Page 57 of State of the Union (First Family 3)

“What year?”

“Sophomore.”

“And you’ve been in class this afternoon?”

“Yes, since two.”

“Aren’t you on winter break?”

“We can take intensive classes during the break, and I’m taking two. One of them started today.” He glanced at his brother. “Why?”

“Ruling you out,” Wes said with a world-weariness he most likely hadn’t had before Sam and Freddie had shown up with soul-crushing news.

“Oh, okay. Yeah, I was there from two until about twenty minutes ago.”

“Is there someone who can verify that?”

“I have a friend who’s in the class I had this afternoon.”

Sam pushed the notebook across the table. “Write down his or her name and number for us.”

Brecken did as she asked and then returned the notebook to her.

“Wes said he can’t think of anyone who Audrey might’ve had a problem with in recent days or weeks. How about you?”

Brecken rubbed his palms on his jeans. “Wes would certainly know better than I would, but no, I haven’t heard or seen anything unusual recently.”

“When was the last time you saw Audrey?”

“Last Sunday,” Brecken said. “We watched football at their place, like we do most Sundays. Audrey always makes us snacks.” His voice caught as he seemed to realize that would never happen again. “When I came to college, she helped me set up my dorm room and went to the store to buy me stuff she thought I needed.” He wiped away a tear. “She was very sweet and made me feel at home here.”

Sam ached for the violent loss of such a wonderful young woman. “Talk to me about her family,” she said to Wes. “You said she’s the only child of a single mom, right?”

“Yes,” Wes said.

“Any family members—cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents—she was close to?”

He shook his head. “She always said it was just her and her mom. They were incredibly close. Talked every day, sometimes more than once. Audrey referred to her mom as her best girlfriend.”

This just got worse by the minute. “How about friends?”

“She has tons of them,” Wes said. “She makes friends easier than anyone I’ve ever met. She makes everyone feel important to her.”

“She’s a great listener,” Brecken said. “Whenever I had girl trouble, she was the one I went to for advice. She always knew what to do.”

Sam made notes about everything they told her. “Wes, would you sign this form to give us permission to review her texts and other messages on her phone?”

“Yes, of course.” He signed the form and pushed it back to her.

Sam wrote the code Wes had given her on the form and gave it to Freddie, who left to deliver it to Malone to get a warrant to back them up just in case they needed it before it went to Archie’s team in IT for examination. “Did she work?”

Wes nodded. “At a school for rich kids in Northeast called Whitmore. That job is why she volunteers with the immigrant kids. She said she wants to give something back to the kids who don’t have every advantage money can buy.”

“So, she didn’t like the job?”

“She hates it. Entitled kids, entitled parents, nonstop drama. She’s been looking for a new job, but it’s hard to move during the school year. I’ve been trying to get her to quit and go to school full time, but she doesn’t want me supporting her.” All the air left his lungs in one big exhale. “She should’ve let me take care of her.”

“Do you have somewhere you can stay tonight? We’d like to send crime scene investigators into your apartment tonight.”

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