While Alex was starting the engine of the SUV, Laurie snapped her seat belt in place. “Good timing,” she said. “Not even noon, and we’re already wrapped up with Frank Parker.”
Alex turned to her and smiled. “That means there’s no need to rush back. Your dad is at the house with Grace and Timmy, so we know they’re all safe. I have a suggestion. Let’s drive up the coast for an hour and find a place on the water for lunch. I don’t know about you, but my brain is scrambled. It’s as though every time we talk to one of the witnesses, a new suspect emerges.”
Laurie started to protest that they needed to get back to the house, but Alex was right. It would be good for the two of them to quietly discuss what they had been hearing from the potential suspects these past few days.
And a little time alone with him would be a nice bonus.
53
The next morning, Laurie was on her knees by the front door, buttoning Timmy’s jean jacket.
“Mom, are you sure you and Alex can’t come to the zoo with us?”
She had the fleeting thought that Timmy had begun to call her Mom instead of Mommy. He was growing up so fast.
“Sorry, sweetie, but we talked about this. Alex and I have to work, just like if I was in New York, but we get the bonus of being out here in California. I’ll see you tonight, though. Dad,” she called out. “Are you about ready to hit the road?”
She looped the last jacket button and glanced at her watch. This was the start of the summit sessions, and today’s participants would be here any minute. Up first was Susan’s social group: Keith Ratner, Nicole Melling, and Madison Meyer. Rosemary was coming, too, because she wanted to watch. Tomorrow they’d talk separately to the computer crowd, Dwight Cook and Professor Richard Hathaway.
She heard rushed footsteps down the stairs. “Sorry, sorry,” her father said. “I’m coming. I got that e-mail I was waiting for from the Alameda police: a list of license plates that were near Rosemary’s neighborhood the day her neighbor was killed.”
“Dad,” Laurie whispered protectively.
“Aw, don’t worry about Timmy. Kid’s tough as nails, aren’t you?” He tousled Timmy’s brown wavy hair.
“Nails made of kryptonite,” Timmy shot back.
“When we’re done with the zoo, I might swing by the local precinct here for a little help running some criminal records. How does that sound, Timmy?”
“That sounds cool. And can we go see Jerry too? I want to get him a stuffed animal from the zoo and bring it to his room to keep him company until he wakes up again.”
When they had agreed to bring Timmy out to California for an adventure, this wasn’t what Laurie had in mind.
“You guys have a good day,” she said. “And, Dad, try to take it easy on certain subjects, all right?”
Alex and Grace came out of the kitchen in time to say good-bye. Just as the rental car pulled out of the driveway, a red Porsche convertible replaced it. Keith Ratner was here. They were greeting him at the door when a black Escalade arrived, carrying Rosemary, Madison, Nicole, and Nicole’s husband, Gavin.
Laurie leaned toward Grace to whisper a question. “Madison’s staying at the hotel with the out-of-towners? Her house is, like, twenty minutes from here.”
“Tell me about it. But girlfriend’s agent insisted.”
As Keith, Nicole, and Madison exchanged polite hugs and exclamations of It’s been so long and You look just the same, Laurie escorted Rosemary and Gavin into the house to settle in as the day’s observers. “Craft services brings in a ton of food throughout the day, so please, help yourself. It’s all set up in the kitchen. Gavin, I didn’t realize you were making the trip down to L.A.”
“It was the least I could do, given how nervous Nicole has been. You’re probably used to camera shyness, but I’ve never seen her like this.”
After the bombshell Talia had dropped about Nicole and Susan fighting just hours before Susan’s murder, Laurie had to wonder if the cameras were the only reason for Nicole’s nerves.
With Jerry still in the hospital, Grace was doubling as production assistant, escorting Keith, Nicole, and Madison to the bedroom they were using for hair and makeup. Once they were camera ready, they’d have a group conversation with Alex in the living room.
“You ready to roll?” Laurie asked Alex. Their lunch excursion to the coast the previous afternoon had been fruitful. They had rehearsed the plan ad nauseam, but now Laurie found herself hoping that their suspicions about Nicole were wrong.
54
As they had planned, Keith was on the far end of the sofa, farthest from Alex’s chair, followed by Madison and Nicole.
“I thought we’d start,” Alex said, “by having each of you walk through where you were the night of the murder. Keith, would you like to begin?”
Keith explained that he was at a bookstore with several people who had vouched for his whereabouts, and then volunteered that the gathering was an Advocates for God event. “People can form their own opinions about Advocates for God, but I’ve always been very open about my relationship with AG. I was still learning about the church’s mission at the time, but once Susan died, I poured myself into it. I found that I was a happier person when I was providing service through the church. I became less selfish. But, anyway, that’s where I was-the whole night.”
Alex nodded, satisfied for the moment. “And what about you, Madison?”
“I suspect many of your viewers already know my version, because I’m probably most famous for being Frank Parker’s alibi for that night.” Laurie was impressed by how quickly Madison changed her affect for the cameras. Gone was the diva striving for a celebrity comeback. Speaking in the serious, measured tone of a news anchor, she repeated her memorized timeline.
“And according to Frank Parker,” Alex noted, “you arrived for the audition looking like ‘a million dollars.’ ”
“Well, I’d like to think so. But it was my audition that got me the role.”
Alex nodded again. So far, so good.
Next up was the speaker Laurie was most interested in, Nicole.
“That night? I never really think about where I was. When I think of that May seven, I always remember it as the night Susan died.”
“I understand. But surely when a close friend-your roommate-is killed, you must go through a process of saying, What if I had been there? What if I could have stopped it?”
Nicole was nodding along. “Absolutely.” This was how Alex operated on cross-examination. Give the witness easy statements to agree with, and then use those statements to lead the witness in the desired direction.
“So,” Alex continued, “you must recall where you were.”
“Yes,” Nicole said quietly. “To be honest, I’m heartsick and ashamed about that night. I went to O’Malley’s, a local bar. I ended up drinking way too much.” Without being asked, she added, “I was desperately nervous about a biology exam.”
It had only been a matter of seconds, and Nicole already sounded defensive.
“You weren’t too upset about your argument with Susan to focus on your studies?” Alex asked sternly.
Even beneath the makeup, Nicole’s skin tone faded three shades. “Excuse me?”
“Our investigation has revealed that just that afternoon, shortly before Susan was killed, the two of you had a very significant argument.”
“Susan was my best friend. We had the occasional squabble, but nothing I’d call a significant argument.”