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of college and working at Ladyform, Charlotte thought bitterly. She had been at Ladyform four years before Amanda joined the company. But Amanda had come up with the idea of pairing famous female athletes with fashion designers to create high-end sports bras. After that, Dad treated Amanda as though she were Einstein reincarnated. Amanda’s idea was a great one, Charlotte thought grudgingly. The fact that I’ve been more than filling her job these past five years doesn’t seem to have been noticed by either of my beloved parents.
    She signaled the waiter. When he came over, she said, “A vodka martini, please.” Then she looked at her mother. “Okay, Mom, what about Amanda?”

11

    A s soon as they left Brett’s office, Laurie gave Jerry a light squeeze around his shoulders. “You were terrific in there. I can’t believe how much you knew about the case!”
    “I was in college when Amanda Pierce disappeared. My entire dorm was completely obsessed. I think I missed two days of class, glued to CNN. I knew then that what was supposed to be a little internship here was my true calling.”
    Harvey from the mailroom passed them, wheeling a cart of mail with one hand, the other occupied by a half-eaten croissant. “You’re officially my favorite person at work today, Laurie.”
    “Happy to hear it, Harvey.”
    Once Harvey was out of earshot, Jerry said, “His wife wouldn’t be so happy. Last I heard, she had him on some gluten-free diet. I’m glad he’s cheating a bit. The mail’s been messed up all week.”
    Laurie smiled. Jerry always seemed to know everyone’s business. “So how come you never suggested the Runaway Bride for the show if you were that into the case?”
    “I don’t know. I wasn’t sure you’d like it.”
    “Because of Greg? Jerry, once Greg’s murderer was found, I had a sense of peace. Certainly not closure but peace. That’s why if our programs give other people that feeling, I’m glad.”
    It was true. Once she finally got the answers she’d been lookingfor about Greg’s death, she realized that there was something comforting about certainty. A restoring of order. Though she originally created Under Suspicion purely to have a successful news program, she now saw it as a way to help other families.
    “Honestly, I considered suggesting Amanda’s case for the show once I got promoted to assistant producer. But then when we were in Los Angeles on the Cinderella Murder case, we were staying in that enormous house, and you said something about the pool being nearly as big as the one at the Grand Victoria. You looked sad thinking about it. I assumed—” He let the thought go unspoken.
    “You assumed right, Jerry. I was there with Greg, but I’ll be fine.”

12

    H uddled in Laurie’s office, the three of them—Laurie, Jerry, and Grace—made a list of all the people they would need to contact before they could officially go into production with Amanda’s case. Grace had never heard of either Amanda or the Runaway Bride, so it took Laurie a few minutes to explain the case and its connection to their surprise visitor that morning.
    “Well, that makes more sense now,” Grace said. “Sandra called while you were in your meeting. She said I should tell you that her ex-husband, Walter, is—quote— all in .”
    “Excellent,” Laurie said, checking Amanda’s father off the list. “Sandra gave me a list of all of the bridal party members who were at the resort when Amanda went missing. The groom, Jeffrey Hunter, is still a public defender in Brooklyn. He’s now married to Meghan White, Amanda’s best friend, who was also the maid of honor.”
    Grace let out an “ooooh” in response to the scandalous news. She liked to think that she could spot the culprit on immediate instinct.
    “Don’t go jumping to conclusions; we’re journalists, remember?” Laurie laughed. “On Jeff’s side of the party were two of his best friends from college—Nick Young and Austin Pratt. To