[5:20 PM EDT, Delta Pi House]
>>"Okay, Sandra you come with me," Sari stated. "Kate, Flynn, ask around and see if there are any friends of the dead girl around. Eithne, find me the person who found the body. If they won't come, just leave them and point them out to me later. Dismissed.">>
Through a partially open door, Kate caught a glimpse of a small group of girls who had gathered in the reception room off the entry hall and headed in that direction. The two sitting on the couch facing the door were crying - one of them trembling and shredding Kleenex one after another, and the other was hugging her knees to her chest and staring blankly out a window. The third of the group, seated in a chair off to the side, was watching them with an expression that betrayed no hint of sympathy or grief.
"Get a grip on yourselves," the third girl said to the other two as Kate was reaching to push the door open. She paused to hear what might be said in response.
"How can you just sit there, Megan," said the one with the Kleenex. "Erika’s dead! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?"
"Of course it does, but there’s nothing we can do about that, is there? Things happen. You deal with it, you get over it." She sighed and, with visible effort, softened her expression. "Look, Corrine, I liked Erika as much as anyone, but we need to be practical. With her gone…"
"I don’t want to talk about it!" The other girl jumped up off the couch as she spoke. "I’m going to call Dr. Burrell. He’ll know…" She stopped suddenly when she saw Kate standing in the doorway, and the others turned to see what she was looking at.
"Kate Calloway, FBI," Kate announced. "I’d like to ask you a few questions."
"This isn’t a good time," Megan said.
"I understand. I’m very sorry for your loss. This will only take a few minutes," Kate replied, smiling sympathetically and taking the recently vacated seat on the couch. "What are your names?"
"Megan Miller. And they’re Corrine Thompson and Tara Craig." She pointed to her two friends, then crossed her arms defensively.
"Were you here when the body was found?"
"We were in our rooms," Megan answered for all of them.
Kate noticed that Tara gave Megan a significant look. "Is that correct, Tara," she asked.
"Uh, yeah."
"Did you see or hear anything out of the ordinary?" Kate made a point of directing this question to Corinne. As she expected, Megan answered anyway, though Corrine managed a shake of the head.
"Nothing."
"I see. Tell me about Erika. What was she like? Did she have any enemies? Anyone who might want to harm her?"
This time Tara stepped forward before Megan could respond. "Erika was the sweetest person in the world. Everyone adored her."
Megan laughed loudly and without humor. "Not that it makes any difference under the circumstances. We all know what’s happening."
"Oh, and what’s that?"
"There’s a psychotic serial killer on the loose," she said dismissively. She might have been talking about the weather.
"I don’t suppose you have any ideas about who this psychotic killer might be?"
Megan shrugged. "That’s not my job."
"No, its not," Kate said evenly. "But anything you can tell me that would be of help might just prevent this kind of thing from happening again."
"Sorry. I don’t know anything."
Kate stood and pulled a card out of her pocket. "Here’s my number. If any of you think of anything, don’t hesitate to call," she said, though she wouldn’t be holding her breath in anticipation. Megan reached for the card, but she handed it to Tara instead, then headed for the door. "Just one more thing. Who’s Dr. Burrell?"
"My psychology professor," Tara said.
"Her academic advisor," Megan said at the same time.
"Both." Tara suddenly sounded nervous.
"Was Erika in his class as well?"
"No. She was going to take it next semester," Corrine spoke up for the first time. "Every one takes his class eventually. Its an easy ‘A’."
"What course does he teach?"
"Its called ‘Levels of Consciousness’," Corinne continued, ignoring Megan’s glare, concentrating instead on the Kleenex in her hands. "It’s a total joke. He’s into Eastern religion and meditation and all that. But its kind of fun. Erika would have gotten a few laughs out of it." With that, she started sobbing quietly, laid down on the couch and buried her face in the cushion.
Kate walked out of the room, making a mental note to try to talk to Tara and Corinne again when Megan wasn’t around and to find out more about Dr. Burrell. In the meantime, she headed out to look for someone who would prove more cooperative.
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