Chapter 8
He cleared his throat before speaking. "Yes, that was a terrible tragedy. Can you tell me what happened to her?”
"Somebody dumped her in the ocean," I said flatly, staring him down.
Joshua cringed.
"Can you tell me about your relationship with the deceased?"
He swallowed hard. "She was my student.”
"Is that all?”
He hesitated. "I'm not sure what you're suggesting."
"I'm suggesting that maybe there was a little something more than just a student-teacher relationship."
His eyes narrowed as they flicked between the two of us. "Gabby was a friend. We met over the summer semester. We shared a common interest in psychology. I didn't realize she was a student until later."
"Later, as in after you started sleeping with her?”
He balked. "I did not have a sexual relationship with that woman. That would be against school policy. I'm a happily married man, gentlemen.”
I shared a look with Jack and tried to contain my grin before I dropped the hammer. "Are you sure there wasn’t anything more between the two of you?”
"I'm not sure what you're getting at.”
"Gabby spent a lot of time in your office. There were also two occasions when you spent time together at the Seven Seas in the Pineapple Cabana, if I'm not mistaken."
His face stiffened, and he swallowed hard. "Where are you getting your information?”
"It would be a lot easier if you just told us the truth. When people lie to me, it makes me suspicious.”
"I'm not lying to you. Like I said, I'm a happily married man. My relationship with Gabby was a platonic one. She was a very bright girl. Great sense of humor. Fun to be around.”
"I wonder how your wife would feel about you spending so much time with one of your students?" I said.
Joshua’s face went pale, and sweat misted his brow. "I have nothing to hide from my wife."
I stifled a scoff. "Oh, I think you had something pretty big to hide from your wife.”
His brow wrinkled with confusion. "I'm not sure what you're talking about.”
"Did you know Gabby was pregnant?”
His eyes rounded. “Pregnant?”
"Of course you did. I'm guessing that's why she ended up in the ocean. That would destroy your marriage and kill your teaching career.”
Joshua's whole body went stiff.
"Don't play dumb with me,” I said. “You got her pregnant. She came to you and threatened to expose your relationship if you didn't step up."
He shook his head. "No. That's not true. If she was pregnant, it wasn’t by me.”
"According to her friends, you're the only person she was seeing.”
"You’ve been misinformed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an important meeting.”
"Where were you Friday night?”
Joshua gathered his things, then marched off stage.
I called after him, "I'll just leave my card right here.”
I put it on the podium, sure he would never get it.
He climbed the steps and exited the auditorium.
"Guess we should talk to his wife," Jack said with a grin.
“I'm sure she would love to hear about the whole thing.” I wasn't in the business of wrecking marriages, but Joshua had blatantly lied to us.
We left the auditorium and hustled across campus to the sorority. I thought I’d give it another shot, banging on the door again to see if Rachel had returned. Jack stayed in the car.
Another delightful beauty answered the door. “Can I help you?”
“Is Rachel back?” I didn’t flash my badge this time.
“Yeah, I think she’s here.”
“Could you get her for me?”
“Well, who are you?”
With a smile, I said, “I’m Tyson.”
She smiled back. “I’ll go get her.”
She closed the door, and I gave an optimistic look at Jack.
The cutie returned a moment later with a sad face. “I’m sorry. You just missed her.”
I played along with it. “That’s too bad.”
“I’ll let her know you stopped by.”
“Thank you.” Before she closed the door, I added, “Did you know Gabby?”
She gave me a curious look. “Gabby who?”
“Templeton. She was a potential new member.”
“Oh, yeah. Sucks she died.”
“What can you tell me about her?”
Her face scrunched. “I didn’t know her that well. Sorry.”
“Was there some kind of pledge function last Friday night?”
“I can’t talk about sorority functions to non-members.”
“Well, I’m totally open to joining.”
She laughed. “I don’t think you’d be a fit.”
“Probably right.” I gave her a card and whispered. “I know Rachel is here. I see you’ve all gotten the memo not to talk about Gabby. I’m just trying to find out what happened to her. I’d do the same thing if something happened to you.”
She bit her bottom lip.
“What’s your name?”
“Jane.”
“Jane, it’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” she said with a cautious smile.
“Look, I get why no one wants to talk to me. The sorority is probably engaged in illegal hazing,” I said, fishing. “You don’t want to get in trouble and lose your chapter, so everyone’s keeping their mouths shut. But let’s separate the hazing from the fact that someone’s dead.”
“We don’t do any hazing here,” Jane said. “We follow the rules by the book.”
“Well, if you want to talk, or if you come into new information, call me.”
“I will,” she assured before closing the door.
I spun around and walked back to the Porsche. I climbed inside, and Jack fired up the engine. We headed up to Oyster Avenue to grab something to eat. Jack was in the mood for Mexican.
We found a place to park and strolled the sidewalk to the eatery. The Conch Cantina was a relaxed little place that served fajitas, burritos, and fish tacos. They also made a hell of a margarita.
We split an order of beef fajitas, with refried beans, cheese, and guacamole. JD and I kicked around theories.
The sorority girls were definitely hiding something, but I figured they were worried about getting suspended. The most popular sorority on campus could disappear overnight if the university took action. I’m sure that had them all spooked.
Paris Delaney appeared on the flatscreen behind the bar with a breaking news update. The volume was down, but the ticker read something about a possible predator on campus. She was stoking fear for ratings.
About halfway through the meal, my phone buzzed with a call from an unknown number. I swiped the screen and held the device to my ear. "This is Deputy Wild."
"Deputy, my name is Brandon Simmons. I spoke with a really nice woman at the sheriff's office. She said you were working the Gabby Templeton case. She gave me your number.”
"How can I help you?”