“Knock it off, Lucas,” Lizzy said. “You’re just feeling sorry for yourself. You’ve done a great job laying out Candace’s life and how the police handle missing persons on campus—and even how they changed some of their procedures after Candace disappeared. You are doing a public service, you know? Like a PSA or something, because you’re telling people how to report an incident, that it’s better to be embarrassed than have a friend or roommate hurt or worse. That’s common sense to me and you, but some people are dense.”

He appreciated her pep talk. “Maybe you’re right. Once people know her body was moved, they might start thinking more.”

“And aren’t you going to ask that friend of your department advisor for help?”

“Professor Clarkson wants me to. He says maybe I need to ask different kinds of questions to entice listeners to call in. And I was thinking, maybe having a conversation with an expert would be more engaging than just my talking, you know?”

“That’s a great idea,” Lizzy said with a wide smile.

Former US Marshal Regan Merritt, a graduate of NAU, was scheduled to be a guest lecturer the following afternoon. Lucas’s advisor was also the department chair. He offered to arrange a meeting for the three of them so Lucas could pitch his podcast, then ask Regan if he could interview her live on air. He could easily adapt his planned third episode to fit that format, and having an expert on with him when he provided his evidence that Candace’s body had been moved would give his statement more weight. He was just a forensics major; Merritt was a former US Marshal.

“See? Now you have a direction.” She reached out and squeezed his hand. “You got this, Lucas.”

He warmed at Lizzy’s touch, but she’d given no indication that she’d be receptive to being more than friends. They’d met when she was a freshman, he was a sophomore, in an advanced-math class he was required to take for his major. They’d been friends ever since. Back then, he’d been hung up on his high-school girlfriend who broke up with him right before they went off to different colleges. He was still kind of pining over his ex a year later. Maybe he had given off those unavailable vibes. Or maybe Lizzy just wasn’t attracted to him. He was an average guy. Smart, but not super smart like Lizzy. Whatever, he was grateful for her help and friendship.

“You ready to go?” he asked.

“You still have more fries.”

“Eat them,” he said.

She did and said, “Stop looking at that table.”

“What table?”

“The sorority table.”

“I’m not.”

“Are too.”

“The blonde keeps looking over here, and she looks angry,” he said.

“Maybe she has the hots for you, and you’re with another girl.”