Piece of My Heart (Under Suspicion #7) - Mary Higgins Clark Page 0,2

Carrie whether her husband had known a reporter named Jonathan Brown, Carrie had looked confused until Laurie reminded her that Brown was a reporter who had disappeared a week before her husband’s car accident.

Carrie’s face had gone white.

“No,” she said. “Or at least, I never thought so. But I remember him shaking like a leaf when a news report came on saying that this journalist had gone missing. I asked him why he was so upset, and he said something vague—like it was sad that someone with a family could just disappear.”

Laurie was convinced that the dead researcher had been Brown’s anonymous source. She had been planning to use what Carrie and Amy knew about their husbands to pressure the pharmaceutical company to answer her other questions.

She felt a nudge on her left forearm. “Hello? Earth to Laurie.” Traffic was moving again, and Charlotte turned down the radio so they could hear each other. “You look worried. Why are you worried? You have all of the logistics for Alex’s birthday locked down like clockwork. The wedding and honeymoon, too. Your mind went back to work, didn’t it?”

Indeed, it had. She had woken up that morning to find late-night emails from both Carrie and Amy, declaring a “change of heart” (Carrie) and a “panic attack” (Amy). Both of them, on the same night, had suddenly changed their minds about the investigation. Neither would be appearing on Under Suspicion.

Laurie had spent most of the morning trying to reach both women by every means possible. She had been planning to continue her efforts during the drive to the Hamptons, but just as Ramon was loading their bags into the trunk of the car, she received back-to-back emails again. This time, they were from two different lawyers, requesting that she cease all efforts to contact their respective clients, Carrie and Amy. Whether the women had been threatened or bribed, the implication was obvious. Someone had gotten to them. Laurie had no choice but to pull the plug on a production that was supposed to start as soon as she returned from her honeymoon.

At her insistence, everyone else headed to the beach while she delivered the bad news to her boss, Brett Young. Two hours later, she had gotten nowhere with him. He was insisting that she find another case in order to keep the show’s current airdate. The only turn of luck she’d had all morning was that Charlotte had a summer house in East Hampton and had been planning to drive out that evening anyway. Charlotte had used Laurie’s dilemma as an excuse to leave early.

“You’ve done everything you can,” Charlotte assured her. “You can’t bring two men back from the dead. You reported what you knew to the police, and that’s all you can do. And if their wives took a payoff from the pharmaceutical company, that’s on them. You can’t set yourself on fire trying to keep other people warm, Laurie.”

Laurie knew her friend was right, but she still wanted to do more. Laurie’s first husband, Greg, had been shot in cold blood when Timmy was only three years old. She could not imagine any amount of money or intimidation that could have kept her from seeking answers about his death.

“You’ll find another case,” Charlotte said. “You always do. But you’re getting married in four days, my friend. How are you feeling about that?”

“Honestly?” Laurie leaned her head back against the passenger seat and enjoyed the feeling of the sun on her skin. “I almost feel guilty about how happy I am with Alex. Does anyone deserve to have this much joy in their lives? It’s like I’m sure the other shoe’s about to drop.”

Charlotte scoffed. “That’s my friend, Laurie ‘Gloom and Doom’ Moran. You don’t have to apologize for happiness. You’re going to have three glorious days on the beach with your family and Alex’s. And then Sunday, the two of you start a brand-new life together. You deserve to enjoy every second of it.”

Laurie could imagine Greg telling her the same thing.

* * *

When they pulled into the parking lot, Laurie felt the stress of the office melt away. The South Shore Resort & Spa was bright and white and modern. It was also on the best beach in the Hamptons, almost all the way to Montauk. She smelled salt in the air and heard the roar of waves from the ocean and chirps from seagulls circling above. She spotted Alex and Timmy beside a green minivan at the