Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would not have been possible without the help of many people who helped me along the way. I would like to thank my agent, Jane Dystel, for her assistance in finding this book a home and graciously helping a first time book author navigate the world of publishing. I am extremely grateful to Waltham Police Officer Jon Bailey, who volunteered endless hours of his time to help with this book. Without his input and knowledge of this case I would never have been able to finish this project. I would also like to thank my editor, Shannon Jamieson Vazquez, for her insight and feedback as this book made its way through the editing process. Her suggestions greatly enhanced the final product. And lastly, thanks to my hometown support network of Jason Schreiber, Susan Nolan, and my husband, Ken, who endured countless phone calls when I needed help, offered their advice, and were there to read the latest draft of the chapters when I asked. Their support was invaluable.
The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didnt exist.
Kevin Spacey as Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects
CHAPTER 1
Spring 2004
Lana Koon-Anderson was thrilled when she saw her friend Julie Keowns name on the list of employees selected to travel on a company trip to Richmond, Virginia.
Yes! she thought to herself. Both Lana and Julie were nurses whod previously worked in hospitals before taking jobs with the Kansas City, Missouri-based Cerner Corporation, known as one of the leading suppliers of health-care information technology in the United States. Though they were no longer working directly with patients in hospitals, the two women were part of a task force in the company made up of individuals with nursing backgrounds. Once a month, the nurses all got together to use their real-world experience to improve the quality of the software products Cerner supplied.
Despite an eighteen-year age gap between them, during her first meeting with the other nurses, Lana had immediately felt a kinship with thirty-year-old Julie, a pretty brunette with a warm smile and open personality.
Julie just radiated friendliness, Lana would later recall about the younger woman.
That friendliness made people gravitate toward Julie when she was in a group. She had a good energy and inviting manner that made people instantly comfortable when they were around her. Raised on a soybean farm north of Kansas City, Julie seemed to epitomize the word wholesome.
You could just sit down and talk to her; she was an open book, Lana said. You could be completely at ease with her almost immediately after meeting her.
Although Lana and Julie didnt see much of each other in their day-to-day work, because they worked on opposite sides of the building, Lana loved every chance she had to work with her friend. So as soon as she saw Julies name on the list of employees going to Virginia, to help bring a hospital online with software from Cerner, Lana immediately sent her an e-mail.
Hey I guess were going to be there together, Lana wrote.
Lana was surprised when Julie e-mailed her back with news that she had just moved to Waltham, Massachusetts, and was telecommuting for her job with Cerner. Lana had not seen Julie recently and was unaware that her friend had moved, though it wasnt an unusual arrangement for a number of employees at Cerner; employees were often able to telecommute, and Lana even knew of one employee who worked from home in Alaska.
The two women e-mailed back and forth several times in the months leading up to their trip, which took place over the Mothers Day weekend in May 2004. Once in Richmond, they worked long days launching the software in the hospital, usually starting work at 6 a.m. and then working through until dinner.
Lana was still familiarizing herself with Cerners software, but Julie seemed to really get what Cerner was trying to do for hospitals and worked tirelessly to train the hospital staff. She was right there every time someone needed extra help or had a question, and Lana was struck by how on top of it Julie was with their assignment. At one point, a group of the hospitals residents was learning how to log on to the new system, but their passwords werent working. Julie was on the phone almost instantly, getting the passwords straightened out and getting the group online.
During the time they spent in the hospital together, it became clear to Lana that Julies first love was helping patients. At one point, the two women stood next to the neonatal ICU in the hospital. Lana watched Julies face as she looked at the tiny babies. Her love of being a nurse and desire to help those little babies was written all over her face. Julie would do anything for anybody, give them the shirt off her back. Thats what made her such a great nurse, Lana thoughther desire to help others before herself.
Lana, who considered herself a bit of a tomboy, was equally impressed by Julies professional clothes. When she complimented Julie on how nice she looked, Julie smiled and explained that her husband of eight years, James, had suggested she get some new clothes for the trip. Lana, who had just packed the same clothes she usually wore to work, thought it was sweet that James had wanted his wife to get new clothes.
Julie also mentioned to Lana that she hadnt been feeling well before the trip; shed had some sort of stomach bug that she couldnt seem to kick. James was concerned about her and had at first been nervous about Julie going forward with the trip. But eventually, he encouraged her to go because it was a good opportunity.
With two grown children and a husband who worked as a firefighter and paramedic, Lana was long past those idyllic early years of marriage herself, but although she didnt begrudge Julie for having such a considerate husband, she was a little envious.
Though the group had little downtime during the intense four-day trip to Richmond, they did get together for dinner one night. Away from the hospital and the busy days, Lana had a chance to ask Julie about her move to Waltham, a western suburb of Boston.
Julie practically gushed with pride as she explained that they had moved because her husband, James, had been accepted to the prestigious Harvard Business School. She just beamed as she talked about her husband. Julies love for James was obvious to everyone.
It is so great; hes just so wonderful, Julie said, adding that the couple was doing so well financially that all of my paycheck is going into a savings account.
Lana couldnt help but again find herself a bit envious of her friends situation. She rolled the numbers over in her head of how much she thought the couple was saving each year, and they were impressive.
God shes lucky, Lana thought to herself. Julie seemed to be truly living a real-life fairytale, complete with a great job, financial security, and Prince Charming. The life that every little girl dreams shell find when she grows up. Unfortunately for Julie, her redheaded Prince Charming was not who he appeared to be... and her fairytale life would soon turn out to be a nightmare.
CHAPTER 2
For most residents of Waltham, Massachusetts, the morning of Tuesday, September 7, 2004, was their first day back to work after the Labor Day weekend holiday, which many residents around the Boston metro area had ended by battling the traffic along Route 3 on that last summer trip to the ocean off Cape Cod. Though James and Julie Keown had honeymooned on Cape Cod eight years before, they stayed home that holiday weekend because Julie had recently been battling a serious kidney illness. The couple had moved to Waltham in late January 2004 after James was accepted into Harvard Business School, though both continued to telecommute to their existing jobs in Missouri while on the East Coast. Julie was hoping to get pregnant but wasnt sure if that would be possible yet, because of her kidney illness.
