Page 11 of State of Bliss

Gonzo nodded to him. “What’s Gordon’s last name?” he asked Kristy.

“Reilly.”

“Can you spell that for me?”

“I think it’s R-E-I-L-L-Y.”

Gonzo wrote that down. “Had she been seeing him for long?”

“Since the fall, but it was complicated.”

“How so?”

“He has a longtime girlfriend at home, and even though they agreed to see other people while they were in college—she goes to the University of Georgia—she’s been super clingy and stuff. He’s been saying he’s going to end it with her once and for all. Rachel told him to let her know when that happened, and she’s been keeping her distance from him in the last few weeks. She was upset about it.”

Gonzo took notes as she spoke. “What do you know about the girlfriend?”

“Not much except she’s extra, and he’s been looking for a way out of it. At least that’s what he told Rachel.”

“Thank you for the info,” Gonzo said.

“Do you think she was murdered?” Harley asked.

“We don’t know anything yet.”

She crossed her arms and looked madly vulnerable.

“Do you have contact info for her parents?” Gonzo asked.

“I have her mother’s number,” Harley said. “Our mothers insisted that we have each other’s digits.” She withdrew her phone and recited the number.

Gonzo wrote it down as a feeling of dread came over him. There was nothing worse than having to make that call to an unsuspecting parent. “What’s the mother’s first name?”

“Caroline.”

He handed her his notebook and pen. “Can you please provide your names and numbers, too?”

Both girls wrote down their info.

Harley passed the notebook back to him.

“Thank you for your help. We’ll be in touch.”

Chapter Three

Gonzo felt bad leaving the young women in such distress, but he had a job to do. If Rachel had been murdered, he would do everything he could to get justice for her. That was how the job was supposed to be done. People like Stahl gave them all a bad name when most of their department was out busting their ass on behalf of the citizens they served every day.

Before he left the lounge, Gonzo approached Kingston and the university cop. “I don’t want anything about this case released to anyone. This is our investigation. The school and its personnel are out of the loop now. Do I make myself clear?”

“Who will notify her parents?” Kingston asked, sounding miffed.

“We will. I want you to ask these kids to keep the news of Rachel’s death off the internet until we’re able to notify her family, which will happen in the next hour or so. If anything gets out about this before then, I’ll hold you personally responsible.”

“You can’t do that!” Kingston said. “These kids live on their phones.”

“Want to try me?”

Gonzo walked away, leaving the two of them staring after him in disbelief. He hoped he’d made his point. Not that he could do anything to Kingston if Rachel’s friends chose to post about her death, but hopefully he’d incentivized Kingston to get them to hold off. Speaking to Rachel’s parents was his top priority after they finished at the campus.

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