16
Sam and Hadley took CeCe to the Ocean House pool.
It was located a level below the lobby, with a wall of glass that opened onto a terrace lined with hydrangeas, with a view of the sea.
The pool was long and serene, with turquoise water sparkling in light slanting in from outside.
A semicircle of shallow water, with a gentle fountain glittering in the sun, curved onto the wide terrace, reaching toward the ocean.
Hadley played in the pool with CeCe while Sam sat on a lounge chair, staring intently at her laptop.
She googled Belinda Tyler. Many websites advertised all the information anyone would want about any Belinda Tyler in the United States, including current and past addresses, family members, and background reports.
Most of them required payment. But there were much simpler and obvious ways, where she could actually see pictures and, sometimes, snippets of real life.
She could go to any of the major social media sites—Facebook, Instagram, and X—and type in the name.
Sometimes she would get a hit. Even though she didn’t consider “Belinda” a common name, quite a few Belinda Tylers were coming up.
One bit of data might help her narrow things down: the fact that Belinda had grown up on the same street in New London as Conor and Tom Reid.
Their families had been neighbors. Sam knew from experience that available online information could go back many years, even decades.
There could be multiple addresses. She didn’t know the name of the street, so she typed Conor and Tom’s parents’ names into the search bar.
She found the address for John and Mary Reid:
That made it easy. She had no idea of Belinda’s parents’ first names, but she remembered Conor mentioning her maiden name and typed:
Quinn
Montauk Avenue
New London, CT 06320
And then she hit the jackpot. Google gave her names and an address that she thought had to be Belinda’s parents—Clement and Rosalie Quinn, 611 Montauk Avenue, New London, CT 06320. The search also brought up a full page of mentions and articles about the family from The Day—the local newspaper.
Clement Quinn had been named Citizen of the Year in 1978.
He had owned a printing company and was honored for all the work he did at discount prices for nonprofit organizations and young business owners.
There was a photo of Clement—it was blurry, but Sam could see that he was wearing a blazer and tie and had a wide smile, a seventies mustache, and sideburns.
The article mentioned his family: wife, Rosalie; three-year-old son, Clark; and infant daughter, Belinda.
Sam scrolled through the hits and found a less honorable mention.
Ten years later, in 1988, Clement appeared in the Day police blotter for risk of injury to a minor, second-degree unlawful restraint, second-degree threatening, third-degree assault, and disorderly conduct. The article did not name the victim.
One year after that, in June 1989, there was an article about Whaling City Community College having paid the Quinn Company two thousand dollars for printing costs.
They didn’t receive the materials, and when the registrar contacted Clement Quinn for a refund, she discovered that the company had gone out of business and left no forwarding phone number or address.
A follow-up article stated that the Quinns had withdrawn Clark and Belinda from school, left their house having defaulted on their mortgage, as well as an unpaid lease on their Cadillac. The car had been parked on Bank Street, behind the printing company, with the keys in the ignition.
Sam found no articles after that one. She searched all the names, not limiting the geographic area, but there was nothing until a July 2010 wedding announcement in the Providence Journal:
Belinda Quinn weds Dr. J.W. Tyler Iii
Belinda Quinn and Jonathan Whitman Tyler Iii were married yesterday at their home in Narragansett, R.I., by the Rev. David M. Dorset, a Congregational minister.
The bride is the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Clement P. Quinn of New London, Conn. Her husband is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Jonathan W. Tyler Jr. of Providence, R.I.
The bride is an artist. The groom is the medical director of the Maynard-King Center in Narragansett, Rhode Island. The bride’s daughter was flower girl.
Sam focused on that phrase: the bride’s daughter.
Could the flower girl have been Conor’s daughter?
Kate and Conor were the best couple she knew.
They were her family, and they gave her hope that life was good, that people were who they seemed to be.
She had grown up with a painful legacy: a family broken by violence and cheating.
Kate and Conor had done so much to make up for all that.
But if Conor had really had this secret life, that meant he had tricked Kate.
And fooled Sam too—just like her father.
In the back of her mind was that call that Conor had taken in June, when he had been so secretive.
She felt scared to find out what Conor had been up to, but no matter what, she wanted to know the truth—and that meant learning whatever she could about Belinda.
