"There was. That's what Drake hit Andrew with. Son of a bitch." Nicky's face crumpled and he rolled onto his side to present Neil with his back. "I need to call Erik. I haven't told him yet. I don't know where to start."

"We'll give you space," Neil said, and eased off the bed.

Nicky didn't answer, but Neil wasn't waiting. He went back down the hall to the kitchen and was only a little surprised that Kevin followed. Kevin seized the back of a table chair and stared into the distance. Neil waited to see if he'd say anything, then set about looking for their breakfast.

Betsy bought enough groceries for breakfast and lunch, nothing more. Either she was feeling optimistic or they really were going to be back on campus tonight. Neil hoped someone thought to call the registrar's office about their absence from class. Wymack must have called the other Foxes, too. Neil wondered if Wymack told them the entire story or if he just canceled practices for the day and promised an explanation for later. Matt knew they'd come down here to see Nicky's parents, which meant the girls knew. Likely they thought Andrew's violent streak had gotten the better of him in the reunion.

"We researched him," Kevin said at last, voice thick with some unknown emotion. It wasn't grief and wasn't quite guilt. "We looked before we offered him a spot on the line. We didn't see anything about this. No one knew."

"He didn't want anyone to," Neil said, unloading the breakfast groceries onto the counter. He was a passable cook at best, but luckily Betsy had gone for basic comfort food: biscuits, bacon, eggs, and two bulk-sized bags of cheese. Even Neil could handle that.

"But you knew."

"I knew Oakland PD was investigating," Neil said. "I didn't know why. But it doesn't make sense that Drake would come here. Higgins was here a month ago. Why wait so long, and why risk it? The police can track a cross-country plane ticket easy."

Kevin only shook his head, so Neil turned back to breakfast. He'd only finished a couple strips of bacon before a door banged open upstairs. Neil hurriedly moved the bacon off the pan and onto some paper towels. Thumping footsteps on the stairs were too quick and light to belong to any of the staff, but they weren't alone for long. It sounded like Andrew was bringing an entire crowd down with him.

"Kevin," Andrew called from out of sight.