Page 31 of The Lake of Lost Girls

“They found Tammy Estep.”

CHAPTER7

JESSICA

December 1998

THE CAMPUS WASin chaos.

For most, it had to do with the impending Christmas break.

For others, for the terrified and the gossips, it had everything to do with the fact that another girl had gone missing. And it was harder to say this one was a runaway.

Whispered rumors were everywhere. A very real fear had taken hold and no one could shake free from it.

People were beginning to suspect that something dangerous was lurking out there.

I didn’t feel this same level of panic, but a paranoiahadgripped me. I looked over my shoulder. I checked every deep shadow. I felt eyes on me, even when I was careful. I couldn’t escape the feeling I was being watched.

My life careened recklessly and I couldn’t stop myself from driving head first toward the very obvious brick wall.

I was having the time of my life, and this thread of darkness was bleeding into everything. I hated it.

People realized something might be wrong when Phoebe missed our weekly pledge meeting.

“Someone call her room,” Erica suggested with irritation. We had been waiting twenty minutes for her to show up.

“Why are we waiting on Phoebe anyway? We can start without her,” I proposed, looking at the other girls.

“Because we’re supposed to hold pledge elections, that’s why. We need all of us here,” Erica snapped.

We were meeting in the lounge of Westwood, since several of us lived there and it had the most comfortable couches. Phoebe lived in Marion, another women-only dorm on the other side of campus.

“I’ll call,” Daisy offered, picking up the receiver of the phone on the wall. She waited a few minutes before hanging up. “She’s not answering.”

“Where the hell could she be?” Erica demanded. “It’s not like she has a life.”

“I wouldn’t saythat…” Blair piped up, clearly wanting to share something she knew.

Tina was the first one to bite. “What do you mean?”

“So, a couple of weeks ago, I had to pick up some notes from a class I missed. Phoebe said I could copy hers. I didn’t tell her when I’d be by, but thought I’d pop over after hitting the gym,” Blair began. Everyone listened in rapt attention.

I felt bile churn in my stomach, wishing I could think of something to say to stop her. I didn’t want to hear what she was going to say.

“Guys, I don’t think we should be talking about her—” I tried to tell them, but Blair cut me off.

“I knocked on the door. It took forever for her to answer and when she did, she had clearly thrown her clothes on in a hurry. She was all flustered and practically shoved the notes in my hand. But before she could close the door I saw a man in her room.” Blair looked around at all of us, her eyes wide with excitement at sharing a juicy story.

“Who was it?” Daisy asked.

“I swear it was Dr. Daniels,” Blair announced. All the girls gasped in salacious glee and obvious shock at the revelation.

“No way.” Erica snorted.

“That’s pretty ballsy if it was him—to get a booty call in a freshman dorm in the middle of the day,” Tina piped up doubtfully.

“Maybe he gets off on the thrill of almost getting caught. Wouldn’t be the first dirtbag to think that way,” Blair argued.

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