Aside from discarded soda and beer cans, tipped-over trash buckets, and the general disarray of a place that was used to hosting parties, nothing looked any different than it had on Monday when they’d conducted interviews regarding Rachel’s disappearance. Not that she’d really expected a giant neon arrow with a ‘Rachel, Jersey, Katelyn This Way,’ but still…

‘Um, if you follow me, Griffin’s this way.’

Elizabeth led the way upstairs to the third room on the right where the booming bass from a stereo rattled the door and instantly grated on Alyssa’s nerves.

‘Do you need me for anything else? Because I need to get ready for work, if that’s okay.’

Alyssa pulled her phone out and tapped on Rachel’s image. ‘Before you go, have you seen this girl?’

Elizabeth tipped her head to the side as she studied the picture. Finally, she shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think so.’ She lifted her eyes to Alyssa and then to Cord. ‘Should I have seen her?’

Instead of answering, Alyssa thumbed over to images of Jersey and Katelyn. ‘What about these two?’

This time she pointed a manicured finger toward Jersey’s picture. ‘I’ve seen the “Missing” flyers posted all around campus and the restaurants in the area, but I haven’t seen the other one. I’m sorry.’ Worry had inched into her voice, and she darted a nervous glance at Griffin’s door.

Not that she expected a different response, but Alyssa decided to show her Meghan’s picture, too. ‘One more.’ She flipped her phone around and received the same answer. ‘Thanks, Elizabeth. That’s all for now.’ She waited until the girl disappeared back downstairs before nodding to Cord. After he moved into position, she rapped her knuckles on the bedroom door.

Almost immediately, the music cut off, and a second later, the door was jerked open. If Griffin Parker’s face paled any further, he would’ve been invisible. He didn’t even wait for Alyssa to tell him why they were there. He simply bounced into an explanation. ‘I swear to God I didn’t know it was Rachel’s phone, and I haven’t had it! I told that guy who called, the one who said he was her brother, that Calvin found it, and I just happened to answer it when I heard it ring in case it was the owner calling.’

By the time he was finished, sweat had popped out onto his forehead, and one trembling hand reached up to wipe the moisture away. ‘I swear,’ he said again, with more emphasis.

‘When did Calvin find it?’

Griffin’s eyes dilated until they were nothing more than black orbs with a little white around them. ‘I’m not sure. I assume he found it last night because that’s when he showed me. It was a nice phone, so he was planning on charging it and factory-resetting it.’

It didn’t escape Alyssa’s notice that Parker sure had no qualms about throwing his fraternity brother under the bus. ‘Where was the phone when he found it?’