Richard made an ugly face and shook his head. “Has that school gone completely nuts? First no-nothings from Wisconsin, and now stalker professors?” Richard cocked his head sideways. “So you’re not sleeping with him?”
Becca slapped his shoulder. “No, the whole thing’s just creepy. Keep me company while I eat. What are you doing here?”
“Just got done with finals. Heading home for two weeks. You too, right?”
Becca nodded. “Tomorrow, yeah.” They sat down.
“Haven’t seen you for a while,” Richard said.
“Yeah, it’s been a long time.”
There was a pause.
“You still seeing that guy?”
Becca nodded again.
“That’s too bad.”
“Stop it.”
“Is it serious?”
“Yes.”
Richard stared at her a minute. “Like, he’s-the-one serious?”
Becca looked into his eyes. “He’s the one, Richard.”
He took a deep breath. “I should have tried harder,” he said.
“What are you talking about?”
“To get you back. I visited you a couple times freshman year, but I was too dumb back then to know what I was losing. I should have worked harder. Maybe you and I would be celebrating the end of finals together now.”
Becca motioned back and forth. “We are.”
“Only by accident.”
Becca smiled. “I need a friend right now, okay? Not a lecture and not sobbing.”
“Wow,” Richard said. “You’re going to be a good lawyer. Completely heartless.”
Becca rubbed his hand in apology.
“Fine,” Richard said. “Just friends. Tell me how bad your first semester sucked.”
CHAPTER 30
Kelsey Castle
Summit Lake
March 15, 2012
Day 11
After leaving the restaurant, Kelsey and Peter took off in opposite directions. Peter headed home to start his research into Becca’s roommate, while Kelsey walked to the Winchester in hopes of a shower and change of clothes before starting the next leg of the Eckersley journey. With her purse over her shoulder and Becca’s journal nestled inside, Kelsey made her way along the lakefront until she reached Tahoma Avenue, where she headed west toward Maple Street and the entrance to the Winchester. Halfway down the block she stopped. Ahead, in the semicircle drive in front of the hotel, three state police cars sat with rolling red and blue lights. A single officer stood in front of the building talking into the radio on his shoulder and occasionally looking up at the top-floor rooms.
Kelsey stepped into the alcove of an art gallery and took a deep breath. She peeked out and then reminded herself that hiding in the shadows gathered more attention than simply walking down the street. She gathered her wits, stepped out of the gallery, and quickly walked the other way, back toward the lakefront and then south along Shore Drive. With her heart pounding, she kept her eyes on the steeple of St. Patrick’s Church as she walked. She passed the docks of stilt row. When she reached Tomahawk Avenue she turned right and walked to the corner of Maple. Across the street was Millie’s Coffee House. A few cars drove past before Kelsey crossed. She snuck a peek to her right and saw the flashing squad cars a few blocks away at the Winchester. Pulling open the door to the cafe, Kelsey walked in and saw Rae behind the counter. It didn’t take much—just Rae’s quick eye contact and subtle headshake—for Kelsey to know something was wrong. Before she could retreat out the door, though, Detective Madison appeared from the back of the cafe.
“Actually, Detective,” Rae said just as he emerged from the back hallway where the restrooms were located. It was enough to take his attention away from the front of the cafe where Kelsey stood. “I think I do know who you’re talking about. Brown-haired girl? Real pretty. With, like, caramel eyes? Writes for that magazine?”
“Yeah, that’s her,” Madison said, resting his elbows on the bar and turning his back to the front of the cafe. “You seen her around here?”
“Yeah,” Rae said, running a hand through her hair. “She’s come in a couple of times for coffee.”
“She been in recently?”
“Couple days ago. Let me get you a coffee. It’s on the house.”
“I appreciate it.”
Detective Madison grabbed his cell phone from his breast pocket and scrolled through e-mails. While his eyes were on his phone, Rae looked at Kelsey and gestured upstairs with her thumb.
“There you go, Detective.”
“Thanks. You talk to her at all while she was here?”
Kelsey slowly backed away, turned, and snaked through the front door just as a couple was entering the cafe. Outside, Kelsey now recognized the unmarked state cruiser parked around the corner. She walked quickly to the alley behind the cafe and turned in just as a state trooper pulled off Maple Street and crept along Tomahawk.
“What the hell?” Kelsey muttered to herself. She looked down the alley and then up the stairs that led to Rae’s apartment. She took the stairs two at a time, twisted the handle, and ducked inside the apartment just as the state trooper turned and slowly crawled down the alley.
She dumped her purse on the kitchen table and slumped into a chair. She couldn’t go back to the hotel, her rental car was probably impounded, and she was sure Peter’s house was infested with police by now. She pulled out her cell and called him, then hung up when she got his voice mail. She texted him that police were outside her hotel, Madison was looking for her, and state detectives were likely to pay Peter a visit soon. Then she sat at Rae’s kitchen table, pulled her MacBook from her purse, and started writing. The police didn’t want Becca Eckersley’s story told, that much was obvious. At least, they didn’t want a reporter to tell it.
