The Sleeping Beauty Killer Part 23

Laurie pushed away thoughts about her own wall, the one between her and Alex. The one she couldn't seem to drop.

"So why did you break up?"

"Because being a little closer isn't the same as true love. I think Angela really did try to love me, but I wasn't him."

"Hunter, you mean."

He nodded. "I felt horrible when he was killed. To be honest, I used to wish something bad would happen to him, knowing Angela was still carrying a torch for him. I hoped she'd finally be over Hunter and let me into her heart after he was killed. But then one night I was going through her hallway closet, searching for a replacement bulb for her dining room light. I found a box she had kept from her time with Hunter-like a 'memory box' or something. I gave her an ultimatum. I told her she needed to get rid of it if we were going to stay together. She became enraged. I'd never seen her like that before. It scared me, frankly. She taunted me and said that I'd never be as good a man as Hunter."

Laurie could tell that the words still stung all these years later.

"That was the end of our relations.h.i.+p. You just can't get past that."

No, Laurie thought. There are some things you can't get past. She hoped that wasn't the case with Alex.

"It worked out fine, though," Sean said, his voice becoming cheerful. "Met the real thing two years later. I can't imagine life without Jenna and the kids."

Sean's description of Angela was at complete odds with the impression she'd given Laurie. What she described as a few casual dates with Hunter had obviously meant much more than she'd let on. If the relations.h.i.+p had ever been serious, certainly Hunter would have mentioned it to Casey. And neither Hunter's father nor his brother mentioned Hunter ever dating Casey's cousin. Instead, it had been a running joke that Hunter and Angela would have made a terrible couple.

But maybe Angela hadn't agreed. Maybe she was faking the laughter, while she kept a memory box devoted to Hunter in her closet. Laurie pictured Angela, short on modeling work and with no other career plans-removing the contents when she was alone, sitting on her bed and dreaming about a reality where Hunter Raleigh III had chosen her instead of her younger cousin.

"Sean, that box you found. Did it happen to contain a picture of Hunter with the President?"

He smiled. "You guys are good. How did you find out about that picture?"

60.

Charlotte and Angela had decided to take a "divide and conquer" approach. Charlotte left her friend to continue working on the "home" set upstairs, while Charlotte circled back downstairs to decide the exact layout of the exercise-themed set on the ground floor.

She unpacked the yoga mats and hand weights from the bins Angela had used to transport them from the office. She was always impressed by Angela's ability to find savings in a budget. They were renting the larger equipment like treadmills and Pilates machines for the show, but Angela was the one who'd raided Ladyform's on-site gym for these smaller items.

Charlotte was trying to decide between two different layouts she'd sketched, but found her mind wandering as she looked at her sketch pad. She paused to read all of the notes that Angela had taped around the first floor for the set builders. She found yet another use of the term and also."

She reached into her briefcase for her iPad, opened her email, and searched for archived messages from Angela. As she read through them, certain sentences jumped out at her in a new way. I confirmed with the light company. And also we need to discuss music. Let's go to Lupa tonight. Best pasta! And also there's a shop two blocks away I want to scope out.

And also. That was the phrase Laurie had highlighted from many of the negative comments posted about Casey online. Charlotte had never noticed, but Angela seemed to use the phrase, too. Maybe it was common, she thought. On the other hand, she couldn't help but replay Laurie's comments that afternoon. Angela may have already had suspicions. She was worried it would come to this. Neither one of us would be in this situation if she'd told us from the beginning she had her doubts.

Maybe Angela had known all along that Casey was guilty but didn't want to tell the police. Casey and her parents had been Angela's only family after her mother died. She could imagine Angela feeling torn about whether to turn on Casey if it meant losing not only her, but her aunt and uncle as well. But to post negative comments anonymously online while pretending to be her most loyal defender? To let Charlotte plead Casey's innocence to Laurie, even as she carried her own doubts?

Charlotte could not believe that Angela would be so deceitful. She was tempted to ask her directly, but in the likely event she was wrong, she didn't want to pile any more stress onto her friend's plate.

Then she realized there might be another way to put her concerns to rest.

61.

Laurie called Paula Carter from the sidewalk outside Sean Murray's house. Paula picked up after one ring. "Oh, Laurie. Please say you've changed your mind. Is there any way you'll cancel the show?"

"No, but it may be better than that, Paula. I may have found a lead on the missing picture. But I have to ask you a question. Two nights ago, Casey called me at home, asking me not to mention the details of the photograph missing from Hunter's house. She said that withholding that detail from the show was something she, you, and Angela discussed."

