“I didn’t mean to make this a big deal,” she whispered. “I was just upset. I’m sorry that I said anything.” She bit her lip, and then seemed to make up her mind. “I wasn’t there.”

A lie, Jake thought.

“Can you tell me who was there?” Murray asked, not calling her on it. “If you can help us figure out what happened, or who organized the party, the police department would be very grateful. And I’m sure you’d like to get this over with and back to class.”

The possibility of ending the interview worked on her. “I heard June Jeffries and Brendan Sullivan talking about it at choir practice,” she said. “I don’t know if they were there,” she added. “But they were talking about it.”

Murray wrote the names down in his book. Then he started running through the list of the names of the kids that he had ticketed on the road for underage-drinking, to see if Olivia had heard anything about them being at a party. Olivia shook her head at each one, looking at the floor. Already she seemed to regret giving up the names that she had. The last name on Murray’s list was William O’Connor. At the mention of his name, Olivia looked up. “Will,” she started, and then stopped. “I don’t really know him,” she said.

A bell rang, the loud electronic buzz startling everyone gathered in the office. Olivia looked hopeful, as if she might be about to be dismissed.

Murray stood up and reached into his pocket. He pulled out two of his cards and handed one to Olivia and one to Ms. Grady. He thanked Olivia for coming forward and told her that she could call him anytime, and that she should tell her friend the same. “Nobody gets in trouble for coming forward to report a crime,” he assured her. Olivia slipped the card into her backpack and hightailed it out of the office.

“So that’s it?” Ms. Grady asked, surprised.

Murray shrugged. “At this point, it’s just a rumor. Hopefully Olivia will talk to her friend, and she’ll come forward. In the meantime, we’ll be speaking with other students to see if anyone knows anything. We’ll see what we turn up.” He consulted his notebook then turned to the principal. “Dr. Johnson, I’d like to have a word with June Jeffries and Brendan Sullivan. Do you know where we can find them?”

Dr. Johnson looked at Jake. “Are we on solid ground here? Legally? I mean, should I be alerting the parents?”

“I don’t see an issue,” Jake said. “Detective Murray here is simply seeking information about a possible crime. If it becomes necessary to take anyone into custody, we will of course contact the parents. But I don’t see any reason to get them involved at this stage.”