“My version? You mean the truth.”

“Yes, sorry if—”

“Whatever.” Lakshmi swiveled her chair toward Caitlin. “So I woke up around ten, felt bloody awful. Basic hangover aches and pains, but a horrible feeling that stayed around no matter how much coconut water I drank.”

Caitlin knew the rejuvenating power of coconut water, but Lakshmi’s low feeling sounded more like a chemical side effect. Maybe she hadn’t been lying when she told the BPD she’d been too high to go out with Angela, Kieran, and Dave. Caitlin tried to remember: Had Lakshmi told her they’d been smoking pot, or had she just assumed that?

She made a note to circle back if it mattered. The rest of Lakshmi’s story matched the BPD account: the texts, her visit to Angela’s apartment, her confrontation with Amireau and Michelson.

“They played dumb, so I called the cops and they gave me Shepherd.”

“Describe him.”

“Just an old white man who didn’t care. I yelled, threatened him with social media. When that didn’t work, I played the girl card.”

Caitlin laughed. “You cried?”

“That he responded to. He even agreed to let me ride with him.”

“Anything to reassure the little lady.”

“Exactly, so he sends a squad car over to Angela’s, and we drive to the boys’ apartment. At this point, Kieran and Dave were both there.”

“How did they act?”

“Like I was mental. But Shepherd saw Dave’s black eye and said it’d be easier on everyone if they told us about the night before.”

“Did Shepherd write anything down?”

“No, he accepted everything they said, which was that Angela walked home around two AM. They didn’t mention being high the night before.”

“I’m sure you didn’t either.”

Lakshmi looked like she’d just taken a slap.

Caitlin moved on. “Then what?”

“We walked through the woods to Angela’s. At this point, I’m freaking out, but Shepherd’s easy-breezy beautiful. He even put his arm around me.” Lakshmi must have caught the look on Caitlin’s face. “Not in a sexual way, but like—”

“Like a father would do, comforting his little girl?”

“Not my father,” Lakshmi said, “but yes, I suppose. Either way, it made my skin crawl.”

“Because he sounded like he didn’t believe you,” Caitlin said, well aware of the feeling, “and worse, like he felt bad for you.”

“Right. So we get to Angela’s and she’s not there. Shepherd checks with all the neighbors, none of whom have seen her.”

Caitlin made a note. “So he finally took you seriously by five-thirty.”

“Not at all. He drove me home, said he’d let me know if they found anything, but to keep calling Angela’s friends and family to see if she turned up.”

“Which you did?”