All Dressed in White Read online

  Most riveting of all was Meghan’s harrowing tale of being kidnapped from the pier behind the Grand Victoria. “I was so tempted to scream for help, but no one would have heard me over the sound of the ocean. And then I saw the gun. I had to decide in an instant what to do. All I could think about was our baby.”

  Just this afternoon, Jeff had sent Laurie an email to say they were expecting a girl. They planned to name her Laura. “Without you and your team I would have lived my whole life being under suspicion for Amanda’s death,” Jeff had told her.

  Laurie had edited the show so many times, she knew every word by heart. She even knew that when Alex began his closing narrative, it would last exactly ninety-four seconds. “As one former FBI profiler told us, Nick Young was motivated by hate—a hatred for the romantic love he was sure he would never have. It seemed that the only women who rejected him were drawn to his friend Jeff Hunter. Tonight, Nick Young will sleep behind bars, charged with the murder of two different women and the attempted murder of another, in three states. And perhaps all women can sleep a little more safely.”

  The credits had just begun to roll when Laurie’s phone started to buzz. Brett’s, too, apparently, because he exclaimed, “Twitter’s blowing up. We’re trending. This is the biggest special yet.”

  • • •

  The text messages on Laurie’s screen meant more to her than any viral hype. The first note was from Kate Fulton: I’m crying for Amanda, but am so glad you finally brought some peace for her family and friends. Thank you . . . for everything. No one had found out about the time she spent with Henry Pierce years ago at the Grand Victoria. As far as Laurie was concerned, no one ever would.

  Even Austin Pratt sent a note: My engagement is being announced. She’s a technological wiz, my kind of woman. Will change “Lonesome Dove” to “Lovebirds.”

  The next one was from Jeff: We’re still in shock, but we’re trying to move on. Thank God Meghan is doing well and we can’t wait for the baby! Thanks to all of you for everything.

  The Pierce family had insisted that Jeff accept his inheritance from Amanda’s trust. She would have wanted “Saint Jeffrey” to have it. Jeff had thanked them profusely and had told them that this money would allow him to remain at the Public Defender’s office—where his heart was. He could support his family without going into private practice.

  As Sandra and Walter rose from the sofa, Laurie couldn’t help but notice that they’d held hands the entire night.

  When the Pierce family left, Charlotte whispered a thank-you in Laurie’s ear. “Still on for drinks Thursday?”

  To Laurie’s surprise, Charlotte had invited her to lunch when they returned from Palm Beach. She said she sensed that they were both busy women who could use some company outside the office. She’d been right. It was the first time Laurie had made a new female friend since Greg died.

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” Laurie said.

  • • •

  Alex gave Timmy an especially long hug at the apartment door. Laurie tried to act as though everything was normal, but she felt the lump in her throat when she told her father she’d meet them in the lobby. When she was the last guest remaining, Alex give Ramon and Andrew a look that had them scrambling toward their respective bedrooms.

  “So . . . ,” Alex said sadly.

  “It’s not like you’re moving thousands of miles away.”

  “No, but as I’ve told you, I have accepted a number of cases in federal courts, which will mean a lot of traveling in the coming months.”

  Laurie looked down at the floor. For the first time she noticed how beautiful this hallway rug was. Would she ever see it again?

  It was just as she had told her father: if it’s meant to be, it will happen naturally. They shouldn’t have to overthink it. But deep down she knew that wasn’t true. She wasn’t letting it happen. And Alex wasn’t leaving the show because of his law practice. He was leaving because he was in love with her. She was holding back and she knew why. She still missed Greg so much. She just wasn’t ready to replace him.

  “Did you see Walter and Sandra tonight?” She knew she was looking for something to talk about so she wouldn’t need to say good-bye. “It looks as though they made it through. Some couples are soul mates, meant to be.”

  “And sometimes people have more than one,” Alex said. “Look at Jeff. He loved Amanda, and now he loves Meghan. You see how happy they are.”

  His point wasn’t lost on Laurie. “Good night, Alex.” They held each other in the foyer, his only kiss a gentle one on her lips.

  Laurie had no idea what Alex was thinking about as she walked out the door. It was a line from his favorite song: God speed your love to me.

  • • •

  Timmy was waiting in the lobby, trying to mask an involuntary grin. She couldn’t imagine anything else that could have made her smile at that moment.

  “Mom, I feel sorry for all my friends,” he said mischievously.

