Vero glanced up at me in the rearview mirror as if trying to decide how much to say. We had agreed before coming that mentioning our trip to Theo’s house toanyone—even Cam—wouldn’t be wise. “Not exactly,” Vero said. “He was acting really suspicious, and then he sort of disappeared.”
“We’re beginning to think Theo might have been the person who took the money from Vero’s closet the night it went missing,” I explained, “but we don’t know how he would have gotten into the building so late at night. If we can figure that out, we might be able to cast doubt on the veracity of the charges against Vero. We need to know if Theo was involved with any of the other girls in KG. Did you ever notice him hanging out with anyone other than Vero? Maybe visiting someone else’s room?”
Zoey looked confused.
Cam listened, rapt, as Vero filled in the gaps. “Jackson saw Theo leave the frat house the night the money went missing. He drove off after the party with a girl.”
“But… that can’t be right. You saidyouspent the night in his room.” Zoey’s brows pulled down. They shot up suddenly as she finally understood. “Oh my god! Theo ditched you and left with someone else?Who?” Her expression was appalled, like she was ready to storm the house in defense of Vero’s honor.
Vero shook her head. “We don’t know. Jackson said it was too dark to see who it was, but we suspect she may be the same person who let him into our sorority house that night.”
“That could explain why there were no strange names on the entry log,” Zoey said thoughtfully.
Vero’s eyes caught mine in the mirror. “What entry log?” she asked Zoey.
“The police wanted copies of all the security logs from the night of the party. They asked Celeste for a list of every person who used their key card to get into the house that night. She made everyone in the building come to a mandatory house meeting. She asked if anyone had opened the door that night for someone who wasn’t a resident of KG. No one remembered giving anyone access who wasn’t supposed to be there.”
“No one remembered? Or no one was willing to fess up?” Vero asked.
“I don’t know.” Zoey stuffed her empty wrapper back into the bag and crumpled it up. “All I know is that Celeste made a copy of the key-card log and emailed it to the investigators. She said we should all be prepared to cooperate with the police if any of them came to talk to us about where we went or what we saw that night.”
“We need that list,” Vero said to me quietly.
“If that security log was submitted as evidence in the case, maybe your attorney can get you a copy of it,” I suggested.
“If my name wasn’t on those security logs—and it definitely wasn’t—then the prosecutor wouldn’t have had a reason to submit them as evidence. It wouldn’t do anything to support their case. And we don’t have time to wait for Don to wade through all the red tape to—”
“I can get it.” Cam sat forward in his seat. He’d been so quiet, I’d almost forgotten he was there. “If this Celeste lady emailed a copy of that log to the police, there’s probably a copy of it on her hard drive. Wouldn’t be hard to find.”
“I thought you didn’t want to be anyone’smanservant,” Vero said, parroting his words back at him. “I seem to recall somethingabout how you didn’t want to help because you fucking hate sorority girls and they’re just a bunch of spoiled, stuck-up, obnoxious—”
“I never said that!” Cam’s wide gray eyes darted quickly to Zoey. “Quit putting words in my mouth, Ruiz! What Isaidis that I’m aprofessional. Do you want the freaking security logs or not?”
They stared at each other over the back seat.
“What would you have to do to get them?” I asked. I didn’t like the idea of involving Cam any more than we already had, but if it was something he could handle remotely without getting caught, it would give Vero and me a huge advantage. We would have the list of everyone who entered the building that night, so at least we’d know where to start looking for Theo’s accomplice… and his probable murderer.
“I’d need access to the computer Celeste emailed it from.”
“That’s it?” As long as I’d known him, he’d never willingly offered his services without demanding payment in food or cash.
“That’s it.” He risked a shy glance at Zoey. If I didn’t know Cam better, I’d think he was trying to impress her. “I can be in and out in five minutes.”
Vero laughed. “You’re not gonna win her over with that.”
Cam’s face heated. “Laugh it up, Costco! Next time you ask me for a favor, I’ll drop your ass at the police station!”
“I can get you into Celeste’s office,” Zoey offered.
Cam and Vero both turned to look at her.
“Celeste is coming to the house for a meeting tomorrow,” Zoey said. “I know because I scheduled it for her. Her meeting is in the library, so her office will be empty. It’ll probably be unlocked. I can sneak you in, if that would help.”
Cam looked a little too eager to accept. “Heck yeah. What time should we come back?”
CHAPTER 21
The next morning, Vero told Javi she had her annual gynecological appointment. It proved to be as effective a repellent as the promise of an eyebrow wax, and Javi hadn’t batted an eye when we assured him we had Officer Oates’s permission to leave the house. Cam and Arnold had waited a few minutes after we left before departing on their own errand in the Eggplant. They met us in the parking lot of a shopping center, and we drove the rest of the way to the sorority house in my van. The giant purple hooptie was too conspicuous, even on a college campus, but a minivan would blend in easily in the staff-and-visitor lot.
