“First,” Jen said, “let me say how sorry I am. Sorry that this awful thing had to happen and sorry for what you’ve had to go through.”
Tears welled in Sandy’s eyes. She reached to the bedside table for a tissue.
“I can’t forget it.” Her voice broke, and she swallowed hard. “It was horrible. They gave me sleeping pills last night, and I still dreamed about it. I kept seeing her laying there in that bloody bed…”
Her voice broke again, and she began sobbing. Jen waited till she had regained control.
“We need your help, Sandy. Maybe you can tell us something that will help us find Vicki’s killer.”
“Oh, God, I hope I can!” Sandy wiped her eyes. “I’m so afraid. I keep thinking of Vicki laying there, and then I think what if he saw me? What if he followed us, and he picked her last night and comes back for me?”
“Do you live alone?”
Sandy shook her head.
“I stay with my parents. They’re down at the cafeteria getting breakfast. They’ve been here all night.”
“Vicki and the others lived alone,” Jen said. “We think he watched them long enough to know that. But I still want you to be careful. Don’t go out at night alone if you can avoid it—that sort of thing.”
“Don’t worry. After what happened, my dad wouldn’t let me out even if I wanted to go.”
“We know you and Vicki went out last night,” Jen said. “I’d like you to tell me all you can about where you went, times, who you met, everything.”
For the next twenty minutes, Jen questioned Sandy about the previous night’s activities and Vicki’s life in general. Only one man had talked to them at The Factory. He’d asked Vicki to dance, but she had refused since they were getting ready to leave.
“Did either of you know him?”
“I’ve seen him in there before. He seems to be pretty good friends with the bartender.” Sandy’s expression grew worried. “Do you think he could be the one? I mean, he seemed so nice, and he was kind of cute, too.”
Where, Jen wondered, did the public get the common misconception that deranged killers all had deformed faces and drooling mouths and acted like something out of horror movie, when in actual fact they often turned out to be the boy next door.
According to Sandy, she’d heard the bartender with red hair call the man “Troy.” Jen made a note to ask Rick about his friend.
“Who had Vicki been dating?”
“No one special.” Sandy shrugged. “She’d had a few dates with a guy who works for the Health Department. City, not county. His name is Steve Cochran. I guess they dated about a month, but they stopped a few weeks ago. I know last week she had a date with a guy she used to go with in high school. His name is Ron Wilson.”
“Does Cochran or Wilson have a red Corvette?”
“Steve does. How’d you know?”
“Her ex mentioned having seen her in a red Corvette with a guy who had brown hair and a beard.”
“That sounds like Steve.”
“Why did they break up?”
“Sex. He wanted it, and she didn’t.”
“Would he have been upset about the breakup, do you think, or that she was going out with an old boyfriend?”
“I don’t know. Vicki told me their relationship wasn’t anything serious, but you never know about guys. They can get really weird about things like that.”
“What about her other activities?” Jen said. “I understand she belonged to the BodyFit Athletic Club. Did she go out with anyone she met there?”
“Now that you mention it, that’s where she met Steve. I’d forgotten about that.”
“How else did she spend her time?”
“That was about it…other than work.”
“What about weird phone calls or prowlers? Had she had any trouble with that sort of thing?”
“No, I’m sure of that.” Sandy shuddered. “Vicki would have told me. She was still nervous living alone.”
“How about her ex-husband? Had he given her any problems?”
“Not since she got rid of him.” Sandy snorted in disgust. “All that loser ever did was smoke dope and screw around. She said when she told him to get out, all he said was ‘okay’ and did she care if he took the recliner.”
“Well,” Jen said, standing, “You’ve been very patient with me, and I really appreciate it.”
“I just wish there was more that I could do.” Sandy eyes filled with tears. “She was my friend, and I loved her.”
Jen’s heart went out to the young woman. It was hard to lose someone at any time in your life, but to lose someone so young and in such a violent manner…on impulse, she stepped forward and hugged Sandy. Stepping back, she handed the girl her card.
“My cell number is on there, too,” she said. “If you think of anything—any time day or night—call me.”
“You really want to get this guy, don’t you?”
“In the worst way.”
“I’m glad. It makes me feel a little better.” Sandy smiled at Jen through her tears. Jen squeezed her hand and turned to go. “Detective Dillon?”
“Jen. Please.”
Sandy nodded. “Jen. Good luck. Please catch that monster. For Vicki. And for me.”
CHAPTER 17
Jen called Lonnie from the hospital and gave him the names she’d gotten from Sandy. She wanted to interview Cochran as soon as possible. Since he worked for the local health department, she knew Lonnie should be able to arrange it quietly. She didn’t want to cause a fellow city employee any more trouble at his work than necessary. A glance at her watch and the rumbling of her stomach told her it was time to head for her favorite diner.
After lunch, she found Lonnie had set up interviews with both Steve Cochran and Ron Wilson. Will had asked to sit in on them. By 1:30, Jen and Al were seated on one side of the conference room table, Will across from them, and Steve Cochran at the head of the table.
Cochran was, as Jamie would have said, a hunk. It
