Later that evening, Laurie walked through her apartment, turning off all the lights as her final step before going to bed.
Alex had told her he had an early morning breakfast scheduled with the judge for whom he had clerked after law school. His judicial mentor was eager to pass on words of wisdom from his years on the bench.
As she flipped the switch in the kitchen, she marveled at the cleanliness of the room. The granite countertops gleamed, and not a single crumb was visible on the tile floor. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d ever cooked a meal in this apartment without dreading the aftermath. She was going to very much enjoy sharing a roof with Ramon.
She had just climbed into bed to enjoy the ending of the latest Karin Slaughter novel when her cell phone buzzed on her nightstand. It was Ryan. He never called her this late. In fact, he never called at all.
“Hey,” she said, already feeling a headache coming on from whatever it was he was about to say.
“I wasn’t sure you’d still be up.”
“I just got into bed. What’s going on?”
“Sorry, but I have to ask. Do you know my uncle Jed?”
Laurie definitely did not know Ryan’s uncle. She was, however, aware that Uncle Jed had been Brett Young’s college roommate at Northwestern, which most likely played a role in nephew Ryan landing a plum job at Fisher Blake Studios. “Yes, I know who he is. What about him?” she asked.
“Well, it turns out his publisher’s husband sits on the board of a children’s literacy organization with Martin Bell’s father.”
“Uh-huh,” she said flatly, trying to recall the chain of connections that Martin’s father had already traced to her boss, Brett. “I think another one of Brett’s college friends is tennis partners with Dr. Bell’s accountant. Apparently Robert has quite the Rolodex. I take it he called you?” she asked, bracing herself for yet another attempt by Ryan to take over the production of her show.
“He did—just now, on my cell phone, despite the late hour. To be honest, I’m pretty uncomfortable with the pressure he was trying to exert. It’s obvious they think Kendra is guilty and want us to railroad her on television.”
“Is that right?” she asked, surprised at his disapproving response.
“I was respectful, but said I’d need to get back to them. Have you made a decision yet about whether to go forward with the case?”
Laurie was tempted to ask him to repeat what he’d said. He rarely deferred to her when it came to work. “I think it would be a great case for us,” she said, “but we need to make sure that the parents understand that we are going to investigate objectively. We’re not their pawns.”
“Absolutely,” he agreed. “So what if we go speak with them in person tomorrow? We can present a united front, so they know they can’t push either of us around.”
“That sounds . . . perfect.” It was the first time she could remember feeling like Ryan was on her side.
As she hung up the phone, she felt absolutely content.
She had no idea that less than two miles away, a man was Googling her on his computer, learning more about her life and wondering when to make his next move.