Dead of Winter_Aspen Falls Novel Page 7

  Blaine and Ollie walked up to the second floor, wincing as the cold wind sliced into their exposed skin. The building seemed kind of quiet, which wasn’t surprising considering it was the middle of the day. A couple of students passed them in the hallway. They earned two curious looks but kept their mouths closed. The college would already be buzzing with what happened. People could easily guess why they were there.

  Rebecca’s apartment was third on the left. Ollie knocked just as Blaine’s phone buzzed with a text.

  It was from Nate.

  As soon as you’re done. Follow up with Riley’s best friend. He’s in the same apartment building. 4B.

  Blaine replied, then took a screenshot of the picture Nate had just sent him.

  Check with victim’s roommate if she knows Riley too.

  Blaine replied with a thumbs-up emoji, then glanced up as the door creaked open.

  A short Indian girl answered the door, and as soon as she saw them her dark eyes welled with tears.

  “So the rumors are true, then. Bex is dead.” Her voice hitched on the last word and Blaine’s chest constricted.

  “We’re so sorry.” Ollie’s voice was husky. “I’m Officer Moss. This is Officer Hartford. Do you mind if we come in and ask you a few questions?”

  She nodded and pulled the door open. Shuffling across the floor, she wrapped the oversized sweater around her waist and sank into an armchair in the corner.

  “I got the text a while ago and I just couldn’t go into class. I can’t believe it.” She lurched forward and snatched a tissue from the box, pressing it into her eyes as she let out a soft whimper. “I’ve been waiting for you guys to get here. What happened to her?”

  “We’re still trying to figure that out.”

  Blaine and Ollie shared a quick look and silently agreed that Ollie could take the lead. Blaine scanned the tidy apartment while Ollie took a seat on the couch adjacent to the crying girl.

  “It’s Prianka, right?” Ollie started gently. “You and Rebecca have been roommates since school started in the fall?”

  She sniffed and nodded.

  Ollie gave her a kind smile while slowly pulling out his notepad. “When was the last time you saw Rebecca?”

  She sniffed again and lowered the tissue. “On Friday. She rushed home after class to change and grab her stuff.”

  “Where was she going?” Blaine kept his voice soft and even as he glanced into the kitchen. Everything was neat and orderly. These girls obviously knew how to take care of themselves. The apartment smelled clean and fresh. There were textbooks on the table, piled up next to a laptop. The coffee mug sitting next to it was on a coaster, and from what he could tell, the place looked like it was cleaned regularly.

  “I didn’t ask her. She was in a really foul mood, and I knew better than to get up in her business.” Prianka’s upper lip curled. “But she was probably off to see that loser boyfriend of hers. They got together over the Christmas break and she’s been spending a lot of time with him. She stays weekends at his place, and I thought that’s where she was. When she didn’t show this morning, it was a little weird, but not too bad. I mean, she’s been skipping out more than usual and… well, she’s changed, you know?”

  “How has she changed?” Ollie asked.

  “I don’t know, just…less focused. Less motivated. She…um…” Prianka bit her lower lip and grimaced.

  “It’s okay, Prianka. You can tell us anything.”

  Her lips pursed to the side while her shoulder did a nervous little hitch. “I promised her I wouldn’t. And she told me she had it under control. She couldn’t afford to get kicked out of school! She said it was a party time only thing, but…”

  Prianka looked to the floor, balling up the tissue. She started to shred little pieces off it.

  “She was doing drugs, wasn’t she?” Ollie asked.

  Prianka nodded.

  “Do you know what kind?”

  She shook her head. “Not really. It’s not like we talked about it a lot. I just found a packet when I was cleaning one day. I knew it was drugs, but I didn’t know what kind or anything. Well, I mean, at first I thought it was medicine, and I asked her if she was sick. But she got really upset and told me to eff off. It was so unlike her. The change just happened so fast.”

  “What did the pills look like?”

  “They were, um, like a blue color with this little star symbol on them. It had a dot in the center of the star.”

  Ollie scribbled down his notes while Blaine studied the girl from the other side of the room. She looked to be telling the truth. He couldn’t sense any kind of lie.

  “Do you have any idea where she may have gotten these drugs?”

  “No.” Prianka frowned. “She wouldn’t say, but I’m guessing her boyfriend. She was such a different person before she met him.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “I don’t know for sure.” Prianka shrugged. “I haven’t even met him. Bex called him Billy, and he’s apparently a very private person.”

  Blaine’s eyebrows flickered with mild annoyance. That probably meant he was hiding something.

  “I don’t know what else to tell you. I mean, I don’t know if I’m allowed to let you look in her room or anything. I’m guessing you’ll need permission from her parents first. Oh God, do they know?”

  “Someone from the department is contacting them.”

  Prianka’s eyes welled with tears again.

  “Would you like us to call someone for you?” Blaine pulled out his phone and it reminded him to ask about Riley.

  “I’ve already called my family. My sister’s on her way. She’s going to stay with me for the week.”

  Ollie nodded. “Good.” He looked to Blaine.

  Blaine stepped forward as Ollie rose from his seat. “Before we go…any chance you know this girl?”

