Vicky turned off the lights and went up to her room. She unlocked the door; the room was dark. It was eleven, maybe Nicole had gone to sleep, but you’d think she would have left a light on.
Vicky turned on the small light over her desk. Nicole was lying on her bed, fully clothed. “Nicole,” she said. “We really need to talk.”
Nicole ignored her. Was she that upset? Vicky was the one who had a right to be angry about everything that had happened the last two weeks, ever since that stupid podcast started and split the sorority in half.
“Nicole, come on, this is important.”
Vicky sat at the end of Nicole’s bed. She didn’t move. Maybe she had fallen asleep.
“Nicole,” Vicky said, shaking her lightly. “I’m sorry, okay? Please forgive me.” She didn’t know why she was apologizing, this was mostly Nicole’s fault, except that Vicky felt bad and she couldn’t lose her best friend over this.
Nicole didn’t respond.
“Are you okay?”
Vicky got up and shook her by the shoulders. Rolled her over. Her arm flopped over the edge.
She wasn’t breathing.
Thirty-Eight
Saturday
Both Regan and her dad were early risers, so she wasn’t surprised to find him drinking coffee in the nook when she came downstairs at five thirty. She poured her own coffee and sat next to him. The sun was just rising, but they couldn’t see any colors in the sky, telling her that it was overcast, even though it wasn’t raining. At least not yet.
“What happened with Lucas?” he asked.
She told him everything she’d learned from Lucas and Alexa. “I want to pass this over to Detective Young, but he’s involved with Rachel Wagner. They’re dating.”
“The advisor? The one you think may have covered up Adele Overton’s death?”
She nodded. “I believe Alexa. If you talked to her, you’d believe her, too. Everything she’s said has been substantiated by the information we have. She could have ignored the podcast and not written that letter. She wants to do the right thing but is legitimately scared. Plus, she has a young daughter. Her boyfriend is taking her out of town, and I have their contact information.”
“Young has a conflict of interest. You should bring this to his boss.”
“Taylor was killed—”
“There’s no evidence she was murdered. You said it was considered an accidental overdose, pending investigation.”
“This is part of that investigation.”
“But Candace Swain is Young’s case, and while NAU has their own police department, they would immediately pass a capital case to FPD, so going to them would just delay the investigation. Like I said, go to Young’s boss, let her figure out whether to reassign or pull Young in.” He paused. “You don’t have enough, do you?”
“Alexa’s statement. She has no firsthand knowledge except that Candace was with her from late Friday night until Sunday afternoon. She can swear to what Candace told her, but that’s it. A defense attorney would tear her statements apart without additional evidence. Lucas and I traced Candace’s whereabouts up through Tuesday, when she was seen in the Sunrise Center truck, and then we have Alexa’s statement that she planned to go to Payson. I want her journal. Alexa said she hid it in the library, so that’s where Lucas and I are going as soon as they open.”
“And then?”
“I’ll go to Young’s boss. I want to warn Young about Rachel, but then I’d have to spill everything, so it needs to go up the food chain.”
“I know the chief well. I’m happy to help facilitate this.”
“Thanks. I may call on you.”
“I’ll be at the golf course with Henry. Nine holes and then lunch.”
“It’s not raining now, but it doesn’t look promising for this afternoon.”
“We’ll get in as many holes as we can,” her dad said. “Can I share this with him?”
“I don’t see why not. If he has any advice, let me know.”
Regan left to pick up Lucas. They would need to put their heads together to find Candace’s journal.
As soon as he got in her truck, he said, “Lizzy is meeting us there. It’s okay that I told her what’s going on, right?”
“We need help, but let’s keep this between the three of us for now. If the killer knows that Candace hid her journal in the library, they might find it first.”
“Unless they already have.”