His gaze returned to the image of the man who appeared to be following Amanda on the computer screen. “This video was taken at five-thirty-two P.M., so according to Walker, he would have been gone by then.”
Laurie looked at the frozen image on the screen. His height was hard to estimate, but he seemed neither tall nor short. He was a bit chubby, not overweight so much as soft.
“Do we have a picture of Walker?”
“No, but according to this report, he was fifty years old five years ago.”
Something about the man on the screen seemed younger, but the image was too blurred to be certain. Laurie glanced at the clock and realized she needed to leave for her meeting with Amanda’s sister, Charlotte.
“I’ve got to go. Let’s make a note to follow up with Walker,” she said to Jerry, “just in case. It’s probably just a tourist who’s into photography.
“On the other hand,” she paused, “Amanda was a strikingly beautiful woman. It’s very possible that she might have attracted the attention of someone who began following her.”
“You mean a stalker?” Grace asked.
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
25
The Ladyform waiting room was fit for a couture company, complete with wine-colored velvet furniture and black-and-white fashion photos lining the wall. Sandra wasn’t exaggerating when she said the family business had shifted its “branding” in recent years. When Laurie was a child, her grandmother had bought Ladyform “foundation wear.” Laurie was too young to understand all the snaps and buckles, or why her grandmother would spend so much time squeezing herself into those heavy-duty contraptions, but she remembered being scared by the entire process. Now Ladyform was synonymous with women feeling happy and comfortable inside healthy, natural bodies.
A woman about her age opened one of the double doors leading to the lobby and greeted her with a smile. She was tall, probably close to five-ten, and slightly heavyset. She had shoulder-length light brown hair and appeared to wear no makeup. Laurie recognized her from their research as Charlotte Pierce, current executive vice president of design at Ladyform and, more important for Laurie’s current purposes, the older sister of Amanda Pierce.
“What can I do for you, Ms. Moran?” Charlotte asked once they were settled into her office. “Have you decided to take my sister’s case?”
Laurie had scheduled an appointment through Charlotte’s assistant, but hadn’t yet spoken to Charlotte directly. “I should make clear that we don’t take a case, like a lawyer or private investigator would, since your family wouldn’t actually be our client. But we are looking closely at featuring your sister’s disappearance in our next special.”
“That’s great. As I told my mother, I’m happy to participate if you need me.”
“Terrific. She told me that, but we always double-check. I have the paperwork for your review.” She retrieved the production contract from her briefcase and slid it across the desk. She could have emailed it to Charlotte, but she had another reason for being here. As Charlotte reviewed the agreement, Laurie pretended to make small talk. “So I’m told you were a bridesmaid.”
“Hmm?” she said, her attention focused on reading. “Oh sure, that’s right. I suppose the bride kind of has to ask the big sister.”
“But you and Amanda were close, weren’t you? Not only sisters, but co-workers.”
“She probably would have said too close at times. It’s not always easy to work professionally with family members.”
Laurie nodded. It was Austin Pratt and Nick Young who’d mentioned a sense of sibling rivalry between the Pierce sisters, more on Charlotte’s part than Amanda’s. According to them, Charlotte showed no real interest in her sister’s wedding. She had been supposed to offer the toast at the Friday brunch but had asked Nick to do it. Amanda never appeared for brunch, so the moment of the toast never arrived. Thinking about that, Laurie wondered if somehow Charlotte already knew that Amanda wouldn’t be there.
“Your mother tells me that Amanda was the one to suggest this New York office. Things seem to be going very well for the company.”
Charlotte’s grimace was unmistakable. “Yes, it was Amanda’s idea. I’ve managed to steer it in the right direction in her absence, but who knows where we might be if she were still here.” She barely tried to hide the sarcasm.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to suggest that you didn’t deserve the credit,” Laurie said, even though that wasn’t quite true.
“It’s fine.” She handed back the signed document. “So is that all?”
“What do you think happened to your sister?” Laurie asked bluntly.
Charlotte looked Laurie directly in the eye. “I have no idea. My mother is convinced she was kidnapped and probably murdered. My father seems to think she ran away to start a new life. I have dreams-nightmares-involving both scenarios and everything in between.”
She spoke in a tone that was almost businesslike.
“Why would she want a different life? From everything I’ve heard, she had it alclass="underline" a great job, a fiancé who loved her, a close-knit family.”
Charlotte swallowed, and for just a moment, she looked genuinely sad. “Amanda did have it all, everything that most of us hope and pray for. But you know how some people have everything but are still yearning for something different? Almost like those people who feel like they’re living in someone else’s body.”
Laurie knew the scenario Charlotte was describing, but didn’t understand the comparison to Amanda. “Whose life did Amanda want instead of hers?”
She shrugged. “Her cancer-do you know about that?”
Laurie nodded.
“Some survivors become more grateful. Not Amanda. I think she started to doubt every choice she’d ever made, like maybe she’d taken the easy route. Job in Daddy’s company. Sweet, devoted fiancé. She was only twenty-seven years old, and her entire future was already mapped out for her.”
“Did she say anything to you about wanting to back out of the wedding?”
“No, but I got the sense she was looking for reasons.”
“Any examples?” Laurie asked.
“Like she said she was worried Jeff only proposed because she was sick. And then she said Jeff was more excited to have children right away than she was. I got the impression she didn’t want to be the one to call it off, but was sort of hoping Jeff might.”
“Would she really let you all worry about her for all these years?” Laurie couldn’t imagine anything more selfish.
“Not the old Amanda. But the cancer treatment changed her. She was colder. Less patient, more demanding.”
“Tougher?” Laurie asked. That’s what Jeff had said.
“Exactly. But still, as much as I’d like to think she’s out there somewhere, doing her thing, I can’t fathom her putting our parents through this much pain. Our mother still wears those yellow-ribbon buttons everywhere.”
“I spent a long time talking to your mom. She seems to think that Jeff killed your sister so he could inherit her trust fund.”
“Then why hasn’t he tried to inherit?”
“Maybe he intended for the body to be found.”
“I don’t know. Jeff’s a sweet guy. I actually feel pretty bad for him.”