“Before we get to that,” Mike said, “I want to explain something to you. It’s important.”
“Will it help me find Kate?”
“Conor, that’s what this is all about.”
“That would be a start,” Conor said. “Because it seems to me you are in the middle of all this.”
“Can I tell that part of it?” Miranda asked, and Mike nodded.
“Belinda was my cousin,” Miranda said. “She talked about you all the time, Conor. When we were young, it was just like a girl with a crush. She kept it going, long after she moved away from New London. She stalked you, Conor. Got you to go away with her for the weekend. I think she wanted to get pregnant—she would do anything to have you in her life.”
“That’s insane,” Conor said.
“I know. She was furious that you didn’t want to see her after that. She had another relationship and did get pregnant.”
“With the baby in the picture she showed Kate,” Conor said.
“Yes. But they broke up, and she wound up here, at the hospital. She had a lot of problems, Conor—it was awful to see her that way. We had hope that she’d get well. She didn’t.”
“And she married the doctor.”
Miranda nodded. “Yes, and it wasn’t a happy marriage. Meanwhile, her daughter was living in the nightmare. Our family wanted to help, but Belinda was too sick—she shut us out. Anyway, last year, she got back in touch with me. She sounded better, happier. More stable.”
Conor’s chest was so tense, he felt like he was having a heart attack.
“What does this have to do with Kate?” he asked.
“Just listen,” Miranda said. “Last winter, Belinda told me that you and she had started texting. Then that you decided to meet for dinner. She said you went away for the weekend and planned to be together, to get married.”
“None of that ever happened,” Conor said.
“Well, I didn’t know that. I didn’t know you, and Belinda had a way of sounding very convincing.” Miranda took a breath. “Everything seemed fine until she found out that you were going to marry Kate—not her.”
“How would she even know that?” Conor asked.
“She stalked you both,” Miranda said. “Especially Kate. She put Maeve to work at the gallery, so she had an inside source.”
“Put Maeve to work?” Conor asked. “How would she be able to do that?”
“Kate had advertised for a gallery assistant. And trust me, Belinda could get anyone to do what she wanted. She had BPD—borderline personality disorder. She was very manipulative.”
“What if Kate hadn’t hired Maeve?” Conor asked.
“Then Belinda would have sent Suzanne on an interview. Or any number of the others. But she didn’t have to—Kate hired Maeve. And every wedding plan Kate made, Maeve was in on. Maeve reported everything to Belinda.”
“And Lincoln was involved too?”
Miranda nodded.
“Conor,” Mike said. “This is where I come in.”
“You’ve known about this all along?” Conor asked.
“Yes and no,” Mike said.
“What does that mean?”
“Years ago, I had this young lady in my courtroom,” Mike said, gesturing at Miranda. “Her father was doing a play in Waterford, Connecticut, and Miranda had come to Rhode Island to see her cousin Belinda. The two of them were at a club in Providence, and Miranda was arrested for possession of drugs. I think you know that I’ve always taken an interest in young offenders, tried to get them into a mentorship program that would help them stay straight.”
