The Cinderella Murder (33 page)

A used-car ad blared at him from the crummy television set on the dresser. He flipped the channel in search of more news about his arrest warrant. He halted at the sight of a familiar face. It was Martin Collins, standing in his front yard in a throng of reporters.

“
It has come to my attention that the LAPD is searching for a man named Steve Roman. Some of you have already gleaned from the Internet that he is a member of Advocates for God. I founded this church a quarter century ago. In that time, Advocates for God has gone from a car full of good people willing to help the downtrodden, to thousands of believers who sacrifice every day to help their fellow man. I do know Steve Roman and truly believed he had reformed himself through the healing power of God’s goodness. But I’ve been speaking with the police, and, unfortunately, it seems that a disturbed individual found his way into our flock. But that shouldn’t reflect on our group as a whole. Our church is doing everything within our power to apprehend this criminal.
”

“
Reverend Collins
,” a reporter called out. “
We have sources who say the arrest warrant for Steve Roman is related to the attack this week on a producer for the show
Under Suspicion
. They are in town covering the Cinderella Murder. What is the connection between your church and the unsolved murder of Susan Dempsey?
”

Martin placed his hands on his hips, as if this were the first time he had really contemplated the question. “
It’s not my place to speculate about the motivations of a sick mind. But our best guess is this person—obviously ill at some level—was making a misguided attempt to protect Keith Ratner, another AG member who has been unfairly under suspicion all these years in the death of his former girlfriend. That’s all I have for now, folks.
” He gave a friendly wave and retreated into his mansion.

Steve pulled on a white undershirt, warming himself as the air-conditioning unit rattled in the wall beneath the motel window.
A disturbed individual? Criminal? Ill? Misguided?

Steve had always done whatever Martin asked of him. Yet now Martin was selling him out, feeding into the worst stereotypes of their church, for his own benefit.

Steve clenched his fists. He felt old impulses rising in his blood, the way he felt when that neighbor found him in Rosemary Dempsey’s yard, when the production assistant had surprised him in the house in Bel Air. He needed a punching bag. He needed to run.

He left the motel room, checking first that no one was watching. He made his way through the parking lot to his pickup truck and then popped the glove box.

He retrieved his newly purchased nine-millimeter. It was small for his hands, but it had been cheap. He tucked the gun in the back of his waistband.

He had made some mistakes in recent weeks, but that was because Martin Collins had treated him as an errand boy. He was feeling levelheaded now. He was in charge.

67

L
aurie’s first instinct was to rush to the hotel after Rosemary’s panicked phone call. This woman, whom she’d convinced to trust her with her daughter’s case, had learned the news of both Dwight Cook’s death and an arrest warrant being issued for Jerry’s attacker from the television. Laurie owed her an in-person update.

Alex insisted on coming with her, while Leo stayed at the house with Timmy and Grace. “Alex, thank you for keeping an eye on me,” Laurie said once they were in the hotel lobby. “But I think I should speak with Rosemary one-on-one.”

“No problem,” Alex said. “I’ll check in with hotel security to make sure they’re on the lookout for Steve Roman.”

Outside Rosemary’s hotel room, Laurie heard the muted sounds of a television. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Rosemary answered immediately.

“Laurie, thank you for coming. I’m so afraid. I don’t understand what’s happening. Yesterday it was that whole scene at the house with Susan’s friends. I can’t believe Nicole, after all these years, never told me about that fight. And now Dwight Cook is dead? And the police think this man who attacked Jerry, who’s on the loose, is connected to Advocates for God? Now I’m wondering if I was right all along: maybe Keith Ratner is behind everything—Susan’s murder, the attack on Jerry, now Dwight.”

On the television screen behind Rosemary, Laurie spotted Martin Collins at an impromptu press conference in front of his house.

“Hold on,” she said. “Can you turn up the volume?”

“
It’s not my place to speculate about the motivations of a sick mind
,” he was saying.
“But our best guess is this person—obviously ill at some level—was making a misguided attempt to protect Keith Ratner, another AG member who has been unfairly under suspicion all these years in the death of his former girlfriend. That’s all I have for now, folks.
”

Martin Collins was attractive and charismatic. He duped thousands of people into turning over their hard-earned money to him every year. Now he was using those skills to sweet-talk the viewers watching him on television.

Laurie muted the volume and led a ghostly pale Rosemary to a wing chair in the living area of the suite. Laurie sat on the couch facing her. “I wish I had all the answers,” Laurie said. “But we don’t know much more than you do, and new information is coming in fast. The reports about Dwight Cook are true, but police suspect foul play. We think this Steve Roman person is trying to shut down the production, but on whose behalf? We’re not sure.”

“Because of Susan? Is this the man who killed my daughter?”

