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“Sorry about that,” said Matthew.
“No, no. It’s not a problem. I mean, this is important, right? It’s just I’m not really...” She let her voice trail away and gestured to her towel-wrapped hair. “Can you give me a minute?”
“Of course.”
Olivia shut the door. She didn’t take long. A couple of minutes later she was back, fully dressed, with socks and sneakers on her previously bare feet, and her hair tied back in a messy bun. The ends of her hair had pink streaks. She was carrying her jacket in one hand.
“Sorry. My roommate’s still in bed. Is it okay if we talk outside?”
“How about we buy you a coffee?” Matthew said.
She took them to a dining hall in the basement of the dorm. There were some students already there—early risers on their way back from the gym or a run, still in their workout clothes—but there were plenty of free tables. Matthew paid for coffee and muffins and they carried them to a table in the corner.
“Thanks,” said Olivia. Now that they were sitting and facing each other, she seemed less sure of herself. She picked at her blueberry muffin and looked anxiously at Matthew. “I didn’t know that Nina was missing. I would have called if I’d known. Or maybe I wouldn’t. I mean, I don’t think I can be much help or anything. I don’t know where she is. I’ve been trying to think of places that she might go, but... I mean, obviously there are plenty of places she could go if she wanted to get away, but I’m not personally aware of anyplace that she might have a special connection to, do you know what I mean? And if she changed her mind and decided to go see another friend, I mean, everyone’s on campus now because classes start again today. But she could have decided to visit a friend from high school, right? But I guess you guys have already thought of that.” Olivia slumped a little.
“What do you mean, changed her mind?” Matthew asked.
Olivia’s phone was on the table, beside her coffee cup. Sarah Jane was sitting very quietly. She was watching and listening to everything, but she’d made no effort to interject, to add anything or to try to develop a connection with Olivia. That was fine. She was new to this case and new to the job in general. In a few months he would expect her to get more involved, but for now he’d rather have a junior who knew what they didn’t know than one who plunged forward in an effort to impress. Olivia’s hand strayed to the phone, and she tapped the screen absently.
“Well, she never came, you know? I did call her, but it went to voice mail and then she didn’t call back, and then, you know, school started again, so that was that.”
“You were expecting Nina to visit?” Matthew said.
“I thought you knew,” Olivia said. “I thought that’s why you wanted to speak to me.” She picked up her phone, and swiped and tapped to bring up a message. She handed the phone to Matthew so that he could read it.
Hey babes, are you in Boston? I’m heading your way in the morning. Can we meet up? Could use some fun. Simon and I are over (boo hoo). Always going to happen (who stays with their high school boyfriend??)
Matthew swiped upward and saw a second message, and then a third, both from Nina to Olivia.
If you’re awake, call me! Need to talk and Simon already left.
Phone about to die. See you tomorrow! Want to introduce you to someone kind of special. Don’t ask me about Simon overlap!
That was it. There were no other messages. Matthew handed the phone to Sarah Jane so that she could read them.
“You didn’t message her back?” he asked Olivia. She shook her head.
“I was asleep. I mean, she sent them at like, midnight. I called her as soon as I woke up, which was just after eight A.M. on Saturday. I called her a bunch of times over the weekend, but my calls just went to voice mail and she never called me back.”
“Were you surprised?” Matthew asked.
“What, that they’d broken up?” She waited for his nod, then grimaced. “I mean, yes, but also, not really? Like Nina says in the text message, everyone who stays with their high school boyfriend or girlfriend thinks that they’re going to be different. That they’re the ones who’ll make it. But pretty much everyone breaks up sooner or later. I guess I was surprised that she was so chill about it.”
Matthew nodded. “Did you see Simon when he came to visit Nina on campus?”
“Sure. We hung out a few times.”
“What did you think of him? Of them, as a couple?”
Olivia widened her eyes. She’d been midway through taking a sip of her coffee, and she put it down hurriedly.
“I mean, they were great together. Simon’s a good guy. He was completely crazy about Nina, and he was really interested in her life here. He’s really funny too.” Olivia’s smile lit up her face, briefly, before she remembered the seriousness of the situation and let the smile drop. “I know I said I wasn’t that surprised that they’d broken up, but there weren’t any signs that that was coming. It seemed like everything was great between them.”
“No arguments?”
She shook her head. “Not that I saw, no. They weren’t into drama. Their vibe was more joking around.”
“Are there any other guys in Nina’s life? Any other boyfriends or guys she was interested in?”