"That's right. Of course, I tried once again to get her to call the whole thing off, but she ignored me as usual."

"But the idea of not mentioning the picture of Hunter and the President: Exactly whose idea was that? Can you remember?"

"Oh, sure. That was Angela's. She said that's how they do it on all the detective shows. Do you want to talk to her about it? She's down in Brooklyn getting ready for Ladyform's fas.h.i.+on show, but I'm sure you can call her cell."

Laurie a.s.sured Paula that wasn't necessary and asked her not to mention her call to anyone else for now.

As Laurie hung up the phone, she knew exactly why Angela hadn't wanted Sean Murray to speak to Laurie. She didn't want anyone to know that she was the one who removed that picture from the nightstand after she murdered Hunter and framed the woman he'd chosen over her.

Charlotte had described Angela as panicked about stopping the television show today-desperate was the precise word she'd used. But contrary to Charlotte's belief, Angela wasn't desperate to protect her cousin from humiliation. She was desperate to protect herself.

Laurie called Charlotte's cell phone, but the call went directly to voice mail. She tried twice more, with no luck.

She didn't want Charlotte to be caught in the crossfire when Angela realized that she was going to be arrested. She had to warn her. She pulled up her Uber app and requested the nearest driver.

62.

At the warehouse, Charlotte was pulling up the most recent printout from Ladyform's Information Technology Department summarizing Internet usage on the company computers. The monthly list notified her of every single website accessed at Ladyform, ranked with the most commonly used sites first. As usual, Ladyform's own website and social media platforms dominated the top of the list. She hit "Command-F" on her keyboard to access the find function. She typed in the word Chatter and hit enter.

She remembered Laurie complaining about the speed with which the Chatter blog had broken the news of Casey's release-and in such a negative light.

Seventeen hits in the last month-all from one computer. The users were listed by computer numbers, rather than name.

She pulled out her cell phone to call the IT Department, but couldn't get a signal. She finally found two signal-bars at the front of the warehouse, just inside the rolling steel door. It did not take long for Jamie in IT to confirm that the computer in question belonged to Angela. He also confirmed that she hadn't merely read the blog. She had used her computer to submit comments on the page for "anonymous chatter." Charlotte had a feeling that the time stamps for those entries would line up with the comments Laurie had been tracking.

She sent a quick text to Laurie: I think I know who's behind those "And also" notes you were curious about. It's complicated. Let's talk tonight.

Laurie understandably wasn't going to pull her show, but Charlotte might be able to convince her to leave Angela's name out of it. Charlotte could only imagine what a difficult decision it had been for Angela. She loved her cousin, aunt, and uncle, but Casey was a murderer. Those Internet comments about Casey's guilt must have been her way of trying to see that justice was served, without completely losing her only remaining family.

When Charlotte returned to the workout set, Angela was standing, hands on hips, next to the pile of exercise equipment she'd brought from the office. She picked up a pair of hot pink, three-pound hand weights and did a few curls, feigning fatigue. "What do you think? Set all this up in one station, or scatter it around the larger machines?"

"Great minds think alike," Charlotte said, reaching for the two alternative sketches she'd been contemplating. "I couldn't decide either. Maybe we should flip a coin. In the meantime, can we talk about something?"

"Sure.

"So this is awkward, but you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Of course. What's up?"

"I know about The Chatter. And RIP_Hunter. I know it was your way of trying to tell the world Casey was guilty."

"But how did you-"

"We monitor Internet use at the office. I noticed a pattern in the last month." She saw no need to tell Angela that she'd specifically looked for one. "I'm just confused. You've always told me how close the two of you are. You said she was innocent."

"I can explain, but, honestly, I was looking forward to finally getting my mind off Casey today. Let's figure out this set first, and then I'll tell you way more than you want to know about my cousin and me. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Hand me that mat over there?"

Charlotte turned around and bent over to reach for a blue yoga mat. The thud of the three-pound hand weight against her head knocked her to the ground, where a blanket of darkness covered her.

63.

Laurie was waiting outside Sean Murray's brownstone for the Uber car that was supposed to have arrived three minutes earlier when a new text message appeared on her screen. It was from Charlotte: I think I know who's behind those "And also" notes you were curious about. It's complicated. Let's talk tonight.

She immediately tried calling Charlotte, but got her voice-mail message again. She pulled up Charlotte's contact information and tried her office number instead. Her a.s.sistant answered. "Sorry, Laurie, she's at the warehouse with Angela, but she must have her phone on. She just had me connect her to someone in IT a few minutes ago."

