“I like it.”
“Come here,” she said. She led him up the stairs, past the stained-glass windows of plantation life that had survived the name change of the college from “slavery is a positive good” Calhoun to Hopper. A few years back a black janitor had smashed one of them to bits.
Tripp’s face changed, eager mischief pulling at his mouth. “What’s up, Stern?” he said as they entered the reading room. It was empty.
She closed the door behind her and his grinned widened—like he actually thought she was about to make a move.
“How do you know Tara Hutchins?”
“What?”
“How do you know her? I’ve seen her phone logs,” she lied. “I know just how often you were in touch.”
He scowled and leaned on the back of a leather couch, folding his arms. The sulk didn’t suit him. It pushed his round features from boyish sweetness to angry infant. “You a cop now?”
She walked toward him and she saw him stiffen, tell himself not to back up. His world was all about deferral, moving in sideways patterns. You didn’t step to someone directly. You didn’t look them in the eye. You were cool. You were fine with it. You could take a joke.
“Don’t make me say I’m the law, Tripp. I’ll have trouble keeping a straight face.”
His eyes narrowed. “What is this about?”
“How stupid are you?” His mouth fell open. His lower lip looked wet. Had anyone ever spoken to Tripp Helmuth this way? “It’s about a dead girl. I want to know what she was to you.”
“I already talked to the police.”
“And now you’re talking to me. About a dead girl.”
“I don’t have to—”
She leaned in. “You know how this works, right? My job—the job of Lethe House—is to keep entitled little shits like you from making trouble for the administration.”
“Why are you being such a hard-ass? I thought we were friends.”
Because of all the beer pong we played and the summer we spent in Biarritz? Did he really not know the difference between friends and friendly?
“We are friends, Tripp. If I wasn’t your friend I’d have taken this to Dean Sandow already, but I don’t want hassle and I don’t want to make trouble for you or for Bones if I don’t have to.”
His big shoulders shrugged. “It was just a hookup.”
“Tara doesn’t seem like your type.”
“You don’t know my type.” Was he really trying to flirt his way out of this? She held his gaze and his eyes slid away. “She was fun,” he muttered.
For the first time, Alex had the sense he was being honest.
“I bet she was,” Alex said gently. “Always had a smile, always glad to see you.” That’s what dealing was about. Tripp probably didn’t understand that he was just a customer, that he was a pal as long as he had cash on hand.
“She was nice.” Did he care that she was dead? Was there something more haunted than a hangover in his eyes or did Alex just want to believe he gave a damn? “I swear all we ever did was fuck around and smoke a couple of bowls.”
“You ever meet at her place?”
He shook his head. “She always came to me.”
Of course figuring out her address couldn’t be that easy. “You ever see her with anyone from another society?”
Another shrug. “I don’t know. Look, Lance and T were dealers; they got the best weed I’ve ever had, like the lushest, greenest shit you’ve ever seen. But I didn’t keep track of who she hung out with.”
“I asked if you saw her with anyone.”
He lowered his head more. “Why are you being like this?”
“Hey,” she said softly. She squeezed his shoulder. “You know you’re not in trouble, right? You’re going to be fine.” She felt some of the tension ease out of him.
“You’re being so mean.”
She was torn between wanting to slap him or put him to bed with his favorite binky and a cup of warm milk.
“I’m just trying to get some answers, Tripp. You know how it is. Just trying to do my job.”
“I feel you, I feel you.” She doubted that, but he knew the script. Regular guy, Tripp Helmuth. Working hard or hardly working.
She gripped his shoulder more firmly. “But you need to understand this situation. A girl died. And these people she ran with? They aren’t your friends and you aren’t going to stay hard or not rat or any of that crap you’ve seen in movies, because this isn’t a movie, this is your life, and you have