Black Orchid Girls (Detective Amanda Steele)

“Wow. Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed it was someone I knew. A student, no less.”

“Please accept our condolences,” Amanda said.

“Yes, well…” He adjusted the lay of his jacket’s lapel.

“We understand that Chloe had a bright future ahead of her,” Trent interjected, paving a path for the associate dean to take.

“Absolutely. She was the star of her classes. It’s such a shame.”

Amanda imagined him tsking, though he didn’t actually do such a thing. She was starting to see him as very dry and one of those people who rarely got excited or upset about anything. Even his office didn’t have any personal touches. There was one framed photo in which Craig was standing next to a handsome woman, and while she was smiling, he appeared stiff, his smile bordering on a grimace.

“Was she a popular girl?” Trent asked.

“She seemed to be, yes. From what I saw anyway. Kids can be one thing in front of adults and another behind their backs, especially as they get older and assert their independence. And, really, by the time they get to us, they’re adults—at least legally. True maturity takes more time, I believe.”

Amanda smiled. “And some people never grow up.”

“Very true.” Not so much as a flicker of a smile.

“Do you know of anyone who Chloe didn’t get along with?” she asked.

“Do I…” He tapped his chin with his index finger. After a few seconds, he shook his head. “Enough to kill her? I don’t see anyone having that big of a grudge or vendetta against her.”

“Let us decide that,” Amanda said. “You’re obviously thinking of someone.”

He nodded. “Stephanie Piper. The two of them are awfully competitive.”

Piper was on Josh’s list. “Did you ever see the two girls get into a physical altercation?”

“No, I can’t say I did. But Stephanie really didn’t take kindly when Chloe scored higher than her on a recent exam. Word about that made it all the way back to me from Professor McMillan’s class. Advanced biology.”

Rideout had estimated the killer to be at least six feet tall, but Amanda wouldn’t dismiss the possibility of heeled shoes. The video from the park had certainly been too dark to discern whether the person dropped off was male or female. “We’ll want to speak with Stephanie Piper and Professor McMillan.”

“Certainly. I can have them paged to come to the office.” Craig looked at the clock on the wall. “The professor breaks from class at eleven. Can you wait until then to speak with him?”

Amanda glanced at the time. 8:25 AM. “Sure, but we’ll need to speak to a few students in addition to Stephanie. We’d actually like to start with Jayne Russell and Lauren Bennett, and then we also want to talk to Luke Hogan.” Considering Jayne and Lauren were Chloe’s roommates, it was best to start with them. It wouldn’t be nice if word got back to them about Chloe’s death from a third party. And that was assuming they hadn’t already heard. In the least, they must be curious about the police officer posted at the curb outside their townhouse.

Craig reached for the phone on his desk. “I’ll request they come to the front office.”

“Is there somewhere private we could speak with them?” Trent asked, beating Amanda to the same question.

“Certainly.” Craig picked up the receiver and directed the person on the other end to have Jayne and Lauren removed from class. A few moments later, he hung up. “I wish there was more I could do to help.”

Amanda was ready with her business card. “If you think of anyone who might have hurt Chloe or had anything against her after we leave, call me. Day or night.”

“Will do.” Craig tucked the card into the breast pocket of his shirt and stood. “Now, if you’d follow me.”

He took Amanda and Trent through a few corridors to a large conference room that he’d told them was used for overflow or special lectures the university booked periodically.

As they waited for the students, Amanda couldn’t help but think how they were about to upend more people’s lives. It was only the good cases—the wins—that pushed her through. Otherwise, it would be far too easy to roll over and give up.