  “And why is that?” She looked to Leo for some hint of the punch line she sensed was coming, but he was sporting his poker face.

  “Because their moms aren’t nearly as cool as you are. You catch the bad guys.”

  When he hugged her, she thought it might be the best hug she’d ever had. She found herself looking forward to tomorrow. She had already found their next case. A young woman was in prison for a crime she didn’t commit, and Laurie was going to prove it.

  And Alex—when I’m able to open my heart again, please, God, let him be there.

  MARY HIGGINS CLARK, #1 international and New York Times bestselling author, has written thirty-five suspense novels; four collections of short stories; a historical novel, Mount Vernon Love Story; two children’s books, including The Magical Christmas Horse; and a memoir, Kitchen Privileges. With her daughter Carol Higgins Clark, she has co-authored five more suspense novels, and also wrote The Cinderella Murder with bestselling author Alafair Burke. Her books have sold more than 100 million copies in the United States alone.

  ALAFAIR BURKE is the New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels, including Long Gone, If You Were Here, and the latest in the Ellie Hatcher series, All Day and a Night. A former prosecutor, she now teaches criminal law and lives in Manhattan.

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  authors.simonandschuster.com/Mary-Higgins-Clark

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  BY MARY HIGGINS CLARK

  The Melody Lingers On

  Death Wears a Beauty Mask

  I’ve Got You Under My Skin

  Daddy’s Gone A Hunting

  The Magical Christmas Horse (Illustrated by Wendell Minor)

  I’ll Walk Alone

  The Shadow of Your Smile

  Just Take My Heart

  Where Are You Now?

  Ghost Ship (Illustrated by Wendell Minor)

  I Heard That Song Before

  Two Little Girls in Blue

  No Place Like Home

  Nighttime Is My Time

  The Second Time Around

  Kitchen Privileges

  Mount Vernon Love Story

  Silent Night / All Through the Night

  Daddy’s Little Girl

  On the Street Where You Live

  Before I Say Good-Bye

  We’ll Meet Again

  All Through the Night

  You Belong to Me

  Pretend You Don’t See Her

  My Gal Sunday

  Moonlight Becomes You

  Silent Night

  Let Me Call You Sweetheart

  The Lottery Winner

  Remember Me

  I’ll Be Seeing You

  All Around Town

  Loves Music, Loves to Dance

  The Anastasia Syndrome and Other Stories

  While My Pretty One Sleeps

  Weep No More, My Lady

  Stillwatch

  A Cry in the Night

  The C
radle Will Fall

  A Stranger Is Watching

  Where Are the Children?

  BY MARY HIGGINS CLARK AND CAROL HIGGINS CLARK

  Dashing Through the Snow

  Santa Cruise

  The Christmas Thief

  He Sees You When You’re Sleeping

  Deck the Halls

  BY MARY HIGGINS CLARK AND ALAFAIR BURKE

  The Cinderella Murder

  BY ALAFAIR BURKE

  If You Were Here

  Long Gone

  THE ELLIE HATCHER SERIES

  All Day and a Night

  Never Tell

  212

  Angel’s Tip

  Dead Connection

  THE SAMANTHA KINCAID SERIES

  Close Case

  Missing Justice

  Judgment Calls

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2015 by Nora Durkin Enterprises, Inc.

  “Unchained Melody” written by Hy Zaret and Alex North. ©1955 (Renewed) North Melody Publishing (SESAC) and HZUM Publishing (SESAC) c/o Unchained Melody Publishing, LLC All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission

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  First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition November 2015

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  Interior design by Jill Putorti

  Jacket design by Jackie Seow

  Bouquet © Fotosearch/Getty Images

  Background image © Krivosheev Vitaly/Shutterstock

  Photograph of Mary Higgins Clark by Bernard Vidal

  Photograph of Alafair Burke by Deborah Copaken

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Clark, Mary Higgins.

   All dressed in white : an under suspicion novel / Mary Higgins Clark, Alafair Burke.

    pages ; cm — (Under suspicion ; 2)

   1. Television programs—Fiction. 2. Television personalities—Fiction. 3. Missing persons—Investigation—Fiction. 4. Cold cases (Criminal investigation)—Fiction. I. Burke, Alafair. II. Title.

   PS3553.L287A765 2015

   813'.54—d23         2015034435

  ISBN 978–1–5011–0855–6

  ISBN 978–1–5011–0857–0 (ebook)