Page 27 of The Perfect Deception
“Yes.I convinced her that she didn’t want to engage in a legal battle that she’d ultimately lose.I reminded her that she’s not a doctor or lawyer and that her communications aren’t protected.She finally seemed to get that.”
“That’s awesome.So why do I hear a ‘but’ coming?”
Ryan smiled.“Butshe wants to help curate the data.I didn’t fight her on that.Once Jamil and the gang get their hands on it, they’ll do what they need to do, regardless of how involved she wants to be.”
“That’s great.”Jessie started for the interrogation room.
“Why is it great?”
“Because if she’s willing to hand over the data, she should be willing to talk about it too, and I have a question for her.”
Ryan jogged to catch up with her.“Should I be worried?”
“Only if she refuses to answer my question.But I have a feeling that for the first time today, Elise Prager and I are going to be on the same page.”
She stepped back into the interrogation room with Ryan right behind her.Prager looked up and at the sight of Jessie, sighed heavily.
“You again?I thought I only had to deal with the cute one from now on.”
Jessie ignored that, walked over to the table, and plowed ahead.
“You said earlier that some of your clients wished the swaps were more permanent and that dealing with those folks wasn’t fun.Tell me who fits that description and why.”
Prager waved her hand dismissively.“It wasn’t as bad as all that.Sometimes emotions got a little complicated.There were a few instances where one member of a swap couple didn’t want a repeat visit because the spouse in the other couple was a little too enthusiastic.Sometimes it made things a bit awkward but I was always able to smooth everything over.There was only one person I ever had to put on a blacklist.”
As that word lingered in the air, Jessie briefly felt the need to choke down her frustration with the woman.She wanted to blurt out “you had someone on a blacklist and you didn’t think to mention it?”
But she immediately pushed past that, focusing on the details of what Prager actuallydidsay rather than the denseness with which she said it.To her surprise, the churning in her belly subsided.
“Who was that person?”she asked, impressed that she sounded curious rather than confrontational.
“Walter Winston,” Prager said simply.
Ryan stepped forward.“Tell us about him.”
Prager looked reluctant but seemed to sense that now that she'd revealed the name, she couldn't backtrack."Walter and his wife Vanessa were one of my earliest swaps.I'll admit that I didn’t have it down to a science back then.I paired them with another couple—the Spauldings.It was all fine at first.Everyone seemed satisfied.”
“But then it wasn’t?”Jessie prodded.
Prager nodded.“I asked if they wanted to go again.The Spauldings—Craig and Miriam—were ambivalent, as was Vanessa Winston.But Walter was very gung-ho.So the others agreed.Looking back, I think they were just trying to placate him to be polite, even his own wife.Unfortunately, the second time didn't go as well.It became apparent that Walter had grown obsessed with Miriam Spaulding.For weeks after the swap concluded, he'd show up at their house at unusual times, always when Craig was out.He wrote Miriam letters of admiration—actual handwritten letters—that he would leave under the wiper blades of her car.She kept it to herself so as not to cause trouble but Craig found one and confronted Walter, who confessed that he was in love.Craig knocked him out."
“Were the police called?”Ryan asked.
“No.Everyone wanted to keep it quiet, for the sake of the neighborhood.Ultimately, the Spauldings left L.A.entirely.Craig was supposedly transferred to Wilmington, Delaware, but the rumor was that Miriam pleaded with him to request the transfer.She just wanted out of the situation.After that, things settled down and I thought we were all good.But we weren’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“Walter came to me again and asked me to set up another swap.And he had a suggestion: the Minningers.Turns out that Laila Minninger looked a lot like Miriam Spaulding.I asked him how Vanessa felt about this and he said she’d eventually get on board with it.But she wasn’t on board.”
“How were you so sure?”Ryan asked.
“Because she killed herself.”
Jessie hadn’t been expecting that and stood there, stunned.
Ryan could only manage one word.“What?”
"Apparently she was humiliated by the whole thing, especially Walter's behavior.So one night she left her own handwritten notes on the cars of dozens of neighbors.She actually wrote them out herself, old-school, just like Walter had.People found them the next morning.She didn't mention the life swap project, thank goodness; just the situation involving her husband's obsession with Miriam.She said she was too ashamed to go on and that once she was dead, Walter would be free to pursue whoever he chose without guilt.Then she drove up to Cambria—you know, the beach town four hours north of L.A.She checked into a hotel, then drove along the coastal road to a massive cliff overlooking the Pacific.When she got there, she drove right over it.The car hit the rocks about two hundred feet below, blew up, and then sank into the ocean.She never stood a chance, not that she wanted one."
