“She said ‘I need a favor’—in those words, ‘I need a favor.’ I asked what and she said that she needed a specific reference book for her thesis. But she had checked too many books out already. Could I check a book out for her? And since she had just done me a favor—mutual favors I’d like to think—anyway, I was in a good mood so I said sure. Because it wasn’t outrageous that she’d be working on her thesis. She worked a lot and she often worked in Rayfield.”

“Okay,” Decker said. “So then what did you do?”

“We went to the library and I checked out the book in the big wooden box.”

“Back it up for a minute,” Decker said. “Where were you when she asked you to do her a favor?”

“We were in my dorm room.”

“So she came to your dorm.”

“Yeah. I was surprised when she showed up. No phone call or text or e-mail. She just showed up.” He shook his head. “Shoulda known better.”

“So she went to your dorm room, you two had sex, and then you two went to Rayfield.”

“That about sums it up.”

“And you took your computer with you.”

“Always. I always have my phone, my pad, and my laptop. People steal things.”

“How about Angeline? What was she carrying with her?”

“I dunno.” He shrugged. “I didn’t pay attention.”

“If she was looking at the book for her thesis, she must have had her laptop, right?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Anything else?”

“I couldn’t tell you. I don’t even remember if she had her laptop.”

Decker paused. “She was an artist, right?”

“Yeah. A pretty good one, too.”

“Did she carry any materials with her?”

“Like an art box?”

“Or a portfolio case.”

“Yeah, she carried her portfolio case everywhere, never let it out of her sight. Like I said, she was a good artist, but it’s not like her stuff was worth anything.”

McAdams said, “Can I get back to the library for a moment? You said that while Angeline was looking at the book, you were playing with your laptop and she was sitting away from you.”

“Yeah.”

“Where was the reference librarian?”

“Beats me. I know I had to ring to get her when I wanted to turn in the book, so I guess she wasn’t at her desk the entire time.”

The men exchanged glances. McAdams said, “Do you have a piece of paper and a pencil?”

“Here.” Oliver tore off a sheet of paper and gave him a pen.

McAdams drew a map. “I was at the library this morning. As I recall, the reference area has six tables.” He quickly drew up a schematic and gave it to Terry. “Where were you sitting?”