James Raleigh tomorrow at the country house. We need to firm up a strategy. You need to get your head in the game."

Jerry and Grace were both staring at her. They'd never heard her yell at work before.

"I just need to make a call."

The three of them watched as he left Laurie's office without further explanation.

"Just to be clear," Grace said once he was gone, "I knew Brett never should have hired that man."

"Sure you did," Jerry said. "Sure you did."

"It's late," Laurie said. "You two get going."

Twenty minutes later, when Ryan returned, Laurie was alone in her office. Ryan knocked before entering.

"I thought you left," she said.

"No. Are Jerry and Grace gone?"

"Yep."

"Can I come in?"

"Do you need to?"

"That's why I asked."

"Are we finally going to talk about how to handle the Raleighs tomorrow?" Laurie had worked in journalism for fifteen years, the last ten as a television producer, but she felt as though she was swimming in the dark here. She knew what it was like to lose a family member to violence. She remembered what it was like to know-or at least suspect-that some people were whispering the wife's always guilty when Greg's murder went unsolved for five years. It was possible that Hunter's father drugged Casey. And it was possible that Andrew was somehow involved in Hunter's murder. But if not, they were victims. They were grieving. They went to sleep at night missing Hunter. She would take no pleasure in asking them the kinds of questions she was carrying in her head.

"Yes, we'll talk about the Raleighs eventually," Ryan said. "But first I have to tell you something else. I know I probably wasn't your first choice as your show's host-"

She held up one hand. "This isn't necessary, Ryan. All I want is a good show. And you were great today. But the work isn't all in front of the camera. You need to treat an interview like a cross-examination, the way you did today with Jason and Gabrielle. The whole plan is fluid and constantly changing. What we learned today informs tomorrow. And Gabrielle dropped a bomb on us with respect to Hunter's family. We need to regroup before their interviews in"-she looked at her watch-"about fifteen hours. And when I tried to bring you into the fold for the work, you were totally out to lunch."

"Except I wasn't. I told you I had to make a call, and you didn't believe me. Just like when I told you today that I was working on getting information about Mark Templeton, and I could tell you didn't believe me. You're treating me like I'm Brett's nepotism project-"

"You said it, not me."

"Wow. Okay, I actually feel bad about having to tell you what I need to tell you, but here goes. You seemed skeptical about whether I'd actually reached out to my contacts in the U.S. Attorney's Office about Templeton? Well, I made several calls, right after we talked about it. And the reason I was being quiet about it is that I really am serious about this crossover into journalism, so I wanted to verify my sources before repeating mere innuendo. Brett told me how devoted you are to maintaining journalistic integrity. That was the reason I agreed to do this show, Laurie. I've never been your enemy. I had other offers for media opportunities, and this is the one I wanted. My sources won't go on record, but I trust them. And I finally have two, which I understand to be the industry standard."

"Just tell me what you're trying to say, Ryan."

"You were right about something being fishy with Templeton's resignation from the foundation. He didn't find a job for quite a while because, despite what James Raleigh was saying publicly, he was refusing to give Templeton a reference."

"That would be fatal to his employment prospects. So what changed?"

"He cut some kind of deal. No criminal charges were ever filed, but the U.S. Attorney's Office was involved. Templeton signed some kind of nondisclosure agreement with the Raleighs right around the time he started his new job. Voil. Problem solved."

"Okay. Thanks for digging, Ryan. I'm sorry I doubted your follow-through. Why did you feel bad about telling me this?"

"The defense attorney Mark Templeton was seen with at the federal courthouse? It was your beloved former host, Alex Buckley."

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 c.o.c.ktail, 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 s.h.i.+rt. "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 gla.s.s of Cabernet, but that would come later. "I'm here about the show. Based on Ramon's demeanor at the door, I a.s.sume 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.