  Blaine spun the phone to face her and she peered at the screen. Her nose wrinkled and she shook her head. “No. Sorry. Does she go to this school? Is she dead too?”

  “No.” Blaine smiled and slipped the phone back into his jacket pocket. “She’s going to be fine. But she does go to this school, and we just want to make sure that nothing bad happens to her.”

  Prianka stood, wrapping her arms around her waist again. “I’m probably the wrong person to talk to. I’m a study-geek who avoids parties at all costs. I would have told you to talk to Bex, but…” She bit the edge of her lip, her nostrils flaring as she fought more tears.

  “You’ve been really helpful.” Blaine lightly patted her shoulder.

  She seemed grateful for the assurance and walked them to the door.

  “We’ll most likely be in touch again.”

  “Okay.” She nodded. “I’m here to help in any way I can.”

  Ollie held out his card to her. “Call us any time.”

  “Thanks.”

  The door clicked shut behind them and they heard the two bolts slide into place.

  “She’s scared,” Ollie whispered.

  “Her roommate just died. Of course she is.” Blaine’s expression buckled as they walked to the stairwell. “She probably feels guilty too, because she never told anyone about those blue pills.”

  “It’s a good lead, though. Do you think it’ll be the same stuff from the last three incidents?”

  “I’m not sure. Blue pills seem like a new thing,” Blaine muttered darkly. Dealers sucked.

  “You want to call it in?”

  “Yeah, but Nate wants me to check in with someone else in this building before we go.”

  “Okay.” Ollie pulled out his phone, passing on the details to Nate while Blaine took the stairs two at a time.

  They found apartment 4B with relative ease, but no one was home.

  “Dammit,” Blaine muttered, scanning the corridor for any signs of life.

  “We’ll just have to come back.”

  “Yeah.” Blaine nodded. “What’d Nate say?”

  “He’s calling Prianka to
let her know he’ll be searching the apartment. He’s asked us to head back to the crime scene and help Higgs and Matt finish up with the witness accounts.”

  “They must be freezing their balls off out there.” Blaine chuckled as they loped down the stairs.

  Ollie laughed. “The college has provided a free classroom and they’re conducting interviews in there, so the only freezing balls right now will be the on-scene techs.”

  Blaine thought of poor Kelly Pierce, out there in the cold, taking photos and samples and analyzing the scene thoroughly before daring to disturb it.

  She was a tough chick, but he didn’t envy her the day she was no doubt having. Aspen Falls winters were mean beasts.

  He just hoped the icy temperatures and snowfall hadn’t hidden any key evidence that would help them solve this case.

  12

  Tuesday, February 20th

  9:20pm

  Music played from Rosie’s phone on the counter. She’d had to buy a new phone and charger because she left most of her stuff at Damien’s place. It was the cheapest phone in the store, and she’d had to hook up to Lulu’s Wi-Fi in order to get the Internet, but Louanne hadn’t minded. Rosie missed her iPhone with all its features and the awesome mobile plan she had, but for now, prepay would have to do. Damien had probably burned her phone or thrown it away. He’d probably destroyed all her stuff. The look of rage on his face when he’d glared at her from the window would be permanently etched into her memory.

  Rosie shuddered and tried to shake him from her mind.

  She was safe for the moment.

  He didn’t know where she was, and hopefully it would take him a long time to figure it out.

  Thanks to Louanne’s abundant generosity and a small loan, Rosie was able to replace her charger and buy a decent winter jacket, plus a couple of cheap outfits from the local thrift store. It was pretty humiliating, but Louanne said humbling was a much better word to describe it.

  Rosie snorted and shook her head, wiping the wet rag over the dusty cabinet.

  She’d finished work a few hours earlier and was determined to get the upstairs apartment clean. She’d never been more motivated. For the first time since leaving home, she had her own little space. And it wasn’t a shared college dorm room or a dirty apartment with too many people living in it.

  It was a one-bedroom apartment that was all hers.

  The night she’d moved in, Louanne had helped her get the bedroom clean enough to sleep in. The apartment was basically a storage space for all the stuff Louanne couldn’t throw out, but she had consented to let Rosie organize it into piles.

  Rosie was hoping to persuade her to throw some of the junk away; otherwise, she’d be living in a cluttered mess.

  “Look at you, picturing the future,” Rosie teased herself. “You’re actually imagining what life would be like back in Aspen Falls, aren’t you?”

  Her question was met with silence, and she laughed.

  “Great, now you’re talking to yourself. Not only are you crazy, but you’re also insane.”

  Aspen Falls couldn’t be her future. Not when her goal had always been to leave her hometown in the dust. She just needed to work hard so she could pay back Louanne and then save enough money to get as far from Damien as she could.

  She’d been working at Lulu’s Coffee Shop for four days. Her first paycheck was due at the end of the week, and it couldn’t come fast enough. She’d already started thinking about what she’d do with the money.

  Wiping her forehead with the back of her hand, she took the dusty cloth into the kitchenette and rinsed it under the tap. It wasn’t that late, but tiredness was tugging at Rosie. She hadn’t stopped for dinner and knew if she didn’t soon, she’d start to feel sick.

