Erik: She made a fucking mess for me. When we went to London, Brenae told Layla that we were still involved. Layla confronted me, and it led to this huge fight. I told Brenae off. Pretty forcefully. And I think that at the same time, Brenae’s brother got arrested, and so she left campus for a while to fix that, and when she came back, she was in bad shape with her professors. Meanwhile, I don’t know what happened, but Brenae was off Hal’s crew and then her funding got cut. I should have defended her. I should have done something, but it was so sick when I left USC and broke things off. She started cutting herself, and she made screen prints with the blood and sent them to me. She could be so strong and fierce, and just dissolve like that. Like it was all someone else’s fault that she was hurting so much.

Ray: Do you think she may have grown to view your relationship differently than you did?

Erik: It was always cool between us. It was all about the art. Her art. She needed me and I gave. The sex was a definite perk for both of us.

Ray: Did you see Brenae the last week she was alive?

Erik: I tried. I went to her studio, actually.

Ray: What day?

Erik: It was a Tuesday, I think.

Ray: Why did you go that day?

Erik: Don’t recall. Best day for my schedule, I guess.

Ray: But what specifically prompted you to visit her? If you were “being neutral,” as you say. If she’d been melting down for weeks.

Erik: I don’t know.

Ray: You sure?

Erik: You know, I was stopping by someone else’s studio, and I thought I should check on her because she’d kind of disappeared.

Ray: So what did you do?

Erik: I knocked on her door. She didn’t answer. I walked away. That’s it.

Ray: That’s it?

Erik: Yes.

Ray: Did Hal Giroux ever talk with you about Brenae?

Erik: We all talked about each other. It’s grad school. The conversation goes on 24/7.

Ray: What did Hal say to you regarding Brenae?

Erik: He thought she was really talented.

Ray: As talented as you?

Erik: I’m not comfortable with that question. Is there anything else? I thought you had something to show us.

Ray: Did Hal tell you anything about a video that Brenae made?

Erik: You mean the one she was making about parties?

Ray: A different one. A more intimate one.

Erik: Not sure what that means, but no.

Ray: You sure.

Erik: Yes.

Ray: Okay.

[a rustling sound, then Brenae’s voice-over]

Erik [after a minute]: Jesus. This is so wrong. This is just crap. This is just the kind of crap she would do. Jesus.

Ray: You had no knowledge of this?