That threw her but she murmured, "Brown."

So much for that rule.

"You went from there straight to Caltech?"

"I took a year off."

"Lab work?"

"I traveled. Why would you care?"

"I love to travel," Milo lied. "Where'd you go?"

"Europe, Southeast Asia." A beat. "Africa."

"World tour?"

Silence.

"Sounds nice."

"I needed to do it," she said. "Before the grind."

"Grad school's tough."

"Grad school at this place is..." Her eyes moistened again. "Everyone's a genius except me."

Milo said, "I'm betting you made summa at Brown."

Juliet Harshberger ground her teeth. "At Brown I was smart. At Caltech, I'm an inanimate object." Glance to the side. "Trey's a genius. He's been my lifeline."

"And now he's frightened. And missing."

She cried. He passed her another tissue. "What's going on, Juliet?"

"Just Julie."

"Tell me about Trey, Julie."

She shook her head. "I can't."

"What if he's in danger, Julie?"

"Please don't say that."

"I'm sure Trey told you about the murder."

Julie Harshberger reached for her cat. The animal rolled away, continued to feign sleep. "Omarine, you are so lazy."

"What did Trey tell you about the murder, Julie?"

"That you came to his place and interrogated him."

"When's the last time you saw him?"

"Then," she said. "Right after you left, he came here. The next day I didn't hear from him but sometimes he works late in the lab. It was only last night when I went by and he wasn't there for our dinner date. I was taking him to the Parkside Grill, it's my favorite. He hasn't been back since, nor has he come into the lab and his cell's not responding."

"What's he scared about, Julie?"

"I--I can't."

"We know about the SAT scam."

Her mouth dropped open.

Milo said, "Yeah, that was wrong but think about it: Trey was frightened enough to leave. So covering up and slowing us down could be hazardous to his health. When did he tell you about it, Julie?"

"A few months ago," she said. "It bothered him. She convinced him to go along with it."

"Elise Freeman."

"He said she would do anything for a quick buck."

"She hired Trey because he could pass for a high school student."

"Also, he was an alumnus."

"Of Windsor Prep."

Nod.

"That was important because..."

"All the students he sat in for were from there."

"Elise Freeman limited herself to Windsor Prep students."

"She told Trey it kept things simple. And she had plenty of business just from there."

"Lots of pressure to excel."

She grimaced. "I went to a place like that in Houston until I could no longer tolerate it and insisted I be sent to public school."

"Tough environment."

"Brutal, uncaring, selfish. Elise and some guy she hung out with exploited that."

"Some guy."

"Trey said he was pure sleaze, shake his hand and count your fingers."

I said, "How many SATs did Trey take for Prep students?"