I was at Sigma Rho’s spring party that night when Candace and Taylor James were arguing. Only a few people overheard them and would know for sure what they were arguing about. Their fight didn’t last long—maybe five minutes? Ten tops. Then Candace left the party.
But they weren’t the only two people in that heated discussion. Another sister, Kimberly Foster, an alum, was there, trying to mediate and keep them quiet. Kim would know exactly what Candace and Taylor were arguing about. I have no idea if the police ever talked to Kim or what she might have said to them if they did.
I am too scared to come forward because I can’t prove anything.
I will not call in to your podcast because someone might recognize my voice. I’ve gone back and forth about even contacting you this way. Sometimes it’s not as easy as it might seem to know what to do or even what’s right or wrong.
Honestly, I’m scared. Because the person who killed Candace is still out there.
But mostly, I want justice for my friend. I want the truth to come out. I hope this helps.
The letter ended there. No marks on the folded note, which was typed and printed on a standard laser printer. No address, no stamp.
Regan sat at Lucas’s desk and took a picture of the note with her phone and then studied it more closely. Lucas paced his small bedroom.
“What do you think?” Lucas asked. “We have to find Kimberly Foster, right?”
“Where did you find this?”
“At the studio. It was left under the door with my name on it.”
The communications building wasn’t locked during the day, but whoever left it was familiar with the campus. A student or alumni. Someone most likely local, since the note hadn’t been sent through the mail.
Regan looked at the list of Sigma Rho sisters that Lucas had posted on his wall, ranked by graduation year. Kimberly Foster was two years older than Candace.
The anonymous letter writer didn’t say she was in the sorority, but if she were, she was in the class that graduated the year after Kim and before Taylor.
Regan read the letter again.
Maybe you’ll expose the truth.
Expose? That implied the writer knew what hidden truth there was to be found.
Regan reread the letter again, trying to get inside the head of the author.
Female. Men would have been at the party but the letter sounded female.
Scared. She knew something—and hadn’t told the police. Had the police questioned her? Regan didn’t know. She had been an alum, and unless the police were given the guest list, the police might not have known to interview her.
Not only did this person know something crucial about this case, the writer felt that her knowledge endangered her. The tone suggested that she felt threatened. Murder was the ultimate threat.
Could Candace’s murder itself be a threat to others to keep their mouths shut? About what?
Talk, and you’ll end up like Candace.
“Regan?” Lucas said. “What are you thinking? It sounds like this letter writer knows more than what’s on the page.”
“She does,” Regan said. “And so does Taylor.” She told Lucas how her conversation had gone. “I want to go back and confront her, but I don’t know if that’s the best approach, at least not until we have more information. I’m hoping after our conversation that she’ll listen to the podcast—if she hasn’t already—and call in. Or be more honest when I talk to her again.”
“You’ll be there on Friday again, right?” Lucas said.
“Yes, I said I would.” She’d become as invested in solving Candace’s murder as Lucas.
“Because,” Lucas continued, “if Taylor does call in, I have no idea how to get her to talk.”
“If she calls in it’s because she wants to talk,” Regan said. “And that means we need to ask open-ended questions, get her to tell us more than she plans to. She knows something she didn’t want to tell me. It could be innocuous—or it could be answers we need.”
“I looked up the other sorority sisters Annie mentioned in your conversation,” Lucas said. He flipped through a notebook on his desk. “Alexa Castillo is a year older than Annie, and I couldn’t find anything on her. Castillo is a pretty common name, but I can’t find an Alexa or Alexandra or Alexis who graduated from NAU in the last four years on social media, but I kept it narrowed to Arizona. Maybe I should expand it. The sororities all have online newsletters and webpages, but the newsletters are archived as PDFs so I have to click on each one before I can search for a name. But I think it’s worth doing because they often post updates on graduates. I’ll start in on it tonight and look for Alexa Castillo and Kimberly Foster.”