“That was nice,” Decker said. “Even a little extravagant.”

“Yeah, it was. But we’re closer to Boston than to New York anyway, so I didn’t think much about it.”

“Did you meet him?”

“I did. He took me out to a Spanish place. It was really, really good and we had a good time. But he was downing the pitchers of sangria like it was water.”

“What did you think?”

“Well, I was kinda worried about him driving. But the meal lasted a long time and when we were done, he seemed sober enough.”

Sober enough. Great. Decker said, “Do you know why he was in Boston instead of New York?”

“I asked him that. He told me he had an audition at Boston Rep and didn’t want to tell me . . . that it was bad luck. And that made total sense. Lots of actors are very secretive about their auditions because the field is so competitive. And because he was drinking so much, I thought it probably didn’t go well. So I dropped it.”

“Does he have family in Boston?”

“No idea.”

“Friends?”

“Probably. The city is full of colleges.”

Decker said, “So what made you skeptical about his story?”

“Not exactly skeptical. More like . . .”

“Dubious?” McAdams tried. “Doubtful? Unsure? Uncertain? Hesitant? Cynical? Am I getting closer?”

She smiled. “I just think there was more to the story than an audition.”

“Angeline often went away for the weekends,” Decker said. “Do you think he could have been following her?”

“Possibly.”

“Because it happened before?”

“Not like a stalker . . . I’m not saying that. More like he was curious, I guess.” She rubbed her arms. “Can I go home now?”

“Yes, you can.” Decker looked at McAdams. “Take the spare squad car and drive her back, please.” He handed Lucy his card. “If you think of anything more that could help us, please call.”

“Sure.” She stood up and smiled at McAdams. “Where’d you go to college?”

“Harvard.”

“Thought so. You seem Crimson.” She was still smiling as she slipped on her coat. “Why are you working as a cop? Gonna write the ultimate screenplay or something?”

“Yeah.” McAdams held the door open for her. “Something.”

CHAPTER 12

LANCE HAD FALLEN asleep in the interview room. In the big city, dozing was usually a sign of psychopathology. But in this case, it was three in the morning, Lance had been partying, and he was overwhelmed with exhaustion. Decker still had a good six working hours left in him, but McAdams was drooping. Maybe a little strategy planning would wake him up. They were looking at Terry through a one-way mirror.

“Did Lucy say anything on the way back to her dorm?” Decker asked.

“About Terry? No.”

“Is she flirtatious?”

“Yep.”

“She’s cute.”

“Not my type.”

Decker shrugged. “Do you think she’s Terry’s type?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is she a rebound relationship from Angeline or do you think he really likes her?”

“He likes her enough to fuck her. College guys aren’t noted for discrimination.”

“Speaking of which, do you think Terry was still doing her?”

“Angeline?” Tyler nodded. “If she’d let him, sure.”

“Think that’s why he was in Boston? Meeting up with her for a tryst?”

“Makes more sense for him to just go to her apartment.”

“What if Angeline was living with a guy?”

“The freak? If he exists, he probably wasn’t there all the time. They could easily squeeze in a quickie.” McAdams shrugged. “Besides, Boston seems like a long way to go for a nostalgic fuck with the ex.”

“What do you think about Lucy’s stalking theory?”

“I think stalking makes more sense than traveling three hours for a booty call.”

“Why?”

“Because if all he wanted was sex, I’m sure he could have figured out how to do it closer to home.” He faced Decker. “If Angeline dumped him, he’d think about her for a while. Who did she throw me over for? Who’s the other dick? But eventually, he’d just let it go. That’s how college guys are.”

Decker said, “So let’s see if we can rule him out as a suspect. Angeline was murdered recently, so we need him to retrace his steps over the weekend. If we can rule him out, then we can concentrate on the other guy a.k.a. the freak.”

“Whatever you think, boss.” When Decker was silent, McAdams took out his iPad and said, “That came out as sarcastic. I didn’t mean it like that. I know this is serious stuff. And I know I haven’t a clue. I cede to your superior knowledge.”

“More like my experience. It’s nothing you can’t learn, Tyler. But you’ve got to want to learn it.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“That’s a good start.”

“THIS WEEKEND, THIS weekend . . .” Terry was having a hard time concentrating even with the double shot of caffeine. “Uh, starting on Friday?”

“Yes, tell me what you did on Friday.”

“I was in school.”

“How about Friday night?”

“I didn’t murder her. I loved her.”

“I believe you. This is just routine. Friday night, Lance.”

“Uh, Friday night . . .” He hit his head. “I had a game on Friday night. We won.”

“Congratulations. What did you do after the game?”

“Partied. Morse McKinley . . . that’s where most of the parties take place.” He cleared his throat. “The way it works is that Morse McKinley and Littleton are like one group versus Clarion, Duxbury, and Kneed Loft. I mean our swipe cards can get us into Morse McKinley’s gym facilities, but not into Duxbury. Most of the time, Morse McKinley students use Littleton facilities because we’re a smaller college.”

“A consortium within a consortium,” McAdams said.

“Yeah . . . I guess. We can still take classes at any of the colleges, but we’re allowed to take more classes at Morse McKinley than at the other three colleges. We still have to take a certain amount of classes at Littleton unless our major is a 5-C major, meaning you can take classes in your major across the colleges. Angeline wasn’t a 5-C, but she took a lot of classes at Duxbury because it’s the most prestigious of the colleges. She thought she was all that.”

Decker said, “Let’s return to Friday night after the game.”

“I told you I went to a party. There were like a zillion people who saw me.”

“And what did you do after the party?”

“Went back to my dorm room and fell asleep.”

“What time was that?”

“Around . . . four.”

“Did you go back alone or did you go back with friends?”

“I went back alone. I was pretty wasted and needed to sleep.”

“Did you swipe your card to get into your dorm?”

“Yeah, sure, of course.”

“So there would be an electronic record of it.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Check it out.”

“I’ll do that. What time did you wake up the next morning?”

“Late . . . twelve, twelve-thirty. I made it down to lunch . . . that must have been around one. I went back to my dorm and showered. We had an acting seminar at three until six. Afterward, I worked out for a couple of hours . . . then I had dinner at the dining hall . . .”

Decker and McAdams waited.

Terry rubbed his eyes. “Can I check with my phone?”

“Sure.”

Terry took out his phone and then said, “Ah . . . another party. This one was at Kneed Loft. I went with Lucy. We both got wasted, and then we went back to my room . . . she spent the night. We went to brunch in Greenbury on Sunday morning. Health and Hearth. I hate that place but she loves it.” He continued to consult his schedule. “I worked out . . . I had an appointment at the writing center at four.”

“Did you show up?”

“Yeah, of course. My tutor was Liz. We worked on my Native Americans of the Southwest paper. The Pueblo revolt of 1680 and the recapturing of the land by Spain under Diego de Vargas Zapata Lujan Ponce de Leon.” He grinned. “The mind is still working.”

“Good for you,” Decker said. “What did you do after that?”