"I liked her," said Pat Skaggs. "We socialized at work, but I really can't say much about her personal life."

Blink. Blink.

Milo said, "Workplace friend."

"The first time I saw her, she having lunch by herself in a corner of the faculty lounge. She subbed, so no one knew who she was. I introduced myself. I figured it was difficult to get into our circle."

"Faculty at Prep's like a club."

"Oh, no, nothing like that," said Pat Skaggs. "It's just that the rest of us were accustomed to each other."

"Not much faculty turnover at Prep?"

"It's a great place to work." Raising her volume on that proclamation.

"How long have you been teaching there, Pat?"

"Five years, starting right after college."

"Which college?"

"Wellesley."

"That's a great place."

Impish smile. "Now you're going to say Hillary went there."

I said, "Madeleine Albright and Diane Sawyer went there."

She laughed. "They, as well."

Milo said, "What do you teach at Prep?"

"Advanced Placement and honors history, honors world civilizations seminar, bonus chautauqua on women's rights in the wake of the Industrial Revolution."

"Elise tutored history and English, so you had something in common. Ever send any students to her for tutoring?"

"A couple. They seemed satisfied."

"No complaints from pushy parents about someone getting an A-minus instead of an A?"

Pat Skaggs pushed hair off a moist forehead. "I'm sure you've heard stories but for the most part Prep's not like that."

"No grade pressure?"

"By the time kids get to AP and honors they've pretty much self-selected."

"Still," I said, "some of them require tutoring."

She licked her lips. "Some people are extremely perfectionistic."

"Some people get upset when perfection's not attained."

"You're not really saying some student did this because they weren't pleased with Elise's performance?"

Milo said, "At this point, we're open to any theory, Pat."

"Oh, wow," she said. "No, honestly, I don't see that." Small hands quivered. "Honestly, I just don't see that."

"Where did Elise go to school, Pat?"

"U. of Maryland."

"She talk much about her college days?"

"Not really."

"Not really?"

"She did tell me she'd preferred to go to a small college."

"Like Wellesley."

Nod.

"Why didn't she?"

"Money."

"What'd she have to say about her family?"

"Nothing," said Skaggs.

"Nothing at all?"

"She avoided talking about her family, Lieutenant. As to why, I can only conjecture that her memories weren't pleasant."

"Avoided, how?"

"I just got a general sense of... avoidance. Okay, here's an example: Once, before Thanksgiving, I was talking about how much I looked forward to seeing my family. Elise said, 'Sounds nice,' and there was a wistful tone in her voice. I mistook that for her missing her own family, said something along those lines. Elise shook her head, rather... vociferously. Then she smiled and changed the subject but I felt I'd touched a nerve. On the other hand, maybe I'm reading too much into it."

"What else did you and Elise talk about?"