‘We understand you think Rachel went missing sometime Saturday night. Why did you wait until this morning to report it?’

Angela sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and brought her hands together, clasping and unclasping them. When she realized what she was doing, she slid them under her thighs. ‘I wasn’t really sure she was missing.’ She cleared her throat and bounced her gaze between Cord and Alyssa. ‘I was packing because we were supposed to be clearing out of the dorms for summer, so I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t even realize right away she hadn’t come back yet. It wasn’t until I had to move some of her things to get to mine that it hit me she wasn’t back and that I hadn’t seen anything on any of her social media sites.’ She pulled her hands from beneath her legs and twisted the ring encircling her pointer finger. ‘And then I was afraid of calling Rachel’s parents because I didn’t want to get her in trouble, you know?’

‘Get her in trouble how?’

‘Drinking. But, it’s not only that.’ Angela shifted in her seat. ‘Excuse me for saying this, but Rachel’s mom can be one cold bitch, and if she – Rachel – was just off on a bender, I didn’t want to get her into unnecessary trouble with her parents.’

As a mother to both an eighteen and fourteen-year-old, Alyssa wasn’t sure underage drinking should be considered ‘unnecessary trouble,’ but she kept that opinion to herself. ‘Did you try calling her?’

Angela nodded. ‘Yes, of course, but she didn’t respond to any of my texts, and when I called, it went straight to voicemail.’

‘You said you were supposed to be clearing out of the dorms for the summer. Is it possible Rachel simply went home?’

Angela laughed. ‘No way. She was dreading it as it was. Not a chance she would’ve gone any sooner than she had to.’

‘What are their names, Rachel’s parents?’ Cord asked.

Face tinged pink, Angela admitted, ‘I don’t know their first names. “Mr. and Mrs. Otis” were the only names I’d ever known them by. According to Rachel, her dad is some kind of specialized heart surgeon, and her mother is an interior decorator turned professional nuisance.’ She plucked absently at the dog hairs decorating her clothes. ‘I only met them twice, and they were, um, obviously out of my league of players, you know?’

‘How do you mean?’ Alyssa asked.

Angela waved her hand around the apartment. ‘This place could fit inside their house, like, twenty times.’

‘Tell us about the last time you saw Rachel. Did she seem nervous or distracted, excited to meet someone at the party, maybe?’

‘No, nothing out of the ordinary. I mean, she wasn’t even planning on going at first because she was just getting over a cold. But since it was the end-of-semester frat party, another friend convinced her to go.’

‘And what is that friend’s name?’

Another flush of color raced into Angela’s cheeks. ‘I think it was Anna, or something like that. I don’t really remember, and I never knew her last name. I’m sorry. I’m not much help, am I?’