from other students.
Brenna, we’ll miss you so much .
Brenna, we had so much fun hanging out with you. I don’t know what to do now .
Brenna, my heart is breaking. I’m waiting for you to walk in and say it isn’t true .
Brenna, you’re a bright angel in heaven right now .
Marta looked past the messages and unlocked the door. Parker followed her in and looked around. “Wow, this is a blast from the past.”
Marta closed the door and wiped her nose on a Kleenex wadded in her fist. “You went here?”
“Yeah. Graduated four years ago. Lived here the whole time.” There were pictures of Brenna everywhere. Her bed, lofted to five feet off the ground, was unmade, and beneath it sat two desks, side by side.
“My brother’s a homicide detective, probably one of the ones you spoke to last night. He’ll do his best to find the person responsible.”
“I hope so,” Marta said. “We hung with some of the same people. I’m scared now. It could have been anybody.”
Parker bent to study the picture on Brenna’s nightstand of her with her famous parents. “Is Brenna an only child?”
“No, she has a brother. That’s him, there.”
Marta pointed toward a framed photo. Brenna’s brother sat on some steps, elbows on his knees. He had shoulder-length brown hair and brooding eyes.
“Were they close?”
“Not particularly. They’re half-brother and sister. Didn’t grow up together.”
Parker noticed another framed print—Brenna’s boyfriend. “Chase, right? What’s his last name?”
“McElraney You should have seen him last night when he found out. It was awful. He was freaking out. He heard it on the news and put his fist through his wall. I went over there as soon as I heard. I thought he was about to kill himself.”
“Where does he live?”
“Over in Bruin Hills.”
Parker nodded. Those were the mid-level campus apartments. “Seen him this morning?”
“No. I hope he got some sleep.”
“Do you know if they had been getting along?”
“Pretty much. They had their ups and downs. But he’s a really nice guy, and he loves her a lot.” Marta sat down on Brenna’s desk chair. “I feel really guilty about this. She wouldn’t have gone to Colgate to study if I hadn’t been rehearsing my songs in here.”
Parker remembered the sounds that had reverberated through the dorm when she was here. A drummer next door who’d practiced night and day. A roommate who was a vocal performance major, who’d sung every waking moment. A saxophone player across the hall. At ten o’clock, they were all supposed to quit rehearsing so people could sleep. But most students didn’t have the luxury of waiting until ten o’clock to begin studying.
“I had to perform in vocal seminar today. So I’ve been rehearsing and rehearsing. I should have found another place to practice.” “Where was Chase?”
“He had a class last night. She said his roommate and his girlfriend were there, so Brenna had to find somewhere else.”
“What was she studying for?”
“Music Theory.”
“Tough class.” Parker remembered it well. It was the class that so many freshmen flunked. As musically oriented as she was, Parker had barely squeaked by. “I’d like to go see Chase. Could you tell me his apartment number?”
“I’ll take you there. I need to get out, and I was planning to go check on him.” She checked the clock. “My parents are on their way here from Indiana. They’re all freaked out, thinking somebody’s killing students. But they won’t be here for a while. Just let me brush my teeth.”
While she waited, Parker scanned the other side of the room, looking for anything Gibson might have missed. Beneath Marta’s loft bed was a futon. Parker looked beneath it and found some fallen popcorn and wadded paper that no one had retrieved. Glancing back at the bathroom, she picked up and unwadded the paper. It was nothing. Just some download instructions from a computer help screen. She tossed it
Brenna, we’ll miss you so much .
Brenna, we had so much fun hanging out with you. I don’t know what to do now .
Brenna, my heart is breaking. I’m waiting for you to walk in and say it isn’t true .
Brenna, you’re a bright angel in heaven right now .
Marta looked past the messages and unlocked the door. Parker followed her in and looked around. “Wow, this is a blast from the past.”
Marta closed the door and wiped her nose on a Kleenex wadded in her fist. “You went here?”
“Yeah. Graduated four years ago. Lived here the whole time.” There were pictures of Brenna everywhere. Her bed, lofted to five feet off the ground, was unmade, and beneath it sat two desks, side by side.
“My brother’s a homicide detective, probably one of the ones you spoke to last night. He’ll do his best to find the person responsible.”
“I hope so,” Marta said. “We hung with some of the same people. I’m scared now. It could have been anybody.”
Parker bent to study the picture on Brenna’s nightstand of her with her famous parents. “Is Brenna an only child?”
“No, she has a brother. That’s him, there.”
Marta pointed toward a framed photo. Brenna’s brother sat on some steps, elbows on his knees. He had shoulder-length brown hair and brooding eyes.
“Were they close?”
“Not particularly. They’re half-brother and sister. Didn’t grow up together.”
Parker noticed another framed print—Brenna’s boyfriend. “Chase, right? What’s his last name?”
“McElraney You should have seen him last night when he found out. It was awful. He was freaking out. He heard it on the news and put his fist through his wall. I went over there as soon as I heard. I thought he was about to kill himself.”
“Where does he live?”
“Over in Bruin Hills.”
Parker nodded. Those were the mid-level campus apartments. “Seen him this morning?”
“No. I hope he got some sleep.”
“Do you know if they had been getting along?”
“Pretty much. They had their ups and downs. But he’s a really nice guy, and he loves her a lot.” Marta sat down on Brenna’s desk chair. “I feel really guilty about this. She wouldn’t have gone to Colgate to study if I hadn’t been rehearsing my songs in here.”
Parker remembered the sounds that had reverberated through the dorm when she was here. A drummer next door who’d practiced night and day. A roommate who was a vocal performance major, who’d sung every waking moment. A saxophone player across the hall. At ten o’clock, they were all supposed to quit rehearsing so people could sleep. But most students didn’t have the luxury of waiting until ten o’clock to begin studying.
“I had to perform in vocal seminar today. So I’ve been rehearsing and rehearsing. I should have found another place to practice.” “Where was Chase?”
“He had a class last night. She said his roommate and his girlfriend were there, so Brenna had to find somewhere else.”
“What was she studying for?”
“Music Theory.”
“Tough class.” Parker remembered it well. It was the class that so many freshmen flunked. As musically oriented as she was, Parker had barely squeaked by. “I’d like to go see Chase. Could you tell me his apartment number?”
“I’ll take you there. I need to get out, and I was planning to go check on him.” She checked the clock. “My parents are on their way here from Indiana. They’re all freaked out, thinking somebody’s killing students. But they won’t be here for a while. Just let me brush my teeth.”
While she waited, Parker scanned the other side of the room, looking for anything Gibson might have missed. Beneath Marta’s loft bed was a futon. Parker looked beneath it and found some fallen popcorn and wadded paper that no one had retrieved. Glancing back at the bathroom, she picked up and unwadded the paper. It was nothing. Just some download instructions from a computer help screen. She tossed it
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