number of their guests had parked in the street. Dolly had made a particularly poor witness in court. Frank Green had brought out the fact that she had reported "suspicious- looking" people in the neighborhood on six separate occasions that year. In each instance, the suspect turned out to be a legitimate deliveryman. The result was that Dolly came through as a totally unreliable witness. Kerry was sure the jury had disregarded her testimony.
Skip Reardon had never been in trouble with the law and was considered a very solid citizen, yet only two character witnesses had been called: Why?
There had been a series of burglaries in Alpine around the time of Suzanne Reardon's death. Skip Reardon claimed that some of the jewelry he had seen Suzanne wearing was missing, that the master bedroom had been ransacked. But a tray full of valuable jewelry was found on the dresser, and the prosecution called in a part-time housekeeper the Reardons had employed who flatly testified that Suzanne always left the bedroom in a chaotic state. "She'd try on three or four outfits, then drop them on the floor if she decided against them. Powder spilled on the dressing table, wet towels on the floor. I often felt like quitting."
As she undressed for bed that night, Kerry mentally reviewed what she had read, and noted that there were two things she had to do: make an appointment to talk with Dr. Smith, and visit Skip Reardon at the State Prison in Trenton.
...
Friday, October 27th
In the nine years since the divorce, Kerry had dated on and off, but there had never been anyone special. Her closest friend was Margaret Mann, her roommate at Boston College. Marg was blond and petite, and in college she and Kerry had been dubbed the long and the short of it. Now an investment banker with an apartment on West Eighty-sixth Street, Margaret was confidante, pal and buddy. On occasional Friday evenings, Kerry would have a sitter in for Robin and drive to Manhattan. She and Margaret would have dinner and catch a Broadway show or a movie or just linger over dessert for hours and talk.
The Friday night after Geoff Dorso left the transcript, Kerry arrived at Margaret's apartment and gratefully sank onto the couch in front of a platter of cheese and grapes.
Margaret handed her a glass of wine. "Bottoms up. You look great."
Kerry was wearing a new hunter green suit with a long jacket and calf-length skirt. She looked down at it and shrugged. "Thanks. I finally got a chance to buy some new clothes and I've been sporting them all week."
Margaret laughed. "Remember how your mother used to put on her lipstick and say, 'You never know where romance may linger'? She was right, wasn't she?"
"I guess so. She and Sam have been married fifteen years now, and whenever they come East or Robin and I visit them in Colorado, they're holding hands."
Margaret grinned. "We should be so lucky." Then her expression became serious. "How's Robin? Her face is healing well, I hope."
"Seems to be fine. I'm taking her to see another plastic surgeon tomorrow. Just for a consultation."
Margaret hesitated, then said, "I was trying to find a way to suggest that. At the office I was talking about the accident and mentioned Dr. Smith's name. One of the traders, Stuart Grant, picked up on it right away. He said his wife consulted Smith. She wanted to do something about the bags under her eyes, but she never went back after the first visit. She thought there was something wrong with him."
Kerry straightened up. "What did she mean?"
"Her name is Susan, but the doctor kept slipping and calling her Suzanne. Then he told her he could do her eyes, but he'd rather do her whole face, that she had the makings of a great beauty and was wasting her life not taking advantage of it."
"How long ago was that?"
"Three or four years, I guess. Oh, and something else. Smith apparently also rambled on to Susan about how beauty brings responsibility, and that some people abuse it and invite jealousy and violence." She
Skip Reardon had never been in trouble with the law and was considered a very solid citizen, yet only two character witnesses had been called: Why?
There had been a series of burglaries in Alpine around the time of Suzanne Reardon's death. Skip Reardon claimed that some of the jewelry he had seen Suzanne wearing was missing, that the master bedroom had been ransacked. But a tray full of valuable jewelry was found on the dresser, and the prosecution called in a part-time housekeeper the Reardons had employed who flatly testified that Suzanne always left the bedroom in a chaotic state. "She'd try on three or four outfits, then drop them on the floor if she decided against them. Powder spilled on the dressing table, wet towels on the floor. I often felt like quitting."
As she undressed for bed that night, Kerry mentally reviewed what she had read, and noted that there were two things she had to do: make an appointment to talk with Dr. Smith, and visit Skip Reardon at the State Prison in Trenton.
...
Friday, October 27th
In the nine years since the divorce, Kerry had dated on and off, but there had never been anyone special. Her closest friend was Margaret Mann, her roommate at Boston College. Marg was blond and petite, and in college she and Kerry had been dubbed the long and the short of it. Now an investment banker with an apartment on West Eighty-sixth Street, Margaret was confidante, pal and buddy. On occasional Friday evenings, Kerry would have a sitter in for Robin and drive to Manhattan. She and Margaret would have dinner and catch a Broadway show or a movie or just linger over dessert for hours and talk.
The Friday night after Geoff Dorso left the transcript, Kerry arrived at Margaret's apartment and gratefully sank onto the couch in front of a platter of cheese and grapes.
Margaret handed her a glass of wine. "Bottoms up. You look great."
Kerry was wearing a new hunter green suit with a long jacket and calf-length skirt. She looked down at it and shrugged. "Thanks. I finally got a chance to buy some new clothes and I've been sporting them all week."
Margaret laughed. "Remember how your mother used to put on her lipstick and say, 'You never know where romance may linger'? She was right, wasn't she?"
"I guess so. She and Sam have been married fifteen years now, and whenever they come East or Robin and I visit them in Colorado, they're holding hands."
Margaret grinned. "We should be so lucky." Then her expression became serious. "How's Robin? Her face is healing well, I hope."
"Seems to be fine. I'm taking her to see another plastic surgeon tomorrow. Just for a consultation."
Margaret hesitated, then said, "I was trying to find a way to suggest that. At the office I was talking about the accident and mentioned Dr. Smith's name. One of the traders, Stuart Grant, picked up on it right away. He said his wife consulted Smith. She wanted to do something about the bags under her eyes, but she never went back after the first visit. She thought there was something wrong with him."
Kerry straightened up. "What did she mean?"
"Her name is Susan, but the doctor kept slipping and calling her Suzanne. Then he told her he could do her eyes, but he'd rather do her whole face, that she had the makings of a great beauty and was wasting her life not taking advantage of it."
"How long ago was that?"
"Three or four years, I guess. Oh, and something else. Smith apparently also rambled on to Susan about how beauty brings responsibility, and that some people abuse it and invite jealousy and violence." She
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