The girl appeared genuinely distraught, thought Pryce. If this was a demonstration of her acting skills, then Jennifer Lawrence had better watch out, because this kid clearly had Oscar glory in her future. He waited for her to compose herself, then leaned forward in his chair. “We want to catch the guy who did this to Amy,” he said gently. “But we need your help, Kasey.”

She looked up at Pryce and nodded. “Okay.”

“When did Amy first mention to you that she had a date?”

“Um, I’m not sure. The day before, maybe.”

“How did she know the guy?”

“I think they met online.”

“You mean a dating website?”

“Yeah. Or maybe an app. Everybody on campus uses them to hook up.”

Pryce thought of Tommy Getz’s description of Amy Ong’s companion at the Dreamz Motel. “Was he a student here at Cal State or someone older?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Did she tell you his name? Where he’s from?”

Kasey shook her head.

“These apps usually have profile pictures, right? Did Amy show you a photo of him?”

“No.”

“What about the date itself? Did she say where she was meeting him? Where he was taking her? The name of a bar or restaurant?”

Kasey looked away, chewed on her fingernails. “I don’t think she told me where she was going.”

She was a terrible liar. Maybe Jennifer Lawrence had nothing to worry about after all.

“You know, I have a daughter myself,” Pryce said. “She’s a few years younger than you. Her name is Dionne, and she has a best friend called Shelley. They’re inseparable.”

Kasey stared at him, waiting for him to get to the point.

Pryce went on. “And what I know about teenage girls is they like to share stuff with their best friends. Dionne can spend hours chatting to Shelley about everything and anything. Boys, shopping, school, television shows, their latest celebrity crushes. You name it, I’ve overheard them talking about it. A lot of it involves Justin Bieber.”

“So?”

“So my point is, Kasey, best friends tell each other things.”

“I already told those other cops everything I know.”

“I don’t think you did.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Amy told you who she was meeting on Saturday night, didn’t she?”

She looked away again. “No.”

“Wake up, Kasey!” Pryce yelled, causing both Kasey and Medina to jump. “We’re trying to catch the guy who killed your best friend. You seriously expect me to believe Amy had a date and didn’t tell you a single detail about it?”

She pursed her lips. “I don’t know anything.”

“You’re lying to me, and I want to know why. Who are you trying to protect? Amy? Him? Yourself?”

Kasey’s head whipped around to face him. “I haven’t done anything wrong,” she snapped.

“What about Amy? Did she do something wrong?”

“No.”