quick run in the system showed that Thomas had no known occupation, though he received a pension from the U.S. Army. The desk sergeant was trying to dig a little deeper into the guy’s military records to see if there was anything else worth knowing. And just because he didn’t have a job on record didn’t mean he wasn’t working somewhere.
The college administration gave them only a few minutes of frustration before handing over Abby Ivers’s schedule and a copy of her photo ID. Will asked about Steve Thomas, confirmed that he was also a student, and sweet-talked the secretary into peeking at his schedule. Carina didn’t like to play loose with the rules-evidence could later be thrown out in court if they screwed up in the field-but if Thomas was on campus they could track him down.
It would be nearly noon, when Abby’s English lit class would end, so Will and Carina grabbed hot dogs at the student union and munched while watching the doors of the building.
“So Angie Vance was last seen Friday morning,” Will said.
“But her mother heard her come in late Friday night.”
“Though she didn’t actually see her.”
“Steve Thomas comes by the station to file a missing persons report on Saturday morning. Why would he do that?”
“To throw suspicion off himself?”
“That’s stupid.”
“Who said killers were smart?”
Carina frowned. “The murder was sadistic.”
“Maybe he raped her and she suffocated and he panicked, dumped her body.”
“Hmmm.” It was a thought. But why the elaborate setup? The glue? The garbage bags? The public beach? “What do you think about calling Dillon for an informal opinion?”
“Couldn’t hurt, if your brother has the time.”
“He always makes time for me. What’s family for if we can’t bug each other at all hours of the day and night?” She took another bite out of her hot dog, swallowed, and said, “I’d like to hear what Doctor Chen says. Friday night to Monday morning? That’s a long time. If we believe that she was home on Friday night, that’s a full forty- eight hours before she died. Where did he keep her in the meantime?”
“If it’s Steve Thomas, not in his apartment. The walls in complexes like that are paper-thin,” Will said.
“Maybe he glued her mouth shut to keep her from screaming.” The case was giving her the creeps. She much preferred a clear-cut domestic violence or gang shooting. Angie’s murder didn’t fit into anything she’d seen before, so she hoped Dillon had some insight. Her brother was a forensic psychiatrist, and this case would give his psychiatry degree a workout. She’d call him as soon as they were done here.
Carina watched students start pouring from the building. She hadn’t particularly liked college; she was too active, too antsy, and she ended up dropping out with only a year to go and joining the police academy.
But there were other reasons for that decision.
“Over there.” Will hit Carina on the arm, tossing the last third of his hot dog in the trash. Carina followed suit. “That looks like Abby.”
Abby Ivers was a cute, perky blonde in a tight T-shirt and low-waist jeans. Deep dimples sliced her cheeks, and her eye makeup was heavily applied.
“Abby?” She introduced herself and Will and flashed her badge. “Do you have a minute?” Carina motioned for her to follow them back to the bench where they’d been sitting.
“Sure,” she said, hugging her books to her chest and frowning. “I guess.”
When they were seated, Carina asked, “When was the last time you saw Angie Vance?”
Abby’s eyes grew wide. “Oh God, something happened,” she said all in one breath.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because she hasn’t returned any of my e-mails, and her IM is offline, and she didn’t journal all weekend. I TM’d her on Saturday night and it bounced back ’cause her cell wasn’t on.”
Abby sounded just like Carina’s sister Lucy.
“TM’d?” Will asked.
“Text messaged,” Carina translated.
“Right, so what happened? Did she get in an accident or something? Is she in the hospital? She’s okay, right?”
“I’m sorry, but she’s dead,” Carina said gently.
Abby’s tanned face noticeably paled. “Dead?” Her chin quivered. “Wh-what happened?”
Carina gave her the bare minimum story. “When was the last time you saw her?”
“Friday night.”
“Where?”
“The Sand Shack. On Camino del Oro, off the beach.” Abby’s eyes teared and Carina glanced at Will.
He asked in his soothing voice, “What time did you see her?”
“She left at twelve-thirty, I think. She works there, you know, but got off at ten. Then we just hung out. Jodi and I walked her to her car, but we went back because there was this cute guy…did her mom say she didn’t get home? Did she get carjacked?” Like many survivors, she was looking for answers. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any.
“We’re trying to establish when and where Angie was seen. Was anyone paying unusual attention to her? Giving her a hard time? Maybe she had a boyfriend she’d broken up with recently.”
Abby blushed and looked down. “Angie had a lot of boyfriends. I mean, they all loved her. But she was particular.”
“How so?”
Abby shrugged.
“Abby, if you have anything to tell us, now would be the time.”
“There’s nothing. Just…she broke up with a lot of guys because they weren’t
“The one?”
“Like, someone you want to spend the rest of your life with.” She diverted her eyes and sniffed. “Angie was such a romantic.”
Carina sensed that Abby wasn’t telling them something, but before she could push Will said, “What about Steve Thomas?”
“What about Steve?”
“Was he one of Angie’s ex-boyfriends?”
She nodded. “They dated back in November, I think. Maybe December, too.”
“But he wasn’t
“No, they weren’t even exclusive.”
“Abby.” Carina remained silent until the girl looked at her. “Is there something else you think might be important? Something about Angie that might help us find out what happened to her?”
“No, nothing,” she said too fast.
Before they could push her, a male voice called from across the courtyard. “Abby!”
Carina and Will turned simultaneously and watched a lean, athletically built man with broad shoulders run toward Abby. He was older than the average college student and barely gave them a glance before saying, “Abby, have you seen Angie at all this weekend?”
“Angie’s dead!” Abby grabbed his arm and held on tightly, her voice quivering. “Steve, these are the police. They’re talking to Angie’s friends.”
Steve?
His face tightened and he shook his head. “No, dammit!” He looked up to the sky and breathed deeply. “I knew she was playing with fire. I just-oh, Angie.” He closed his eyes. He pulled Abby into a hug and she clung on to him.
Carina cleared her throat and Steve let Abby go, but held her to his side. He glared at Will and Carina. “I went to the police on Saturday. I knew no one believed me. Is it true? Is Angie really dead?”
