“Then, why not give their name? Why hang up?”
“Because they don’t want to get in trouble with the sorority,” Regan suggested. “Any number of reasons. It’s worth looking into. Did you reach out to Taylor?”
“I couldn’t find her. She graduated, and I don’t know where she went after that.”
“I can find her,” Regan said. “Finding people is something I’m really good at.”
Twelve
Lucas Vega’s stupid murder podcast had drained her.
Vicky Ryan poured herself a glass of white wine and drank half of it in one gulp. She didn’t want to be drinking alone, but she was over twenty-one, and they were allowed to have alcohol on campus, and damn, she was alone and had a headache and didn’t know what to do with this stupid podcast that was causing friction among her sorority sisters.
Half the girls thought the idea was smart and didn’t like that the council had forbidden them from participating. The other half worried about the impact on the sorority and Candace’s reputation. And people on both sides thought the police should handle it.
But her roommate, Nicole, had made a good point the other night.
“It’s been three years and the police haven’t solved Candace’s murder. Maybe this could help.”
Nicole might be right, but Vicky was worried about some of her sisters who were truly upset listening to the podcast. Vicky tried to be fair and impartial, but it was hard. She had to protect the sorority’s reputation, and creating a safe space for the girls she was supposed to lead and protect was important to her. She couldn’t stop Nicole and others from listening, but she could prevent playing it in common areas.
A knock on her door had her groaning. She didn’t want to talk to anyone about the podcast. It had been the number one topic in the sorority for the last week, since Lucas Vega had aired the first episode last Tuesday night.
She opened the door and was surprised to find Rachel Wagner, their faculty advisor, standing there. She looked upset.
“Are you okay?” Vicky asked.
“Can I come in?”
“Of course.” She opened the door wider, and Rachel walked in and stared out the window. It was dark, and Vicky could see her reflection in the glass. “Do you want some wine?”
“I’d love some, but no, thank you.” Rachel turned around. She didn’t look thirty-five. She was tall, model-pretty with silky blond hair and big brown eyes and could have passed for a student. She was one of Vicky’s favorite teachers as well because she knew what she was talking about and she had more open office hours than most. She was up for a professor slot in the biology department, after being an associate professor for the past six years.
“You’re upset about the podcast,” Vicky said. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out.
“I’m so frustrated and don’t know how to handle this. I tried talking to Henry Clarkson last week, after the first episode, but he doesn’t see this from our perspective. And then Henry hooked Vega up with a former US Marshal? Why?”
“Nicole has been talking to some of the girls, and they think this podcast is a good idea.”
“I know. I had a long conversation with Nicole yesterday. I’m too close to it. I really liked Candace, and I told her she needed to do more to keep that man off campus, but she had such a soft spot for the troubled. I admired that about her, but at the same time she didn’t have the street smarts to know who might really be dangerous.”
“You think he really killed her.”
“Yes! Who else?”
“Yeah, I know—you’re probably right. But Nicole and some of the others are talking about other theories, and it’s just exhausting.”
“The police know what they’re doing,” Rachel said. “They’ve been up-front with us from the beginning. Abernathy is their primary suspect. He killed her and knew he did something wrong and left. It makes sense, and it fits all the evidence. I’m just surprised they never caught up with him.”
“I wish I could get them to stop listening, because others are getting upset. I found Debra crying after the podcast. She’s the sensitive type, said she now can’t stop picturing Candace drowning, and it’s interfering with her studies.”
“I’ll go talk to her if it’ll help.”
“I’m sure it would.”
“Do you know who wrote that email?” Rachel asked. “The one Vega read on air, about seeing Candace driving onto campus Sunday night?”