  Turning for the fridge, she prepared herself for what she knew would be inside. Basically nothing. She’d spent most of Louanne’s loan on clothes, which left precious little for food.

  “Looks like peanut butter sandwiches are on the menu again. Oh joy.” Rosie closed the fridge and went to the pantry, quickly pulling out the ingredients she needed.

  Rubbing her hands together, she breathed on them to warm them up.

  The heat in the upstairs apartment worked fine, but it was pretty obvious that it rose straight to the ceiling and then disappeared. There must not have been any insulation to speak of. The small living area stayed relatively warm, but the kitchen usually felt like an icebox unless the oven was turned on.

  Quickly making some dinner, she grabbed her plate and plunked onto the lumpy two-seater that faced the wall. She guessed a television used to sit in the space between the windows. It was surprising how little Rosie missed the screen. It seemed like it was constantly on at Damien’s place, but it had always just been background noise to Rosie.

  She never realized how much nicer music was to listen to. And she wasn’t bored. Louanne gave her the paper every day after work, and she’d made a habit of catching up on news before she went to bed.

  She realized then that she hadn’t had a chance to look at the Aspen Falls Daily yet, and she rose from the couch to find it. She could read while she was eating.

  From the way the whispers were circulating in the cafe, Rosie figured there was something juicy in there. She hadn’t had a chance to ask anyone, because Mandy had been out sick and Louanne had put Rosie in the kitchen. She’d been rushed off her feet stirring soup and pulling bread rolls out of the oven, stuffing wraps full of yummy ingredients and arranging them on the plate—basically doing whatever Julio told her to.

  It’d been her favorite day at work so far. She hadn’t cooked or prepared much food since leaving her parents’ house. Takeout had always been easier.

  But she’d loved being in the kitchen, surrounded by delicious smells and listening to Julio talk about soup bases and the best spices to make the flavors zing. He’d taught her how to plate the food to make it look more attractive. He’d even let her help him make the mayo during one of the quiet patches.

  Louanne prided herself on providing as much homemade food as she could. That was one of the reasons why hers was the most popular cafe in town. Making things pretty on the plate had been fun, and Rosie had loved the bustle in the kitchen, that sense of purpose and busyness that made the day fly.

  “There you are.” Snatching the paper off the floor by the front door, she flicked it open and walked to the couch.

  She’d only just sat down when her brain registered the headline.

  College Girl Found Dead In The Snow.

  Police concerned by two consecutive overdoses in one weekend. Have contaminated drugs hit the streets of Aspen Falls?

  “Overdoses?” Rosie quickly skimmed the article, her heart lurching into her throat as she turned to the next section to finish the article. She spotted the picture of little blue pills.

  Her eyes bulged as she read the tagline beneath the image.

  Police suspect ecstasy is the drug that killed Rebecca Newberry. They are warning against anyone taking any kind of pills at parties, clubs or bars.

  “Pills,” she whispered, her breath evaporating as she relived holding the large Ziploc bag of them. They were blue, with a little five-point star stamped into them. They had been the drugs Damien needed to sell to pay Chester’s boss. The drugs that the detective had been searching for when he hunted through the apartment.

  She swallowed, her mind numb with terror as she turned back to the front page and studied the image of the beautiful girl. She looked so young, so fresh, so full of hope…just the way Rosie had been.

  And now she was dead.

  Dumped in the snow after overdosing on drugs.

  “Shit!”

  Had those little blue pills made it all the way to Aspen Falls? Did that mean Chester or Damien or the guy who supplied the drugs in the first place were connected to this little town?

  It wasn’t safe.

  Rosie dumped the paper, her body vibrating as she stood from the couch and ran to her room. Snatching her
new jacket off the bed, she pulled it on, followed by her beanie and gloves.

  She had to get out. She had to leave before they found her.

  Checking that she had everything this time, she grabbed the last of the cash Louanne had loaned her and winced.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered, hoping the kind woman would somehow know just how grateful Rosie was for everything she’d done. Would Louanne understand that this was probably the first time Rosie didn’t want to run away?

  But she had to.

  Rosie felt bad for leaving without a goodbye, but panic was driving her forward. Chester could be there any moment, watching, waiting to pounce. He no doubt wanted to pay her back for making him bleed. And then there was Damien, desperate as he tried to figure out what she’d done with those damn blue pills and how the hell he’d be able to pay back the people he owed.

  He wouldn’t just give up on looking for her.

  He had debts to pay. People to answer to.

  She’d screwed up everything, and he probably wouldn’t rest until he found out why.

  13

  The week before

  Friday, February 16th

  10:35am

  Rosie’s head felt like mud. She couldn’t open her eyes, but an incessant ringing was splintering her sleep.

  She groaned and rolled over, slapping the clock on her nightstand.

  It didn’t shut up the damn noise, so she peeked one eye open and noticed the time.

  Shit!

  She lurched up, her head spinning as she scrambled to pick up the phone.

  Eleanor from work.

  Double shit!

  Clearing her parched throat, she swiped the screen and said, “Hey, Elly.”

  “Are you sick again? You know, I’d really appreciate it if you’d actually call in and let me know.”