“I’d like to work for you. Does that picture have anything to do with Amanda?”
“In a way it does,” she said, even though she was sure that the picture bore no relation to Amanda’s murder. She wanted the photograph because she knew someone who would want to keep this image private.
She realized as she continued scanning the pictures that Jeremy had filed them in the progression of the day. The sunlight grew dimmer toward the bottom of the pile. She paused on an image that appeared to be of Amanda, taken from behind. She was in the sundress she’d worn for their afternoon session with the photographer, and the hotel bar was visible in the background.
Laurie held up the photo for Jeremy. “This is when you saw her in the promenade and turned around.”
He nodded.
“Jeremy, this is so important. It’s just as you said. You were able to see beyond the false faces people put on for the public. Did you see Amanda and the groom arguing? Is it possible she was going to call off the wedding?”
He shook his head, moved close to her side, and began sorting through the pictures himself. She could almost feel his breath on her neck.
“Here, let me help you,” he said as he began pulling individual images from the ones she had already bypassed. “See how they look at each other? They had no idea I was looking. People don’t fake these feelings.”
Jeremy was right. The pictures he singled out showed undeniable affection. Jeff wrapping his arm around Amanda’s waist as she stepped into the pool. Amanda looking up adoringly while Jeff took the seat next to her at the restaurant. Their fingers entwined as they strolled next to each other on the beach. Amanda and Jeff would have had no idea they were being photographed, but they appeared to be head over heels in love.
“But here’s the thing,” Jeremy said, pulling out a new subsample from his collection to tell a different story. “I don’t think the bride and groom, and the two lovebirds holding hands beneath the table, were the only people in love that week.”
Laurie now understood what he meant when he said that his photographs captured the truth about people. “Can I take these, as well?” she asked.
“Yes, you can have anything that’s helpful,” Jeremy said.
Laurie could tell that he finally felt at ease with her.
He volunteered one last image. “And I know you’ll want this one.”
The final photograph he handed to her showed two people. One of them was Amanda. She was pulling her arm out of the other person’s grip. Her mouth was open. She looked angry. Hurt. The two were clearly upset. But the other person in the photograph was not Jeff.
“What time was this?”
“Not long after I saw her in the courtyard. It was around six o’clock, before they all left to get ready for dinner.”
“What happened after that?”
“The other college friend came down to meet them. Her name was Kate? It looked like they forced themselves to act like everything was fine once she was there.”
“Did you take any pictures after that?”
He shook his head. “No, they were wearing false faces again. There was no point.”
“And did you leave the hotel after that?”
“No. I stayed. The Grand Victoria is a beautiful place to be. It was nice to just walk around and take pictures of people on vacation.”
“Did you see Amanda again that night?”
“Yes, I did.”
Laurie couldn’t believe her ears.
“You know how when she disappeared they kept playing the video of her walking with her friends to the elevator and then turning around?” he asked.
“Of course. It’s the last time anyone ever saw her.”
“No it’s not. I saw her.”
“What happened next?” Laurie was practically screaming she was so excited.
“She was alone, heading down to the parking garage.”
“Did you see her get into a car?”
“No, I followed her to the staircase and then stopped.”
“Why? Why didn’t you keep following her?”
“It’s so quiet down there. Every noise echoes. I was afraid she’d hear my footsteps. I didn’t want to scare her.”
Laurie could only imagine how different it might have been that night. If the killer had been lurking in the garage, the sound of Jeremy’s footsteps might have frightened him off.
54
Leo Farley kept his eyes on Jeremy Carroll’s front porch as he hit refresh on his cell phone’s email app for what felt like the thirtieth time in three minutes.
He had a love-hate relationship with computers. Sometimes he thought about how much easier his job would have been if he had had all this technology at his fingertips back with the NYPD. And then there were moments like this when he wished he had an actual human being on the other end of a good old-fashioned telephone call.
He had seen the worry in Laurie’s face when she stepped out of the car. Laurie’s show had been a phenomenal success so far. In both of the previous specials, the show had played a key role in identifying the murderer.
Laurie’s work at the Grand Victoria would prove instrumental, but this might be the first time that she only managed to move the ball downfield, without going over the goal line. I was a cop for nearly thirty years, Leo thought. I’ve learned to know the difference between a gut feeling and proof beyond a reasonable doubt. But for Laurie, the sense of uncertainty was new. They still needed more evidence before the police could even possibly arrest Jeff. And Leo was determined to find it.
Maybe I made a mistake, he thought, not insisting on going inside with her. He had intensely lobbied Laurie to allow him to accompany her inside Jeremy’s house, but she insisted on questioning him alone. She was so driven to get to the truth. But at least she didn’t come here alone. She had allowed him to make the drive with her.
To keep his mind occupied, Leo had called the Office of Student Services at Colby and asked for help searching the college yearbooks for any information about Carly Romano. According to Jeff, he was only a casual acquaintance of the young woman who’d been murdered near the campus. If Leo could prove that Carly and Jeff had been an item, they’d be one step closer to building a case against him.
When Leo explained he was a retired first deputy commissioner of the NYPD looking into Carly’s case in his spare time, the secretary volunteered that the yearbooks all contained an index by students’ names. She would scan any page mentioning Carly and email it to him. It was the only thing he could think to do as he sat restlessly in the car.
Laurie saw her father lean his head back in the driver’s seat when she reemerged from Jeremy’s house. She wondered how many times he had started to leave the car to check on her.
“Laurie, that might have been the longest twenty minutes of my life,” Leo said as she hopped into the passenger seat.
“Dad, wait until I tell you,” she said as she dropped the package on the floor and began to put on her seat belt. Then her cell phone buzzed. It was a new text from Alex.
Local news just reported the discovery of Amanda’s body. CNN is covering now. I’m taking Timmy to the pool but will follow updates online.
She was still reading the message when her phone rang. It was Brett Young.
She answered immediately. “Brett, I know. Big developments.”
“Huge! Please tell me you’re almost finished filming.”
“We’ve got everyone who matters on film, yes.”
She could almost picture him popping the champagne on the other end of the line. “So how long before you finish? I want to start advertising now.”