The Cinderella Murder by Mary Higgins Clark, Alafair Burke Read Free Book Online Page A

Wore It Better?” and “Guess Which Couple Is About to Split?” Two narrow bookshelves that lined the wall by the entryway were packed with memorabilia from Madison’s short-lived success as an actress. At the center was the statuette she had received for her first role, the one Frank Parker had gifted her after Susan supposedly never showed up for her audition: a Spirit Award, not an Oscar, but still a sign of a budding career. But from Laurie’s research, she gathered that Madison had gone nowhere but down after that one recognition.
    “Did you get the letter I sent you, Miss Meyer?”
    “I don’t think so. Or maybe I did and I just wanted to see whether you’d be following up.” She smiled coyly.
    Laurie returned the smile. “Well, consider this the follow-up.” She introduced Jerry and Grace, who both shook Madison’s hand. “Have you heard of the special series Under Suspicion ?”
    “Oh yes,” Madison said. “I watched the one last year. I even joked it was only a matter of time before someone came calling about my college roommate. I assume that’s why you’re here?”
    “As you know,” Laurie said, “there has been speculation over the years about whether you covered for Frank Parker. You said you were with him at his house at the time of Susan’s death.”
    Madison opened her mouth to speak but then pressed her lips togetherand nodded slowly. Close up and in person, Laurie could see that Madison had retained her beauty. She had long, shiny blond hair; a heart-shaped face; and piercing green eyes. Her skin was still pale and clear. But Laurie could also see the changes that time had brought to Madison’s face, as well as Madison’s attempts to forestall them. A telltale stripe of mousy brown revealed she was due for another dye job. Her forehead was unnaturally smooth, her cheeks and lips plumped by fillers. She was still a gorgeous woman, but Laurie wondered whether she’d have been even more beautiful without all the intervention.
    “That’s true,” Madison said. “I mean, the part about people speculating.”
    “You have nothing to say about that?” Laurie pressed.
    “Am I the first person you asked? That letter you mailed seemed pretty generic.”
    “Ah, so now you do recall the letter,” Laurie said, arching a brow. “You’re right: we did ask others. We try to bring as many people who knew the victim as possible to—”
    “So who are the other people? Who has committed?”
    Laurie didn’t see the harm in Madison’s question. “Susan’s mother. Your other roommate, Nicole Melling, is interested. Frank Parker.”
    Madison’s green eyes sparkled at the mention of the director’s name. “I assume your show pays?” she asked.
    “Of course. Maybe not what a studio movie might pay, but I think you’ll find the compensation to be fair.” Laurie knew that Madison hadn’t had any studio film offers for a decade.
    “Then I’ll have my agent call you to talk terms before I’ll say anything on camera. Oh, and you.” She looked directly at the two men with cameras. “When it comes time to shoot, the left is my good side. And no backlighting. It makes me look old.”
    As Laurie made her way back to the rental car, she allowed herself to smile. Madison Meyer was playing hard to get, but she was already talking like the diva of the set.

11

    S ome people were just creatures of habit.
    Not Madison. Heck, Madison wasn’t even her name. Her real name was Meredith Morris. How old-fashioned was that? There wasn’t even a cute nickname she could make out of it. She’d tried Merry, but people thought she was saying Mary. Then she tried Red, but that didn’t even make sense for a blonde. But she always liked the alliteration. When she enrolled at UCLA to appease her parents, she changed her name to Madison Meyer, determined to get discovered by Hollywood.
    In various stages of her life, she had been a vegetarian, a gun owner, a libertarian, a conservative, a liberal. She’d