“You know,” Dani said carefully, “Regina refusing to give him whatever proof she had of his unusual inclinations could make Vance really desperate. Did he know that Regina was bulimic?”
“No!” Regina glared at Dani, clearly understanding what she was suggesting. “Regina would never have told him. She was too ashamed.”
“But if they dated, he could have figured it out for himself.”
“Regina stopped binging and purging after she was kicked out of the sorority. She always thought that was part of the reason they made her leave.” Bliss stood up. “She was only fasting and exercising when she and Vance were together.”
“When did she start binging again?” Dani asked, holding her breath.
“Within the last month.” Bliss paced in front of Dani. “You know, bulimia isn’t only about the fear of gaining weight. It’s feeling in control and soothing you in stressful situations. Something was worrying her. I think it was the notes she was receiving, but she wouldn’t show them to me. She always threw them away and refused to discuss them.” Bliss shrugged. “She almost seemed to feel guilty about something, which was bizarre. Regina never felt ashamed about anything.”
“But you knew she was binging again?” Dani looked up into Bliss’s eyes.
“Yeah.” Bliss rubbed her temples. “She always made me go buy the junk food.”
Well, heck! Dani was really hoping that Vance was Regina’s killer, but Bliss was shoving herself higher and higher onto the suspect list.
It was time to ask the hard question about the nude photo of Bliss that Regina had sent out, but Dani wasn’t sure how to bring it up. She’d decided the only way was just to say it when her luck ran out and the door banged open. Evidently, the speeches were over and the women who had been holding it for the length of the dinner were all now rushing toward relief.
When Bliss spotted the other team girlfriends and boosters’ wives pouring into the bathroom, she turned to Dani and said, “Thanks for staying with me, but I better get back. Vance is going to be furious at me for being in here so long. He hates it when I’m gone.” Then as she began to push her way through the crowd to leave, she asked, “Is it okay if I come by sometime and we can talk some more?”
“Definitely!” Dani shouted as Bliss quickly disappeared into the mob. And although she doubted the girl could hear her, she yelled, “Vance left the dining room right after you did.”
As Dani made her way to the bathroom exit, she silently repeated everything she’d learn from Bliss. She needed to get all the information down on paper before she forgot something important.
Digging her cell out of her pants pocket, she checked to see if there was any word from Spencer. It had vibrated a couple of times while she’d been occupied with Bliss, but she hadn’t wanted to interrupt the flow of their conversation to look at her phone.
There were two texts from Ivy. One that said desserts have been served and the second stated Tippi, Starr, and I are cleaning up. Spencer’s message was even shorter: following suspect.
Curious as to where Vance had headed, Dani replied: Where are you?
There was no immediate response, so she continued on to the kitchen.
The party was breaking up, and as she walked through the dining room, several alumni complimented the meal and asked for her contact information. Glad she kept a stack of business cards in the sleeve pocket of her chef coat, Dani happily chatted about the food as she handed them out. Word of mouth was always the best advertising for a small company.
Once she’d finished promoting her services as a personal chef and caterer, Dani was pleased to discover that her workers had done the dishes and were packing up. Dani gave the kitchen a final wipe down, then helped the girls stow the equipment.
The four of them pushed the loaded carts into the service elevator and when they reached the hallway at the ground floor, Dani dug her keys from her pocket. As she held the plastic fob, it dawned on her that Spencer had never told her where he parked her van.
Shit! He still hadn’t responded to her last text, so hoping he’d answer his phone, she tried calling. When it went directly to voicemail, she cursed herself for not asking where he’d parked. Another reason not to allow Spencer into her life—help from men never turned out to be the good thing she thought it would be at the time.
Explaining the problem to the girls, Dani left Ivy guarding their gear while she, Tippi, and Starr each took one of the Union’s three parking lots. As Dani walked down row after row, she berated herself for her stupidity.
The lots were well lighted and Dani could clearly see each bird dropping, blob of chewing gum, and piece of litter on the black asphalt. But the infrequent hum of a car passing on the street behind her emphasized the area’s isolation, and uneasiness quickened her steps.
Worried about the girls, Dani grabbed her phone out of her pocket and blew out a sigh of relief when a text from Tippi popped up on the screen. She had found the van and gave directions to its current location.
Chuckling, Dani knew she was getting old because she now considered finding her van in the parking lot as getting lucky for the night.
Because the girls had done such a great job at the football dinner and to compensate them for having to search for the van, Dani offered to treat them to ice cream at Izzy’s Ice Cream Factory, a Normalton institution.
Walking into the shop, Dani inhaled
