The Accomplice(62)
“Did you hear that?” Amber said.
“Yeah,” said Bobbi. “He’s getting dinner.”
“I guess murderers have to eat too,” Amber said.
“Do they?” Bobbi replied.
Owen wised up around that point. Okay, I see what’s happening. They think I killed her. What’s the best way to deal? Walk away.
Owen cut to his left, but Amber blocked his path. They reminded Owen of thugs he’d seen in black-and-white movies. It was utterly ridiculous.
“Where are you going?” Amber said.
“I just told you,” Owen said.
Owen scanned the quad, looking for someone he knew, someone who might help him. There was a scattering of students around, but no friendly faces. Everyone watched like it was a show.
Owen turned around. Food wasn’t worth this. He’d just go back to his dorm. This time, Bobbi blocked his path.
“I thought you were going to the dining hall?” she said.
“What do you want from me?” Owen said.
“What do we want?” Bobbi said, turning to Amber.
“A confession, for starters,” Amber said.
“Get the fuck away from me,” Owen said, as he walked back to the dorm.
“Or what?” said Amber, chasing after him. “Are you going to kill me too?”
* * *
—
After talking to Luna Grey, Oslo took a quick drive across town to the morgue to see the medical examiner.
“I have to wait for the drug panel,” Dr. Frank Logan said. “But blood alcohol was point-one-five.”
“On a Friday night, that’s half the school. How about semen? Evidence of sexual assault?” Oslo asked.
Frank shook his head. “We’ll have to wait for lab work, but I don’t think so. There was some urine.”
“What?”
“Probably hers.”
“Takes some time to get DNA, right?” said Detective Oslo.
“If there is DNA,” said Logan.
“You think he used a condom?” Oslo asked.
“I’m not sure there was any sexual engagement,” Logan said.
A woman in her mid-twenties with the pallor of someone who spent far too much time indoors entered the room. She smiled at the cop and waited for Logan to introduce her. He did not.
“Her tights were pulled down and you’re not sure there was any sexual component?” Oslo asked the ME.
Dr. Logan shrugged. He said he wasn’t comfortable offering any hypothesis until he had all the evidence. Oslo noticed the pale woman’s eyes darting back and forth between him and Logan. She had something on her mind. He wanted to hear it but was fairly certain that she wouldn’t undermine Logan with an answer, if he asked directly. Detective Oslo turned to the woman and introduced himself.
“Hi. I’m Detective Miles Oslo.”
“Janet Hahn, intern.”
“Nice to meet you, Janet,” Oslo said.
“Detective, I’ll be in touch as soon as I have something,” Logan put in.
“Right,” Oslo said, and turned to leave.
The detective loitered in the hall. Janet emerged from the morgue a few minutes later.
“Hi, Janet,” Oslo said.
“Detective.”
“Is there a place to get coffee around here?”
“Not good coffee,” Janet said.
“Show me,” Oslo said.
He followed Janet through the corridor to the break room. It was empty.
“When I asked Dr. Logan what might have happened, you looked like—I don’t know, like you knew something,” Oslo said. “This case is all over the place. I don’t want to be looking for a killer or a rapist if there isn’t one. And, if there is, I need to know now.”
Janet looked the detective up and down, the way men sometimes looked at her. She stopped herself and looked away. “Anyone ever tell you you look like Conan O’Brien?”
“Yep. All the time,” Oslo said.
“You gonna get some coffee?” Janet asked.
“No,” Oslo said. “You going to help me out?”
Janet looked at her shoes, debating.
“This is all off the record,” Oslo said. “No one will know.”
“I think she pulled down her tights herself,” Janet said. “She’d been drinking, probably had to pee. There was some urine on her clothes. Tree bark on her peacoat, like she was leaning against the tree for balance. Granted, it’s been raining, some things wash away, but there was no sign of sexual trauma or sexual activity, and there was only dirt under her nails. All her injuries appear to have been caused by the fall. That’s what it looks like. Logan thinks so too. He prefers having all the data before he shares information.”
“No signs of a struggle?” Oslo said.
“Not with man,” Janet said. “Nature, yes.”
* * *
—
“Don’t ever talk to the police without an attorney present,” Griff said to Luna as he drove her back to campus. “You should know better.”
“That’s why I left a message and told you where I was,” Luna said. “If they were trying to stitch me up, I would have been there for hours.”