All Dressed in White Read Free

Pierce again, she noticed that the woman was quite attractive. She had a long, narrow face andshoulder-length, ash-blonde hair. Her eyes were clear blue. Laurie might have guessed Sandra was not much older than her own thirty-six years if not for some telltale wrinkles on her neck.
    “Grace said you’re from Seattle?” Laurie asked.
    “Yes. I thought about writing or calling, but realized you hear from hundreds of people every day. I know it probably seems crazy to you to fly across the country uninvited and unannounced, but I had to do it this way. I had to make sure I didn’t waste the opportunity. I think you’re the one I’ve been waiting for—not you, I’m not a stalker or anything, but your show.”
    Laurie was starting to regret the decision to hear this woman out. She needed time to finalize her presentation to Brett. What was it about Sandra Pierce that caused her to drop her guard and listen to her? She was on the verge of explaining she needed to prepare for a meeting when she noticed the button pinned to Sandra’s blazer.
    On the button was a photograph of an absolutely beautiful young woman. Her resemblance to Sandra was uncanny. A graphic of a yellow ribbon appeared just beneath the girl’s face. Something about the photograph seemed familiar.
    “You’re here about her?” Laurie said, gesturing to the pin.
    Sandra glanced down and, as if reminded, sunk a hand into her jacket pocket and retrieved a matching pin. She handed it to Laurie. “Yes, it’s my daughter. I’ve never stopped looking.”
    Now that Laurie had a closer look, the girl’s smile tugged at a distant memory. She hadn’t seen this particular photograph, but she recognized the smile. “You said your last name’s Pierce.” She hoped that saying it aloud would help her remember.
    “Yes, Sandra. And my daughter is Amanda Pierce. My daughter is the person the media calls ‘the Runaway Bride.’ ”

4

    T he Runaway Bride. Laurie remembered the case immediately once she heard that phrase. Amanda Pierce was a beautiful blonde bride, about to marry a handsome lawyer she first met in college. All of the plans were made for a luxury destination wedding in Palm Beach, Florida. And then the morning before the big day, she simply disappeared.
    If that story had broken at any other point in Laurie’s life, she knew that she would have recognized Amanda Pierce’s photograph instantly. She probably would have even recognized Amanda’s mother, Sandra. At another time, the story of a young bride who vanished into thin air just before her dream wedding would have been right up her alley. She knew that some people speculated that Amanda developed cold feet and started a new life somewhere else, away from her overbearing family, or perhaps with a secret paramour. Others believed that she and the groom had a late-night fight, leading to a violent outburst—“it’s just a matter of time before her body turns up.”
    But even though the story was the kind of thing that would normally draw her attention, Laurie had not followed the case closely. Amanda Pierce disappeared only weeks after Laurie’s own husband, Greg, had been fatally shot in front of their then-three-year-old son, Timmy. While Amanda’s face was being broadcast across thecountry, Laurie was on leave from work, oblivious to events outside of her own home.
    She remembered turning off the television thinking that if the bride hadn’t gotten cold feet, then something terrible must have happened to her. She remembered that she felt at one with the family and what they must be suffering.
    She continued to study the picture, remembering that terrible day. Greg had taken Timmy to the playground. She had given Greg a quick kiss as he left with Timmy on his shoulders. It was the last time she was to feel his lips warm against hers.
    Ironically, Amanda Pierce’s wedding was to have been at the Grand Victoria Hotel. Laurie remembered being there and Greg pulling her into the ocean