Robbi nods.
“Bull? Do you remember seeing her as well?”
“I didn’t know who she was, but Robbi mentioned something to me after she left.”
“What did she say?”
Bull looks over at Robbi, who nods. Looking back at me, he says, “She said she was the bitch who was harassing Quinn.”
“What was your response to that?”
He looks at Robbi again. Same thing. She nods, and then he answers, “I asked her if she wanted me to….” He hesitates, looking at Robbi again. She nods. “I, uh, asked her if she wanted me to handle that.”
“Handle that?” Shit. Is this guy incriminating himself? “What did you mean by that?”
“You know. Talk to her.”
“Talk?”
“Yeah. Talk.” He grunts, his expression stormy. “I’d never hurt a girl.”
“Of course not, babe,” Robbi says, patting his hand. “We all know you’re a teddy bear under all that muscle.”
Bull smiles down at Robbi, but when he looks at me, he glares as he continues, “Robbi said no, and I never saw her after that night.”
“Robbi?” I look at her. “You never saw Kara after that initial sighting at Cy’s?”
“No.”
“You didn’t go to her apartment?”
“No. I wasn’t sure where she lived.” She shrugs.
“A simple search online would have given you that information.” I know because I tried it.
“I didn’t visit her. Why would I?”
Ignoring her question, I decide to change directions a little. “When did you contact Tayler about seeing Kara?”
“That night. I sent her a text.”
“Is that message still on your phone?”
Robbi nods.
“May I see the exchange?”
With a curse I can’t quite make out, Robbi reaches behind her, retrieving her phone. “I know I should make you get a warrant or something, but if this helps Tayler….”
I can’t address that comment until I’ve seen the messages.
Robbi clicks around on her phone until she finds what I need. She hands it to me, and I begin to read as Finch leans in to read over my shoulder.
I hate that.
Robbi: Yo. I just spotted that bitch Kara at Cy’s.
It looks as though Tayler replied right away.
Tayler: What the hell? Seriously?
Robbi: Seriously.
Tayler: Is she still there?
Robbi: No. She saw me and left.
Tayler: I thought her father promised he’d keep her out of Ames.
Robbi: No clue. Do you want me to do anything?
Tayler: No. I’ll take care of it.
Robbi: You sure?
Tayler: Positive. I’m just glad Quinn’s not here. Who knows what that psycho would do?
Robbi: Word.
Tayler: LOL. Word?
Robbi: Bringing back a classic.
Tayler: How’s Bull? <3
Robbi: Bull… Bull is a surprise.
Tayler: What does that mean? Are you talking sexually, because I don’t need to know. LOL
Robbi: It means Bull is nothing like I thought he was. And yes, sexually he’s got a BIG surprise.
Tayler. NO! TMI!
Robbi: LOL. Sorry. Not sorry.
Tayler: Well, thanks for letting me know. Not about Bull!!!
Robbi: Ha! No problem.
The only part of this exchange that sounds a bit dubious is when Tayler says, “I’ll take care of it.” Otherwise, there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Well, except I didn’t need to know about Bull and his….
Looking up at Robbi, I ask her if she’d send me a copy of this exchange. When she agrees, I hand back her phone, saying, “This may need to be taken into evidence.”
“Whatever,” she grumbles.
Turning back to Patsy and Susanna, I say, “Tell me more about your interaction with Kara while you were home.”
The two sisters look at each other, and then Patsy speaks. “We ran into her at the convenience store in our hometown.”
“When was that again?” I ask, jotting down that information.
“Like, um, March 18?” Susanna’s response sounds like more of a question. She looks at her sister. “Right?”
“Around there.” Patsy nods. “I remember it was dinnertime because we were picking up pizza.”
“Was Kara alone?” I ask.
“I think so.” Patsy looks at Susanna, who nods.
“Can you remember who spoke first?”
“I did,” says Susanna. “I said hello and asked her how she was doing.”
“What did she say?”
“She smiled.” Susanna shakes her head. “No. It was more than that. She was beaming.”
“She was.” Patsy nods. “But Kara could put on an act if needed.”
Shaking her head, Susanna disputes Patsy’s theory. “No. She was really happy. She said she had a lot going on and that she had big plans. I figured she meant going to the University of Iowa or something, but our pizza was ready then, so I didn’t get a chance to ask her.”
I look up after writing my notes. “Did she say anything else?”
The two women look at each other, then back at me. “I don’t remember,” Patsy answers.
With a nod, Susanna has something, “She said she’d see us around.”
“Did you think she meant she’d see you in Ames?” I ask.
Shrugging, Susanna shakes her head. “No. I thought she meant around town, you know, in Stuart.”
I turn to Kat and Lindsay. “Neither of you saw Kara in Ames prior to her death?”
Both women shake their heads.
I expected that response. Scanning the group again, I hope to get a little more. “Can you all think of people Kara spent time with when she was in Ames prior to or around the time she had issues with Quinn?”
The room is quiet until Kat raises her hand like we’re in class.
“Yes?” I acknowledge her.
“She hung out with that guy Quinn liked.” Leaning forward, she looks at the rest of the women in the room. “Right?”
“Yeah,” Lindsay responds. “Quinn was sort of upset about that.”
Kat nods. “She was.”
“What was his name?” I ask.
Kat throws out, “It was something like Bradley.” She turns to the group. “Right, guys?”
“I thought it was something like Braxton,” Robbi adds.
I sigh inwardly. “Well, do you think you could find out for sure and call me?”
They all nod in unison. Well, not Bull. He’s sitting next to Robbi as stiff as a board.
“Can you think of anyone else?”
Again, in unison, they all shake their heads. Even Bull joins in this time.
Shutting my notebook, I stand. “Robbi and Bull, you two may need to come down to the station to talk to the rest of the