Kelsey pictured herself on the phone in the police station asking Penn for the bail money he promised not to give her. She wasn’t sure she’d make it out of Summit Lake, but as much as she knew about Becca sure as hell would. In an hour she turned out 2,000 words for her article. Besides quick sentences and short paragraphs scribbled on her notepad over the past ten days, the pages she produced while hiding in Rae’s apartment were the first she had written on the Eckersley case. There was no style to the writing, mostly bullet points. She began with the murder itself, reviewing the details she gained from Commander Ferguson and from the medical records, then covered some of Becca’s past and her time at George Washington University. She jumped ahead and made sure to get on paper that Becca was likely married and was definitely pregnant at the time she died. She included as many details as she could remember about the autopsy and toxicology report, then wrote down the names of Becca’s friends from college, and also the other men who were swarming her at the time of her death.
Her efforts resulted in ten pages of cluttered mess, but at least it was a start and something for Penn to work from if she were unable to continue the story. She attached it to an e-mail and sent it to Penn’s in-box just as she heard footsteps climbing the stairs outside.
Rae pushed open the door and quickly closed it behind her. She pulled the curtains to the side, looked down at the alley for a minute to make sure no one was behind her, then turned to Kelsey.
“Holy cow, girl. You shook the wrong beehive.”
CHAPTER 31
Becca Eckersley
George Washington University
December 31, 2011
One month before her death
Becca and Jack returned from Green Bay the day after Christmas. The days passed in Green Bay without the big reveal they both planned. Becca was introduced as his girlfriend, not his wife, and her pregnancy remained a secret. The idea of their marriage and a baby only a few months away had become such a giant cover-up that it was getting too big to unload. Becca was nervous about telling Jack’s parents such intimate details about herself the first time she met them and before her own mother knew. Christmas came and went, and their families were no closer to knowing
the truth about them.
More than a week had passed since her encounter with Thom Jorgensen, and Becca still held such mixed emotions that she never told Jack about it. That she spent an hour consoled by Richard Walker was also something she left out of the description of her celebratory trip to O’Reilly’s. Becca decided to put Thom and Richard out of her mind as she headed to Summit Lake to spend five quiet days with Jack before he started his travels again the day after New Year’s. The primaries kicked off with the Iowa caucus in January and could go on intensely until summer before a nominee was determined, although no one really thought Milt Ward would have to fight long after Super Tuesday in March before he was crowned the presidential nominee. Even with a quick wrap of the primaries, Jack would still be on the road for over a month. And though not in play, the other states would need to be visited, rallies attended, and speeches given. Jack would have an occasional night or two when he was not traveling, but a straight week together was something Jack and Becca would not see for some time.
Becca’s parents handed over the keys to the stilt house before they headed to Venice, Florida, for the week. Mr. and Mrs. Eckersley’s original plans to ski in Summit Lake over New Year’s were trumped by a client who needed immediate attention down in Florida.
The days in Summit Lake between Christmas and New Year’s were a quiet time for Becca. She and Jack ventured out only for dinner or a movie before scurrying back home to light a fire and climb under thick cotton blankets on the couch. There had been heavy snow over Christmas, and the sidewalks and streets were a mess of salt and slush. The mountains looked inviting with so much white powder covering them, and Becca told Jack stories about how great the skiing was. In no condition to ski, Becca was happy to stash her textbooks for a couple of weeks, content to sit and relax while Jack typed on his computer and asked her to proof his work.
On New Year’s Eve they had a late lunch in town and beat the crowds. They rented three movies and spent the night on the couch by the fire. At five to midnight, they turned on the countdown in Times Square and watched as a million people froze in the streets of New York. Jack was on his side on the couch with Becca on her back, her head under his left arm. He kissed her at New Year’s as “Auld Lang Syne” played in the background.
“I want you to know that even though none of this was planned, I only think of it as a fast-forward,” Jack said. “I was going to marry you someday, and we were going to have kids someday, too. It’s just all happening sooner than we expected. But I don’t have any regrets. I’m excited for us to be parents this year, and I’m proud to be your husband.”
“Well, shucks,” Becca said, tears spilling from the corner of her eyes. “You sure know how to make a knocked-up girl feel special.”
“I love you,” he said.
“I know you do. And I’m going to miss you like crazy while you’re gone.”
“It’s just until the middle of February, and I’ll be home sporadically in between. For a night or two, but I’ll be home.”
“Tell me the truth, okay?”
“Sure.”
“Do you think a baby is going to mess up your career?”
“How will our baby mess up my career?”
“Your boss will be running for president and he’ll need you by his side. What if this really happens, Jack? What if Milt Ward wins the election in a year from now? We’ve both heard the horror stories of what a president’s staff goes through. The hours they work make first-year associates in New York look like slackers.”
“So I work long hours. If I need time off, I’ll ask for it.”
“Come on, Jack. Everyone will want more time with their family, but you’ll have an infant and you’ll be working twenty hours a day.”
“I don’t think it’ll be that bad.”
“Still. What are you going to do? You’ll have to see the baby. And I’ll need some help. I can’t do it all by myself.”
