“Of course we did, Alex. That’s why we didn’t have a big wedding and kept the news relatively private. But we were deeply in love. Getting married to each other was a way to remind ourselves that life needed to move on. We wanted to move on together.”
“You don’t think that sounds cold?”
“Maybe it does, but it didn’t feel cold to either of us. We both loved Amanda. It was losing her that brought us together as a couple. We helped each other through the grief.”
“So you’re officially going on the record to say there was nothing going on between you and Meghan prior to Amanda’s disappearance.”
“I swear on my very life,” he said, holding up one hand as an oath.
“Your wife told us that Amanda changed after she survived her illness. That she developed a harder edge. Was less patient. I think she even used the word selfish. Amanda’s own sister echoed the sentiment. That must have placed some strain on your relationship.”
“I doubt Meghan meant to use that particular word, but yes, it’s fair to say that Amanda was a different person once she was past the treatment. Who wouldn’t be affected by having a brush with death at such a young age? If anything, it made me admire her even more. She was determined to live her life to its fullest.”
“We’ve heard from one of your friends that the two of you would sometimes argue.”
“I mean, sure, like any couple. But nothing unusual. Look, it’s true that our relationship wasn’t perfect, and that was related to her getting past the illness. We really fell in love while she was sick. Once she was better, she was less dependent on me, and sometimes it was unclear how our lives fit together. In a crazy way, it was almost like there was a void without the illness.”
“Amanda even spoke to Kate about the possibility of calling off the wedding.”
Jeff appeared surprised by the assertion. “I can’t imagine why. We were both so excited to be husband and wife.”
“Amanda told her that something had come up and that she needed to find out more. Are you certain that you did not see Amanda the night after you separated for your bachelor and bachelorette parties?”
“Of course I’m certain.”
“I want to shift gears and talk to you about your wedding bands. You were holding on to them until the ceremony?”
Jeff seemed completely unfazed by the question. “Yes, they were in the safe in my hotel room, but were stolen at some point during our stay.”
“When was the last time you recall seeing them?”
“Let’s see-I guess it was the same day Amanda disappeared. The photographer was taking some early pictures of the bridal party and snapped a couple of stills of the rings up in my room.”
“And you returned them to the safe afterward?”
“Yes, I’m sure of it.”
“And Amanda wasn’t in your room at any time after that?”
“No. You’re asking so many questions about those rings. They weren’t particularly valuable. I couldn’t have afforded expensive ones. Is there a reason you’re so interested?”
A chill ran down Laurie’s spine. Was Jeff testing them? As Laurie watched Alex’s face, she made a mental note never to challenge him to a poker match. He was absolutely unreadable. “Meghan suggested that Amanda may have taken them as a memento.”
Jeff nodded, apparently satisfied by the explanation. “She’s mentioned the possibility to me, too. I think she truly wants to believe that Amanda’s out there somewhere, churning butter on a farm in Montana. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“Amanda’s not the only woman you’ve known who disappeared, is she?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course she is.”
“We’ve been looking into the murder of a woman named Carly Romano. She was a sophomore at Colby, one year behind you. She was missing for two weeks before her body was found. The medical examiner determined she was strangled. Isn’t this a photograph of you with Carly taken three months before her death?”
Jeff’s face flushed with anger. “You can’t possibly be suggesting-”
“All I did was ask a question, Jeff.”
“This is crazy. Colby’s tiny, eighteen hundred students total. Everyone basically knew everyone.”
“But your arm is around Carly in this picture. You look quite enamored with her.”
“You’re blowing it way out of proportion. I would guess that was at Bob-In, a nearby stomping ground. I think Nick was trying to endear himself to one of her friends. I wasn’t dating her or anything.”
“There were other pictures of the two of you together.”
“Those were probably the only times we ever hung out. Carly was one of the great beauties on campus. Everyone would flirt with her at parties, but in my case, it was nothing serious, just simple college fun. This is ridiculous. I’ve gone all these years with people wondering whether I hurt the woman I loved, but are you seriously suggesting I’m some kind of serial killer?”
Alex let the pause linger. By the time he spoke, Jeff was pale. “There’s something I need to tell you, Jeff. The police found a woman’s body this morning, buried beneath a parking lot that was under construction at the time Amanda disappeared.”
Jeff’s mouth opened and closed like a marionette’s. “Is it Amanda?”
“There’s no final identification yet, but they did find what appeared to be her engagement ring.”
“Semper amemus?” he muttered. “That was the engraving.”
“Yes,” Alex said, “that’s the same ring. And that wasn’t the only piece of jewelry. The police also found a matching wedding band, the one you said was last seen in your hotel room.”
Jeff rose from his chair, ripped off his mic, and walked quickly off the set.
52
An hour later, Laurie was pacing yet again in the living room of Alex’s suite.
“Laurie,” Alex said, obviously concerned, “I’ve never seen you so nervous. You’re going to wear a hole in the hotel carpet at this rate.”
The only other people in the room were her father and Detective Henson. Jerry was out with the camera crew gathering footage of local scenery to use during the narration between interviews. Laurie had asked Grace to watch Timmy so her father could be here while they met with Detective Henson.
“You’re right,” Laurie said. “I am a bundle of nerves. Shouldn’t we tell Sandra and Walter about this latest development?”
So far, only her production team-and Jeff-knew about both the significance of the wedding band found with Amanda’s body and Jeff’s connection to Carly Romano.
Leo grabbed Laurie’s hand abruptly as she passed his wing chair. “Stop pacing. The detective here knows what’s she’s doing, and for what it’s worth, I’d make the same call. When you’re working a case, you can’t always tell the family everything in real time.”
Alex had been able to extract some helpful information from Jeff. He had admitted knowing Carly, and he had locked himself into a very specific story about the wedding bands. But Detective Henson couldn’t make an arrest until the Medical Examiner’s Office completed the autopsy that might produce physical evidence connecting him to her death.
Detective Henson had changed back into her black pantsuit. “I’ve got police officers in plain clothes all over the property, and I have Jeff Hunter’s name flagged with all the airlines, rental car companies, and Amtrak. If he tries to flee before his scheduled flight back to New York, we’ll know.”
“And what about when he’s back in New York?” Alex asked.
“We’ll deal with that when the time comes, but trust me, we’re not going to lose sight of him.”
“Good,” Leo said. “If we’re right, Jeff’s gotten away with too much for too long.”
“There’s one thing I still don’t understand,” Laurie said, her pacing commencing once again. “Was Jeff really the one to call the police? But why would he tip us off to the location of the body? He had to have known that the wedding band would only call attention to him.”