Sam looked down at the table where the four of them sat. There were index cards and what looked like an old-fashioned phone book. From the cover, she could tell that it was South County’s telephone directory.
“Not everyone researches on the internet,” Mike said. “We’ve been tracking down 1740 ever since we heard about it.”
“We had an old phone book in the cottage,” Anne said, flipping through the book, pointing at a particular page. “Look what we found.”
Sam took the empty chair beside her and saw several advertisements. Each one was set within borders, in its own square. There were different sizes, fonts, and images. Anne tapped her finger on a listing positioned in the upper right corner:
1740 Events
Fantasies our specialty
Let us make your fairy tale come true
Discretion guaranteed.
There were a phone number and line drawing of a beautiful woman and a monster—they looked to Sam likeBeauty and the Beast.
“Wow!” Sam said. “That’s it!”
“This ad is too old for it to matter,” Leo said. “It’s out of date. Let’s move on.”
“I agree with Leo,” Nola said. “Just from my own experience, dealing with violent offenders, especially in sex crimes, they are not going to advertise. They operate in secret. This ad was for something else—they’re party planners.”
“But it says ‘fairy tale,’” Sam said. “And look at the drawing—it’sBeauty and the Beast. Have you tried the number?”
“Of course,” Nola said. “As soon as we saw the ad. The person who answered had no clue about the company or anything to do with 1740. He said he has had the number for fifteen years.”
“See? It’s out of date,” Leo said. “Maybe this particular operation went out of business back then, and the number was reassigned.”
“Well, people have been known to lie,” Mike said.
“We are better off focusing on present day,” Leo said. Sam stared at him, wondering why he seemed so opposed to looking into what seemed to her to be a good lead.
“I’m sure that’s what Conor, Tom, and Joe are doing,” Mike said. “And Kate too. Sam, didn’t you and Kate go to Maynard-King and find some sort of note mentioning the infamous 1740?”
“Yes,” Sam said.
“So let’s run this down,” Mike said. “Go in a different direction.”
“Backward,” Leo said.
“Come on, now,” Nola said. “Don’t be negative.”
“I don’t get any of this,” Anne said. “Especially the part about Maynard-King. It’s always been such a respected place for people to go when they have breakdowns or addictions. Mike and I have gone to fundraisers for the hospital, and we know people who have gone there, who’ve been helped. I just can’t imagine it being a center for what’s been going on.”
“But it is,” Sam said. “We’re positive about that. Belinda was married to Dr. Tyler, and she was murdered the same way he was. And that 1740 note someone left there, on his grave ... that note is missing now, along with Maeve.”
“Dr. Jonathan Tyler,” Leo said. “He was a visionary. He did groundbreaking research in the trauma field. His death was such a tragedy.”
“You knew him?” Anne asked.
Leo didn’t answer for a few seconds. “I can’t really go into it. Even though he’s dead, there’s an attorney-client issue,” he said.
“He was your client?” Mike asked.
“I didn’t say that,” Leo said sharply. “There’s just ... an issue. Let’s leave it there, Mike.”
Sam was slightly shocked, the way he spoke to Mike. His words were clipped, and his tone was almost rude. She could tell that Mike noticed it, too, the way his eyes widened, then looked away. He seemed both surprised and annoyed.