“I’ll help.”
“But will that cause stress at your job?”
“Maybe. I don’t know yet. But I’m going to see my kid.”
“That’s what I mean. What if taking time for your family causes you to lose your place with Milt’s team.”
“He’s not like that. Milt’s a family man, he’ll understand.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“I’ll figure it out.”
Becca took a deep breath. “I know this job is your dream. I don’t want to be the one to spoil it.”
“You’re not spoiling anything. You’re part of my dream. Now listen, it’s a new year and we’ve got tons to look forward to.”
He kissed her. They watched New York celebrate for a while, then returned to their movie. They both fell asleep on the couch. It was a new year.
CHAPTER 32
Kelsey Castle
Summit Lake
March 15, 2012
Day 11
“This town is buzzing with state police,” Rae said as she walked through the kitchen. She went to the front of the apartment and looked down on Maple Street. “I mean, they’re all over the place. There’s another one parked across the street.”
“This is all for me?” Kelsey asked.
“And your doctor friend.”
“What did Detective Madison tell you downstairs?”
“Not much. I asked why he was looking for you and he told me it was a police matter. Asked if I knew Dr. Ambrose.”
“What did you say?”
“No, because I don’t technically know him, I only know about him. So I figured I wasn’t really lying to a cop, right?” Rae thought for a moment. “Where’s your car?”
“At the Winchester.”
“I’m sure they’ve found it by now, so they know you’re still in town. Can’t walk off this mountain. And there are only so many places to hide in this little town.”
Kelsey opened her palms. “I’m writing a magazine article, what the hell?” She joined Rae at the front window and through the curtains watched the activity below. Uniformed officers walked along Maple Street, in and out of establishments. “They should have been this concerned when Becca was killed. Maybe they’d have figured things out by now.”
“Did you find the journal, by the way?”
Kelsey forgot she had Becca’s journal in her purse. She nodded. “In Millie’s recipe book.”
“Figures. Read any of it?”
“Yes, all of it. Last night, before I fell asleep.”
“Where? After I dropped Millie off and sucked down a sweet tea in her kitchen—I wanted to make sure you didn’t make a mess that she’d call the police about—I came over to the Winchester, but you didn’t answer.”
“Oh, I went to Peter’s place and . . . stayed the night.”
“Really?”
“I fell asleep on his couch.”
“Anything else going on?”
“I’ve got police at every corner of this town looking for me and you’re concerned about my love life?”
“I’m concerned about everyone’s love life. You’d be shocked what people tell me over coffee.”
Kelsey just looked at her and shook her head. “Currently, I’m concerned with keeping the two of us out of jail.” Kelsey turned her back to Rae and looked out the front window again. “I need to make sure he’s okay.”
“Call him.”
“He didn’t answer.” She closed the curtains. “How am I going to get out of here?”
“You broke into a building. That doesn’t carry a life sentence. Or any jail time, I bet.”
“So what’s all this for?” Kelsey said, gesturing toward the window.
“Becca, for sure. Like you suspected, Becca’s father wants the details of her death to emerge on his terms. Not yours. What did you find in the journal?”
“Names of Becca’s friends. Including the guy she married. Plus a few other guys who were part of her life.”
“How so?”
“It turns out Becca was quite a social butterfly.
Maybe a bit of a manipulator of men. It’s hard to tell just from journal entries. But she had lots of relationships with lots of men when she was killed.”
“I could see why her father wouldn’t want that coming out. So what’s the plan?”
“There are no last names in the journal, so I’ve got some fieldwork to do to ID the men who were part of Becca’s life. Peter is tracking down Becca’s old roommate to see what she knows about Becca and the guy she married. I was going to start looking into the other men in Becca’s life.” Kelsey looked out the window one last time at the police activity. “I’m not sure I’ll have the time to find them all.”
“That’s BS,” Rae said. “You didn’t get this far to give up now. We’ve got two computers here, Internet access, and coffee. It’s all we need to track down some frat boys and law students.”
Kelsey smiled. She picked up her MacBook and headed to the bedroom with Rae. Rae sat at her computer, Kelsey next to her with her laptop. She put Becca’s journal on the desk between them and pulled out her notes. “Three guys. Brad, Richard, Thom. College friend, high school boyfriend, GWU professor.”
Rae tapped at her keyboard. “Let’s do some creeping. I’ll take Brad. You take the professor.”
CHAPTER 33
Becca Eckersley
George Washington University
February 15, 2012
Two days before her death
January in the nation’s capital was bitter cold with winds off the Potomac that rattled teeth and sent people scurrying for shelter. The first month of the year also marked the official beginning of the election season, and Milt Ward stormed into Iowa and took the caucus as if it were his birthright. With an incumbent president in office there were no meaningful primaries for the other side, and as January unfolded and Super Tuesday approached, the talking heads pitted the sitting president’s ideas against those of Milt Ward. Everyone agreed the showdown in November would be fierce. Ward was on every cable news program, and Jack let Becca know over the phone which speeches he had written for the senator. It was an exciting time.
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