Page 40 of The Perfect Illusion

Frank sighed.

“We were set up,” he replied stiffly. “I was reluctant to give it a shot, but amazingly, it worked out.”

Jessie cocked her head quizzically at that. It was the same answer that Robert Hollinger had given when asked how he’d met Patricia. Jessie hadn’t registered anything unusual about the first man’s response in the moment. But something about Walters’s answer just now felt off to her. She didn’t think he was lying outright, but the sigh before replying and the tightness in his voice when he did reply suggested that he wasn’t being completely forthright.

“Did Carrie have any enemies that you’re aware of,” Brady asked before she could follow up. “Or did she ever mention anyone threatening her? A co-worker, a student’s parent, or an ex?”

“No,” Walters said, shaking his head. “Everyone adored her. She even got along decently with her former husband, who I consider a real punk.”

“And she never competed in any pageants?” Brady pressed.

“You mean like beauty pageants?” Walters asked, perplexed.

Brady nodded.

"Not that I know of," he said. "She never mentioned it, and I feel like it would have come up."

Jessie couldn’t help but wonder—with so many differences between Carrie Walters and the other victims—was it possibly just a coincidence that she was posed like them? Or could it be a copycat killing? Brady looked over at her.

“Do you have anything more to ask before we let Dr. Walters go inside?”

Jessie was tempted to let it slide, considering how distraught the man clearly was. But if she didn’t follow up, she wouldn’t be doing her job. And that’s what she was here for—not comforting Frank Walters but finding his wife’s killer. She cleared her throat.

“I do have one more question,” she said. “Dr. Walters, how did you really meet your wife?”

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Jessie watched as Walters’s face morphed.

To her surprise, it wasn’t into anger, but rather embarrassment.

“I already told you—we were set up,” he said unconvincingly.

“I know,” she replied as gently as she could. “But I think we both know that you’re leaving out a lot. However you first got together, I’m sensing that it was a little untraditional. And that might be important. So I really need you to be honest with us.”

Walters’s gaze dropped so that he was no longer making eye contact with her.

“I’m not sure how this matters,” he said in something close to a whisper, “but if you think it will help catch who did this, I’ll tell you. We met through a matchmaking service.”

Jessie wasn’t entirely surprised. She wondered how a 25-year-old teacher and a 53-year-old heart surgeon would end up in the same social circles. But she got the sense from Walters’s obvious discomfort that this was more than a standard dating service.

“Tell us how that worked,” she said.

He looked up again, clearly trying to figure out how to put the best spin on things. But after a few seconds, he seemed to give up on that idea.

"Look," he said, "my first marriage ended because both of us were workaholics. After that, I didn't have much time at all for romance. It didn't matter to me for a long time. But recently, I started feeling the absence of a meaningful connection. I wanted to be with someone, but I didn't have the time for the standard dating rituals. I mentioned that to a golfing buddy of mine who is an executive at an oil company, and he told me about this service."

“What service?” Brady asked.

“It’s called Elite Introductions,” Walters said. “He told me that’s how he met his wife. They cater to more mature men who know what they want. I was reluctant to try it but he told me that I could include all my priorities in a woman: understanding that my work took precedence, being okay with my eclectic lifestyle, including travelling for weeks at a time, and so on. So I gave it a shot.”

“And that’s how you found Carrie?” Jessie confirmed.

“Not at first,” he explained. “I went through this involved interview process to give them sort of a profile of myself and my ideal mate. They even came to the house to conduct it in order to give me privacy. Then I went out with a woman they paired me with. It didn’t work out. She was clearly just looking for a sugar daddy.”

“So these women are younger?” Jessie said.

“Yes,” he said sheepishly. “That’s the tradeoff, I guess. Older men get matched up with younger, attractive women who theoretically have less baggage than those their own age. And the women get the perks of being with a wealthy man who can take care of their more prosaic financial needs.”

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