Watching

“No,” Riley said. “I brushed him off.”

Hintz frowned with disapproval, apparently annoyed that any girl would have the poor judgment to reject a true hero like Harry Rampling. Riley was starting to feel a little exasperated. Why was her taste in guys any business of Hintz’s, anyway? What did it have to do with what had happened to Rhea?

Hintz asked, “Did you talk to anyone else?”

Riley gulped.

Yes, she had talked to someone else.

But was she going to get the guy in trouble by talking about him?

She said, “Um … a law student came over to my booth. He sat down with me and we talked for a while.”

“And then?” Hintz asked.

Riley shrugged.

“He said he had studying to do, and he left.”

Hintz was jotting down some notes.

“What was his name?” he asked.

Riley said, “Look, I don’t see why he’s important. He was just another guy at the Centaur’s Den. There’s no reason for you to think—”

“Just answer my question.”

Riley swallowed hard and said, “Ryan Paige.”

“Had you met him before?”

“No.”

“Do you know where he lives?”

“No.”

Riley was momentarily glad that Ryan had managed to keep himself so mysterious, without giving her so much as his address or phone number. She saw no reason why she should be answering any questions about him at all, and she sure didn’t want to get him into any trouble. It seemed almost kind of stupid that Hintz was pushing her about it. And Riley could tell by how Officer Frisbie rolled her eyes that she felt the same way.

Hintz tapped his pencil eraser against the table and asked, “Did you see Rhea Thorson with anybody in particular at the Centaur’s Den? Aside from the friends you went with, I mean?”

Riley was starting to feel more frustrated than nervous.

Didn’t Hintz understand anything she’d been saying?

“No,” she said. “Like I said, I went off by myself. I didn’t see Rhea at all after that.”

Hintz kept tapping his eraser, looking at his notes.

He asked, “Does the name Rory Burdon mean anything to you?”

Riley thought quickly.

Rory …

Yes, the first name was familiar, anyway.

She said, “Rhea seemed to be kind of interested in him, I guess. I saw her dancing with him a few other times at the Centaur’s Den.”

“But not tonight?”

Riley fought down a sigh. She wanted to say …

How many times do I have to tell you, I didn’t see Rhea at all after I got there?

Instead, she simply said, “No.”

She figured Rory must have been there tonight as well, and that the other girls had told Hintz they’d seen Rhea hanging on him.

“What do you know about him?” Hintz asked.

Riley paused. What little she did know seemed too trivial to mention. Rory was a tall, skinny, awkward guy with thick glasses, and all the girls except Riley had teased Rhea for being interested in him.

She said, “Not much, except he lives off campus somewhere.”

She realized that Hintz was just staring at her again, as if he expected her to say something more.

Does Hintz consider him a suspect? she wondered.

Riley was sure that the chief was way off base if he did suspect Rory. The guy had struck her as shy and gentle, not the least bit aggressive.

She was about to say so to Hintz, but the police chief glanced down at the papers in front of him and moved on with his questions.

“When did you leave the Centaur’s Den?” he asked.

Riley made the best guess she could about the time—it had been pretty late.

Then Hintz said, “Did you see any of your friends before you left?”

Riley remembered the girls staggering down the stairs, and how Trudy had been carrying the pitcher of beer when she’d asked …

“Hey, Riley! Who was the cute guy?”

Riley said, “Trudy and Heather and Gina and Cassie all came downstairs. They said Rhea had already gone. That was when I left.”

As Hintz jotted down notes, Riley’s head started to fill with questions of her own. She remembered asking where Rhea was, and Trudy had said …

“I dunno. Where is Rhea?”