“Did a fraternity throw the party?” Millie interjected.
“No,” Wilma murmured. “I attended a party at Clay Baker’s apartment that was not Greek related. I went with a bunch of girlfriends from my sorority and...I don’t know. I lost the night.” She looked up at the pictures of her children. “We goofed off all night, and the next thing I know, I wake up in the morning and I’m in Clay Baker’s bed.”
The scenario sounded familiar…except Millie had awakened to a pool of blood. “Do you think somebody drugged you?”
“Now? Yeah, I think I was probably drugged. At the time, I just didn’t know.” Wilma shook her head. “That time took place before all of the news reports about date rape drugs. Even though I studied nursing, I didn’t know a lot about illicit drugs.”
Millie thought back to her college days. “I can understand that.”
“There was a chance I drank too much, which had happened before. But I just didn’t remember that night, and I still don’t.” Wilma looked back out the window. “You know, I’m at peace now. I went through counseling. I’ve worked hard. I truly have accepted that I’ll never know what happened that night.”
“Do you think Clay drugged you?” Millie asked.
Wilma rubbed a smudge off the table holding a crystal lamp next to her elbow. “I have no idea. Now, you know, being older and being able to look back, I believe I drank some sort of drug. But I can’t even say Clay Baker drugged me. I have no idea.”
Millie glanced at her phone to read the report from Brigid. “Wilma, did you know a student by the name of Bobbi Jones?”
Wilma frowned. “Bobbi Jones? That doesn’t ring a bell. Did she attend the nursing program?”
Millie read more of the notes sent to her by Brigid. “No. Actually, she studied economics, and it looks like she filed a report against Clay two years after yours.”
“Oh,” Wilma said, her face clearing. “My roommate filed that report my senior year. So I would’ve been gone by the time this other woman filed hers.”
Millie cleared her throat. “Why did you retract the report?”
Wilma settled the pillow more comfortably on her leg and placed her arm down. “Because I didn’t remember anything. The campus police spoke with Clay and his two roommates. They all denied any wrongdoing. They said we’d done shots, which we may have done, and that I had stayed willingly. Their recollection was just as good, or frankly better, than mine.” She rubbed her left eye. “I didn’t have a case. I was about to graduate, and...I don’t know. I was young and the whole thing was embarrassing.”
“I understand.”
Wilma sighed. “Honestly, at the time, it was possible, at least in my mind, that I had done a bunch of shots and just couldn’t remember what happened. I partied quite a bit in those days.”
“Whatever happened was not your fault,” Millie said instantly.
Wilma smiled. “I realize that now.” She looked up. “I saw in the paper that Clay Baker was murdered and your friend Brigid confirmed it on the phone when she set up this meeting.”
“I didn’t kill him,” Millie said. At least, she didn’t think she had. She thought it was highly unlikely that if she had been drugged, she would be strong enough to stab anybody. And besides, there weren’t any marks on her hands or body. If she had stabbed Clay Baker with a knife, she would’ve surely cut herself at the same time. “I don’t know who killed him,” she said, “but I’m trying to find out.”
Wilma lifted her shoulder. “I can’t say I’m sorry he’s dead, even though I have no idea if he drugged me or not. The guy was a real boor. He acted like a rich big shot with a bunch of money but just lied.”
Millie glanced at her watch. “I appreciate your talking to me.” She stood, and Wilma did the same. “Real quick? You mentioned Clay Baker had a couple of roommates. Do you remember their names?”
Wilma pursed her lips. “Yeah. They were a couple of weird dudes. One guy’s name was Frank Clubberoni. He actually died two years after I graduated in a car accident on campus. It threw the campus into shock.”
Millie mentally crossed him off her list. “Any other roommates for Clay?”
“Just one; a slimy man.”
“Do you remember his name?”
Wilma tapped her foot. “His name was Rupert Skinner. Always gave me the creeps.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Scott watched Millie as she walked across the lawn and skirted the sparkly pink bike. She opened the door and climbed up into the SUV, bringing with her the familiar scent of magnolias. He breathed deep, his shoulders relaxing now that he could shield her if necessary.
She looked into the vacant rear seat. “Hey, how did you lose Wolfe?”
Scott ignited the engine. It would be impossible to actually lose the big man. “He called for an Uber. Brigid got hold of Clay Baker’s office manager, who agreed to speak with us, so he went in that direction.”