Laurie reached out and held Rosemary’s hand. “We honestly don’t know. But the LAPD is on top of this. They’re going to search Steve Roman’s apartment tonight in San Francisco, and they’ve got out a high-priority arrest warrant throughout the state. Alex is downstairs right now speaking to security. We’ll be sure there’s security around the clock for you, Rosemary. And we’ll all breathe a sigh of relief—and hopefully learn more—once Roman is caught.”

As she made her way to the elevator, Laurie checked her phone. There was a text from Alex:
All set with security. Waiting in lobby.

She almost missed the familiar face of the man exiting the room at the end of the hall. Richard Hathaway.

On instinct, she turned her back, continuing to check her phone, until she heard the
ding
of the elevator. What was Hathaway doing here? He had turned down the offer of a hotel room.

Laurie walked quietly to the end of the hall, pressing her ear gently to the door of the room he had left. She could hear music playing inside. Before she could even think about what she was doing, she was tapping on the door.

When it opened, Madison Meyer appeared in a white robe.

68

M
adison tightened her robe’s sash around her waist. “Laurie. Hi. What are you doing here?”

“Um, I was here to see Rosemary,” she said, pointing down the hall. “I— Did I just see Richard Hathaway leave your room?”

Madison’s face broke out into a wide smile, then she let out a girlish giggle. “Fine. I guess there’s no harm in admitting it now that we’re both grown-ups.”

“You and Hathaway?”

“Yep. I mean, not this whole time, of course. But let’s just say those rumors about the handsome young computer science professor were true. I heard he was down here for the production, so I figured I should say hi—see how my older crush turned out. I’m actually surprised myself, but we’re . . .
rekindling
.”

Laurie found herself with nothing to say. There was too much happening on the case right now to carry on with Madison about her love life. Madison wanted to know if the search for Steve Roman was going to affect the filming schedule. “Just so I can tell my agent,” she added.

Laurie refrained from rolling her eyes. “We’ll know more soon, Madison. Congratulations on your romance with Hathaway.”

As Laurie pressed the elevator button, she realized that something was bothering her about discovering Hathaway in Madison’s
room. The facts themselves certainly weren’t surprising. After all, Hathaway had a reputation as a ladies’ man, Madison was an obvious flirt, and they were both extremely attractive.

But, still, something was nagging at her. She’d had this same feeling the previous night when she’d spoken to Nicole about her fight with Susan. Maybe this case had her second-guessing every conversation.

As she stepped onto the elevator, she noticed the eye of a security camera in the upper corner to her left. Surveillance was ubiquitous in the modern world, she thought, shuddering at the idea of Dwight’s secretly monitoring them these past days.

Secretly.
The cameras. Unlike this hotel security camera, Dwight’s equipment had been hidden behind the walls.

Once she stepped from the elevator, she pulled up Detective Reilly’s number on her cell and hit
ENTER
. Come on, she thought. Please answer.

“Reilly.”

“Detective, it’s Laurie Moran. I’ve got something for you—”

“Like I said, Ms. Moran. We’re working every angle. It takes time. Just ask your dad.”

“Dwight Cook had the house in Bel Air wired for surveillance.”

“I know. I’m the one who told you, remember?”

“But the equipment was hidden behind the walls, and he only offered us the house last week. He didn’t rebuild those walls on a week’s notice. This has to be his regular MO.”

“The boat,” he said, following her logic.

“Yes. Be sure to check the boat for hidden cameras. If Dwight’s death wasn’t an accident—if he really was murdered—you might have it all on video.”

“I’ll call the team at the boat and have them check. And good work, Laurie. Thanks.”

She had just hung up from Reilly when her cell rang. It was Alex.

“Where are you?” she asked. “I’m in the lobby but don’t see you. You won’t believe who I spotted Madison with—”

Alex interrupted. “I pulled the SUV around out front. You ready for some good news?”

“After the last couple days? Definitely.”

“It’s Jerry. He’s conscious. And he’s asking for visitors.”

69

S
teve Roman sat behind the wheel of his pickup truck outside the soup kitchen. He knew Martin Collins would be inside. He had photographers here every week to make sure they caught him on film, feeding the needy. Steve also knew that the millions of dollars Martin had raised for this center far exceeded what AG actually spent here feeding the homeless.

He had seen over the years the way Martin’s excesses had grown. Early on, Martin would offer explanations for his seemingly small indulgences—a fine meal was the ultimate pleasure, a custom-cut suit would make him more presentable to donors, and so on. But over time, the indulgences became larger and more frequent—the mansion, trips to Europe, vacation homes—and Martin stopped making excuses for them.

But Steve had always truly believed that Martin’s impact on the world—and guidance of Steve personally—made him a genuine leader. That’s why he had always been willing to do everything the church had ever asked of him.