That phone call must have been around the same time Charlotte sent the text about RIP_Hunter. "Do you know what she was calling them about?" Laurie asked.

"She had a question about Internet usage-who was looking at what from their company computers. You wouldn't believe the garbage people look at during work. No common sense."

Laurie asked her for the address of the warehouse, and then thanked her for the information and ended the call. Charlotte had been looking at the RIP_Hunter comments when she was in Laurie's office. Something about them must have sparked her curiosity. If she had figured out that Angela was behind the posts, she was in real danger.

Laurie was dialing 911 when she spotted a black SUV with an Uber sticker in the window. She nearly jumped in front of the car to make sure the driver didn't pa.s.s her.

"911, what's your emergency?" the dispatcher asked.

Laurie blurted out the address of the warehouse as she climbed into the backseat of the SUV. "Please hurry," she said to the driver.

"Is that your location, ma'am? I need you to tell me what's going on."

"Sorry, no, I'm not there. Not yet. But my friend is. She's in danger."

The dispatcher was all business. "Did your friend call you? What kind of danger are we talking about?"

"She's in a warehouse with a woman we suspect of murder. She texted me because she figured out something very critical, and now she's not answering her phone."

"Ma'am, I really am trying to understand you, but you're not making any sense." Laurie saw the Uber driver eyeing her suspiciously in the rearview mirror. She realized she sounded insane. She forced herself to slow down and explained to the dispatcher that she was the producer of Under Suspicion and that a woman named Angela Hart was likely guilty of committing a murder for which someone else had already been convicted. "She knows we're on to her. I'm very worried about my friend. Her name's Charlotte Pierce. Please, it's a matter of life and death."

She saw the driver roll his eyes and shake his head. To him, she was just another crazy New Yorker.

"Okay, ma'am. I understand you're concerned, but you haven't told me of any violence, threats of violence, or any other concrete danger to your friend. I'm putting in a request for a welfare check, but it may take a while. We've got two major call-outs in that same precinct."

As the daughter of a police officer Laurie knew that a welfare check was a low priority. She could be waiting for hours. She tried again, but could tell her urgent pleas were falling on deaf ears. The clock was ticking. She hung up and called her father's cell phone. On the fourth ring, she heard his voice mail inviting her to leave a message.

"Dad, there's an emergency." She didn't have time to explain the entire story. "Casey's cousin Angela is the killer. And now I think Charlotte's in danger at a warehouse in DUMBO. The address is 101 Fulton Street in Brooklyn. I called 911, but the dispatcher entered it as a welfare check. Charlotte's not answering her phone. I'm headed there now."

As she ended the call, with a sinking heart she realized why Leo hadn't picked up. He had been asked to consult on a new ant.i.terrorism task force. The first meeting was at the mayor's office this afternoon.

He might notice a text, she thought, and began tapping on her phone: EMERGENCY. CHECK MY VM MESSAGE. CALL ME.

64.

"No, no, no, no." Angela was standing over Charlotte's p.r.o.ne body, her hands pressed together tightly to control the energy pulsing through her own veins. "What did I do? What did I do?"

She crouched to her knees and reached a tentative hand for Charlotte's throat. Charlotte didn't flinch from Angela's touch, and her skin was warm. Angela placed two fingers on her carotid artery. She felt a pulse. She leaned over Charlotte's face. She was still breathing.

Charlotte was alive. What am I going to do now? Angela agonized. Maybe I can still make this work. I have to think and be careful, just like that night at Hunter's house. Charlotte has to die, here, right now, and it has to look like an accident. If I can push her down the elevator shaft from the third floor, it will certainly kill her. They'll think that the bruise on the back of her head was caused by the fall.

Feeling more confident now that she had a plan, she looked around and then rushed to the pile of tools the builders had left with the construction materials, not even knowing what she was looking for until she stumbled onto a packet of zip ties and a box cutter. She slipped the knife in her pocket.

She was about to slip the zip tie around Charlotte's wrist when she stopped. Looking at the thin, wiry bands, she wondered if these would leave marks on her wrists and ankles, marks that could not be explained by a fall down an elevator shaft. There had to be something she could use that wouldn't- Angela almost smiled at the irony of her solution. After checking Charlotte to a.s.sure that she was not yet regaining consciousness, she hurried over to one of the cardboard boxes and retrieved two stretchy super-soft Ladyform workout tops.

She cinched Charlotte's wrists together behind her back and was working on her ankles when she heard Charlotte begin to moan softly. She needed to work faster.

"There," she said, stepping back to admire her handiwork. Charlotte might regain consciousness, but she wouldn't be going anywhere.