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Back The Sorority Murder
Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. Dedication
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. From the Missing Journal of Candace Swain
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. From the Missing Journal of Candace Swain
  18. Thirteen
  19. Fourteen
  20. Fifteen
  21. From the Missing Journal of Candace Swain
  22. Sixteen
  23. Seventeen
  24. Eighteen
  25. Nineteen
  26. Twenty
  27. Twenty-One
  28. From the Missing Journal of Candace Swain
  29. Twenty-Two
  30. Twenty-Three
  31. Twenty-Four
  32. Twenty-Five
  33. Twenty-Six
  34. Twenty-Seven
  35. Twenty-Eight
  36. Twenty-Nine
  37. Thirty
  38. Thirty-One
  39. Thirty-Two
  40. Thirty-Three
  41. Thirty-Four
  42. From the Missing Journal of Candace Swain
  43. Thirty-Five
  44. Thirty-Six
  45. Thirty-Seven
  46. Thirty-Eight
  47. From the Journal of Candace Swain
  48. Thirty-Nine
  49. Forty
  50. Forty-One
  51. Forty-Two
  52. Forty-Three
  53. Forty-Four
  54. Forty-Five
  55. Forty-Six
  56. Forty-Seven
  57. Letter Found in the Journal of Candace Swain
  58. Forty-Eight
  59. Acknowledgments
  60. Booklist
  61. Excerpt

“But you don’t have to take a dead woman’s word for it. Earlier today, I interviewed another woman who was present. She has asked to remain anonymous, and because she didn’t participate in the cover-up, I agreed.”

He motioned to Lizzy to start the clip they had from his interview with Alexa Castillo. “We all went to Rachel Wagner’s apartment the night of November 30. Me, Adele, Candace, Taylor, and Kim. We drank too much, and Taylor handed out joints. This was before pot was legal, but we all knew that was only a matter of time, and no one really cared.

“I don’t remember anything after we smoked. I remember that Candace didn’t, because she had asthma and didn’t want to smoke at all. Later, I learned that there was something in the pot, something dangerous. Adele ran away from us, fell, and cracked her head open. I don’t remember this, but Candace told me later. The next morning, I was told that Adele wasn’t at the party, that she’d gone home. It was repeated over and over, and eventually I believed it. But I had dreams about that night—nightmares—and never knew why.

“Three years later, Candace came to me. I had already graduated. She told me she was going to find Adele’s body and tell the police what happened. She felt guilty because Adele’s family didn’t know the truth, and she wanted to give them peace. That’s when she told me the whole truth. When she died, I was scared that I would be next, so I didn’t say anything. I’m sorry I kept quiet, but I truly feared not just for me, but for my family. I was six months pregnant.”

Lucas said, “What happened to Adele never sat right with Candace, but she allowed herself to be convinced that it was an accident that they could get in serious trouble for. Over three years, Candace changed her mind. She felt increasingly guilty about what happened. I’ve read Candace Swain’s journal and, with her family’s permission, I’m sharing this brief excerpt.”

He cleared his throat and read. “We always listen to what we want to hear and disregard the rest. I pushed aside my doubts, allowed my fears to rule me. My fear of losing friends, of getting in trouble, of betraying those closest to me. I let Rachel play on those fears. I let her manipulate me. And finally, I said, no more. I had to come forward. I had to do the right thing. Not because of me but because Adele’s family was suffering, and I could no longer live with my actions.”

Lucas continued. “Chrissy Swain spoke to me this morning.”