Page 48 of What They'll Say About Us

Chapter Thirteen

When I got back to the apartment, something smelled delicious, and my stomach rumbled. "Are you cooking?" I asked Morgan as I saw her in the kitchen.

She laughed. "No. I walked down the street and picked up some Thai food for lunch."

"You think of everything." I moved to the kitchen counter where she was opening up one container after another. "I'm starving."

"Me, too. And while we eat, you can tell me about your meeting with Sloane. I thought you might be back earlier," she added.

"I went to see Liam after I spoke to Sloane, and I will fill you in on both. Let's do that while we eat."

After we both filled our plates, we took them to the dining room table and sat down. Morgan pushed aside her computer and notepad, which seemed to be filled with notes. There were also papers spread across the table that I hadn't seen before.

"I printed out the police reports Detective Barclay sent over to our email," Morgan added as she tidied up the space. "Your aunt had an old printer in the closet, and it worked."

"Did you find anything interesting?"

"It's more what I didn't find. Like you said, the interviews with friends and family were all very short. The detective seemed to ask everyone the same questions: the last time they spoke to Paige, their relationship, and where they were between the hours of nine p.m. and two a.m." Morgan paused to take a bite and glanced at her notepad. "Nate Gardiner had the most concrete alibi. He was registered at a hotel in Lake Geneva where he had gone to spend time with his brother. The detective didn't speak to the brother or anyone at that hotel as far as I can see. Apparently, the credit card charge at the hotel check-in was enough."

"Nate said Cabot seemed convinced from the beginning it was an accident—a drunk girl falling into the lake."

"That's what this whole investigation feels like. And because so many people didn't have verifiable alibis, it seems like he should have asked more questions. You, Liam, Sloane, and Carrie were all home alone at your individual locations."

"Carrie was, too, huh?"

"Yes. That's four young college students home alone on a Friday night."

"When you put it like that, it sounds bogus," I said. "But I really was home alone, and as far as I know, Liam was, too. I have no idea about Carrie, but Sloane also said she was in her apartment that night. What about Professor Hale? Where was he? Do you know?"

Morgan nodded. "Yes. The professor and his wife were at a birthday dinner with another couple in downtown Chicago. They got home around nine thirty and went to bed shortly thereafter. Paige's time of death was after midnight, so it's possible Hale could have left his wife asleep in bed and met with Paige at the lakefront. He could have been back before his wife even knew he was gone."

"Did Cabot ask Hale about his relationship with Paige?"

"No. He only noted that Professor Hale was distraught to learn that one of his drama students was dead, and that he had the highest regard for her. Other than his alibi, that was the extent of their discussion in the official report."

"She was more than just one of his students. She was the lead in his big spring production. He saw her every single day."

"What did you learn from Sloane?" Morgan asked. "In her interview, she did volunteer information suggesting Paige had started taking Adderall and was drinking a lot. That bolstered Detective Cabot's theory that Paige had been under the influence when she'd fallen in the lake."

"Sloane told me the same thing. Did she mention Professor Hale in her police interview?"

Morgan shook her head. "No."

"That's odd, because she said she told the detective that Hale was putting a lot of pressure on Paige because she was the star of the play and that she also wondered if there was more to their relationship than just teacher-student."

"None of that is mentioned in the file."

"If Detective Cabot left that out, then it seems like he was going out of his way to protect his chess partner."

"Did Sloane tell you anything more about Paige and Professor Hale?"

"She witnessed Hale and Paige having a fight in a car near their apartment building one night. It looked intimate and shocked her, but she never confronted Paige about it."

"Why not?"

"She said Paige was in her room when she went inside and said she didn't want to talk. Sloane never got the guts to ask her about it. She felt like Paige was a powder keg about to go off. She didn't want to make her angry, and she didn't really want to get involved. Did Carrie mention anything about Professor Hale to Detective Cabot?"

Morgan checked her notes. "Not that I saw in the file. But she did mention that you hated Paige and were probably the only one she knew who had a motive to kill Paige. You were her understudy. You got her part."