The wedding announcement said that Belinda’s husband was director of the Maynard-King Center.
Sam googled the Center, and its website came up.
The home page showed a bright picture of a stately white clapboard building in a parklike setting.
The type said: It takes bravery to get better. Better from what? she wondered.
Above the photo of the bucolic scene, there was a row of headings with clickable links to explore elements of the site.
What We Do * Who We Help * What We Treat * Why Maynard-King * About Us
She clicked on What We Treat and read the list:
Co-Occurring Disorders
Anxiety Disorders
Mood Disorders
PTSD Caused by Domestic Violence
Psychological Trauma
Borderline Personality Disorder
Dissociative Disorders
Psychotic Illnesses
Obviously, Maynard-King was a psychiatric hospital. She ignored the list of mental health conditions and clicked on the About Us tab, expecting to find Dr. Jonathan Tyler listed as medical director, but he wasn’t. There was no Dr. Tyler mentioned at all.
She closed the hospital website and typed Dr. Jonathan W. Tyler Iii into the search bar. Her search yielded many links to newspapers and television stations, all with similar headlines, and her blood begins to thump through her veins.
Police Identify Victim in Halloween Hospital Homicide
Doctor Is Victim of Halloween Murder
Prominent Psychiatrist Murdered
All Hallows Homicide at Exclusive Mental Health Center
“It’s a Very Sad Day”—Details in “Princess” Killing Emerge in Death of Dr. Jonathan Tyler Iii
Sam clicked on the first article and read it:
Rhode Island State Police have identified the victim in a homicide investigation at the Maynard-King Center as Dr. Jonathan W.
Tyler Iii. At midnight on Tuesday, October 31, officers were called for reports of screams coming from within an office in the Norton Two Unit.
They discovered a male suffering from stab wounds to his neck.
Lifesaving measures were unsuccessful, and Dr. Tyler was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dr. Tyler was the medical director of the Center, specializing in the treatment of trauma patients. He was one of the nation’s foremost authorities in treating dissociative disorder.
One witness reported seeing a “masked princess in a silver gown running from the scene.” Another described her as a “faceless witch in a flowing white dress.” An iridescent face mask was found on the property.
Authorities have declined to say whether they believe it was worn by anyone connected to the crime, but one witness reported that it was covered with blood spatter.
Earlier in the evening, a Halloween party had been held for the patients.
“Dressing in costumes was allowed as long as masks were not worn,” said one staff member who declined to be identified.
She continued, “Facial coverings can trigger trauma patients and bring on feelings of anxiety, terror, claustrophobia, and entrapment, and induce a ‘fight-or-flight’ reaction. No masks were allowed or discovered during room checks, so we are confident that both the holographic face mask and the perpetrator came from outside the hospital.”
The case remains under investigation. Police are requesting anyone with information to contact Detective Martin Matthews of the Rhode Island State Police.
Next, Sam skipped down to “It’s a Very Sad Day”—Details in “Princess” Killing Emerge in Death of Dr. Jonathan Tyler Iii
After a prominent psychiatrist was murdered in his office at the exclusive Maynard-King Center on Halloween night, police spokesperson Armand Braga stated that there are no suspects, and the investigation continues.
A nurse at the center greeted a reporter in the lobby. “It’s a very sad day,” she said. “Dr. Tyler was loved by patients and staff alike. Our hearts go out to his wife and stepdaughter.” The tearful nurse declined to give her name.
Fear reigns throughout the twenty-five-acre hospital campus. Witnesses report seeing someone dressed as a masked phantom leaving the Norton Two Unit shortly after the 911 call reporting screams was made.
“The screams were chilling,” one witness reported.
“Bloodcurdling,” said another, who added, “Shrieking, pure terror. Poor Dr. Tyler. He only wanted to help people.”
“Can you imagine how terrified he must have been, being stabbed to death by a princess? A wicked princess?” one distraught patient asked.
Norton Two is a locked unit serving patients suffering from a variety of trauma-induced illnesses. Most of the physicians at Maynard-King kept offices in a different building, but several staff members said that Dr. Tyler preferred to be with his patients.
“None of the Norton Two residents are suspects at this time,” spokesperson Braga stated.