All Dressed in White by Mary Higgins Clark, Alafair Burke

leading to the lobby and greeted her with a smile. She was tall, probably close to five-ten, and slightly heavyset. She had shoulder-length light brown hair and appeared to wear no makeup. Laurie recognized her from their research as Charlotte Pierce, current executive vice president of design at Ladyform and, more important for Laurie’s current purposes, the older sister of Amanda Pierce.
    “What can I do for you, Ms. Moran?” Charlotte asked once they were settled into her office. “Have you decided to take my sister’s case?”
    Laurie had scheduled an appointment through Charlotte’s assistant, but hadn’t yet spoken to Charlotte directly. “I should make clear that we don’t take a case, like a lawyer or private investigator would, since your family wouldn’t actually be our client. But we are looking closely at featuring your sister’s disappearance in our next special.”
    “That’s great. As I told my mother, I’m happy to participate if you need me.”
    “Terrific. She told me that, but we always double-check. I have the paperwork for your review.” She retrieved the production contract from her briefcase and slid it across the desk. She could have emailed it to Charlotte, but she had another reason for being here. As Charlotte reviewed the agreement, Laurie pretended to make small talk. “So I’m told you were a bridesmaid.”
    “Hmm?” she said, her attention focused on reading. “Oh sure, that’s right. I suppose the bride kind of has to ask the big sister.”
    “But you and Amanda were close, weren’t you? Not only sisters, but co-workers.”
    “She probably would have said too close at times. It’s not always easy to work professionally with family members.”
    Laurie nodded. It was Austin Pratt and Nick Young who’d mentioned a sense of sibling rivalry between the Pierce sisters, more on Charlotte’s part than Amanda’s. According to them, Charlotte showed no real interest in her sister’s wedding. She had been supposed to offer the toast at the Friday brunch but had asked Nick to do it. Amanda never appeared for brunch, so the moment of the toast never arrived. Thinking about that, Laurie wondered if somehow Charlotte already knew that Amanda wouldn’t be there.
    “Your mother tells me that Amanda was the one to suggest this New York office. Things seem to be going very well for the company.”
    Charlotte’s grimace was unmistakable. “Yes, it was Amanda’s idea. I’ve managed to steer it in the right direction in her absence,but who knows where we might be if she were still here.” She barely tried to hide the sarcasm.
    “Sorry, I didn’t mean to suggest that you didn’t deserve the credit,” Laurie said, even though that wasn’t quite true.
    “It’s fine.” She handed back the signed document. “So is that all?”
    “What do you think happened to your sister?” Laurie asked bluntly.
    Charlotte looked Laurie directly in the eye. “I have no idea. My mother is convinced she was kidnapped and probably murdered. My father seems to think she ran away to start a new life. I have dreams—nightmares—involving both scenarios and everything in between.”
    She spoke in a tone that was almost businesslike.
    “Why would she want a different life? From everything I’ve heard, she had it all: a great job, a fiancé who loved her, a close-knit family.”
    Charlotte swallowed, and for just a moment, she looked genuinely sad. “Amanda did have it all, everything that most of us hope and pray for. But you know how some people have everything but are still yearning for something different? Almost like those people who feel like they’re living in someone else’s body.”
    Laurie knew the scenario Charlotte was describing, but didn’t understand the comparison to Amanda. “Whose life did Amanda want instead of hers?”
    She shrugged. “Her cancer—do you know about that?”
    Laurie nodded.
    “Some survivors become more grateful. Not Amanda. I think she started to