Page 106 of False Evidence

Eden stepped out of the dressing room in a simple silk dress with clean lines that was perfect for her outdoor spring wedding. The grin on her face said she’d found the gown she wanted. For her part, with each dress Alexandra tried on after that, she found herself thinking of the dress in Kendall’s attic.

As she stood before her new friends in yet another gown that fell short, she finally spoke her thoughts aloud. “Eleven years ago, I was supposed to marry JT on New Year’s Eve at the Mayflower. I had the perfect dress for the venue and holiday. Silver silk, lots of fabric with a full skirt and fitted bodice. It was gorgeous. Plus, it had the right neckline for the jewelry JT was sure to give me for Christmas that year, which, incidentally, he gave methisyear. I didn’t consider it for this because I didn’t know where it had ended up—I forgot about it when I moved to Switzerland. But Tanya texted earlier and said it might be in Kendall’s attic. Would it be wrong to wear it now?”

“Wrong to use a dress you’ve already paid for?” Mara said. “Definitely not.”

“And it’s not like you were going to marry someone else in it,” Erica added. “Or even that you called off the wedding because you didn’t love him or something else that sullied the original event.”

“Well then, if Eden is done here,” Isabel said, “I think we should take a little trip to Kendall’s to retrieve Alexandra’s dress.” She turned to Tricia. “Do you see any problem with Alexandra going to Kendall’s house from a former police officer’s perspective?”

Tricia considered the question, then asked, “Is the house considered a crime scene?”

“According to Tanya—who inherited everything except the items that were mine—no. It doesn’t sound like they’re opening an investigation into her death, or if they have, they’re being very quiet about it. They’ve placed no restrictions on entry.”

“And not only do you have a key, but the homeowner has given you permission to use it.”

“Yes.”

“It’s fine, then.”

“Maybe we should get Chase, Keith, and Nate to meet us there?” Leah said. “Given that Raptor is providing security for Alexandra?” She grimaced and said to Tricia, “Not that you aren’t an operative?—”

The woman smiled. “I’m not offended. I wouldn’t mind having them meet us there. I’m not armed today—we can only carry concealed in the city when we’re working an event—and I’d appreciate the backup given how many of you there are. The danger to Alexandra is real, and I don’t want to give my boss a reason to think I let ego get in the way of my brains.”

She touched the scar on her scalp, which wasn’t hidden by her blue braids, reminding Alexandra of the story Erica had shared about the woman suffering a near-fatal injury last August at a security conference in Indonesia.

“I’ll call Keith,” Trina said. She paused before dialing. “Is there any reason to keep this a secret from JT? Do you want to surprise him with the dress?”

“He never saw it back then, so it wouldn’t spoil any kind of surprise as far as what it looks like. He can tell him. But JT can’t show up at the house. Not if I’m going to try it on there.”

Eden spoke with the saleswoman who recorded the dress design and size she was interested in, and then they set off, eight women in three cars.

Alexandra rode in the backseat of Tricia’s Raptor vehicle. Leah rode shotgun.

JT had told Alexandra a little about Leah after Christmas dinner, and she was glad to have a chance to chat with her now. “I went to Nationals Park last Christmas with some grad school friends—and Gemma in a baby pouch—for the drone show. It was amazing.” She hesitated, then continued, “I was so sorry to hear about what happened to you afterward.”

“Thank you. I was incredibly lucky to have just met Nate and to have Raptor’s help through it all.”

“I know the feeling,” Alexandra said.

“What did Kendall do for T&D?” Leah asked.

“She worked in cost estimating—budgeting for massive engineering projects is a complicated business.”

“It sounded like in the recording that she might have skewed some numbers.”

“Lee’s looking into it. I admit, I’m afraid of what he’ll find. If she helped funnel money to Russ…it’s unthinkable. That’s not the Kendall I knew before Brent Forbes sank his fangs into her.”

“Did she love him? In the recording, it sounded a lot like hate.”

“I believe she loved him at first. Then…something happened, and I think…sheneededto love him. To believe in him. It hurt how much she believed Brent over me, but she was fed a steady diet of JT-was-out-to-get-Russ. She thought I was as messed up by my relationship with JT as I thought she was by hers with Brent. We were quite a pair.”

“But in the end, you were the one who was right.”

“And I don’t think she could forgive me for that.”

ChapterForty-One

College Park, Maryland

---