Page 8 of What They'll Say About Us

"You don't know that Paige called me a few hours before she died. I didn't pick up the call. I didn't speak to her. But when they found her phone, my number was one of the last ones she had called. The police asked me what it was about. I said I assumed it was about the play we were in. But we hadn't connected."

"Was that really what you thought?" Cassidy challenged.

"I honestly didn't know. Paige and I hadn't been talking outside of rehearsal the last few weeks. It burned me to see her in the starring role. But it wasn't only that." I paused. "My boyfriend, Liam, worked at McGee's, which was a popular off-campus bar. We all spent a lot of time there, and one night, I saw Paige in the bar talking to Liam. But it felt different than conversations they'd had in the past. They were standing very close, and I had this feeling that something was going on between them, that she was trying to steal him from me, the way she'd stolen my part."

"Did you ask your boyfriend what was going on?" Morgan queried.

"No. We weren't getting along that well, either. I was stressed about everything, and I didn't want to get in another fight, so I didn't say anything. I pretended I hadn't seen her flirting with him. But that's partly why I didn't want to pick up her call. I thought she was going to tell me something about her and Liam. I've felt guilty about that decision ever since."

"You didn't know what was coming," Cassidy said. "No one knew."

"Except maybe the person who killed her," Morgan put in.

"If anyone did," I added. "It might have been an accident."

"Do you believe that?" Morgan asked. "Or do you just want to believe it?"

"I want to believe it. It would make me feel less guilty about not picking up her call. But the accident conclusion also came about because there was no sign of a struggle, an assault, or a robbery."

"So, why does her sister think it was murder?" Cassidy asked. "Is it just desperation to find someone to blame?"

"Maybe. But the circumstances of Paige's death were very mysterious. No one saw her that entire night. If she was drunk, where was she drinking? She wasn't seen at any bars. And why would she walk that path alone after midnight? It wasn't near her apartment. Nothing added up. But there was no evidence to take the investigation in a different direction. The other issue people had was how quickly the case was closed. I don't think it took more than two to three weeks, and everyone wondered about that."

"So, who do you think sent these flowers? And is that unanswered phone the secret they're referring to?" Morgan asked.

"I have no idea," I muttered.

"The note suggests that the sender knew you when you were in college," Morgan added.

I thought about Rachel working at the concierge desk. I thought about the twins who were also at the convention. Had they been in the keynote? Had they heard Alina's question? Had any of them seen the video and decided to poke at me? "I suppose it could be Rachel or one of the twins. I'm not sure why they'd do it, though. Rachel was a friend of mine, but she wasn't tied that closely to the theater, and I barely saw her because I was tied up in rehearsal. Ella was in the production, and Kerry was around because the two of them were always together. Maybe one of them thought they were being cute or provocative."

"Or it could have been any number of people who heard our podcast earlier," Cassidy said.

"That's true."

"I'm going to call the front desk," Morgan said. "See who delivered these flowers."

I nodded, then walked over to the couch and sat down.

Cassidy took the seat next to me. "We don't have to do this, Tessa. You look stressed, and I know you're having second thoughts. I understand your reluctance better now that I know about the unanswered phone call. You didn't just know Paige, you were part of the last day of her life."

"It's too late to back out."

"Then we do a cursory investigation, come to the same conclusion as the police and go back to New York."

"That wouldn't do much for our ratings."

"Who cares? This is your life, Tessa. And if you don't want to do this, we don't do it. We can find a way to get out of it."

"Part of me wants to do that, but another part thinks maybe this is the way I can get rid of my guilt. And if I can find out what happened to Paige, I can bring her family closure."

"If you're sure."

"You're being too nice to me," I told Cassidy. "You had to face your past when we went to Stonecross, and I was pretty callous about your concerns."

She smiled. "That's true. You were very pushy about all that. But in the long run, it was worth it. Maybe this challenge will be worth it for you, too."

Morgan sat down across from us. "I spoke to Justin at the bell desk. He took the floral delivery and handed it off to housekeeping, who said they would drop it off in the suite when they did turndowns. He didn't see who dropped the flowers off. He said it's not unusual for deliveries to end up on the desk. Sorry, Tessa. But whoever sent that message made a point of staying out of sight."