Page 71 of Wild Escape

We dished up plates and chowed down on the sky deck, soaking up the amber rays of morning.

Daphne’s mugshot had gone viral, and she was the talk of the Internet.

Isabella called. “Still looking after your fugitive?”

“She is back in custody.”

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Not yet.”

"Well, I’ve got some good news. I was able to hack into Gabby's cloud account and restore the contents of her phone. Let's just say I have confirmation of her affair with Professor Morris. There were multiple explicit texts along with intimate pictures, and a video.”

"Nothing surprising," I said.

"There's something else. Gabby had a half-sister. Cheyenne Tisdale. This is where it gets interesting. She pledged Theta last year.”

I lifted a curious eyebrow.

"Her body was found washed up on the beach last fall."

Now she had my full attention. "Had she been stabbed?”

"No. I'm getting this straight out of your database. Talk to your medical examiner. It was ruled an accidental drowning. From what I can tell, there was a limited investigation by the university. They found no connection to the sorority.”

"Where the hell were we when this happened?”

"According to the timing, I think you were halfway across the world saving my ass. Thank you very much."

"You’re welcome."

"The difference in surnames is probably why the sorority never connected the two. Unless Gabby specifically said she was a legacy, no one would have made the connection.”

The Templeton case was all starting to come together in my mind.

"You're the best," I said.

"I know." It didn't even sound conceited coming from her.

I ended the call and caught JD up to speed. I wanted to have another talk with Joshua. I just needed to figure out what to do with Daphne.

36

Joshua glared at me as we approached the podium after class.

“I guess I have you to thank for the school's investigation into my relationship with Gabby."

I shrugged. "I haven’t talked to your wife yet, but she's next on my list. I'm sure she would love to see the contents of your phone. There were some pretty steamy texts between you and Gabby."

His eyes bugged out.

"Piece of advice, next time you have an affair with a student, you might not want to videotape your sex acts.”

Joshua swallowed hard. "How did…” He stopped himself. "There's no possible way you could have gotten that kind of access to my phone legally."

"Look, I don't care about your affair with Gabby. I’m just trying to figure out who killed her. Right now, it's looking like you had a hell of a motive. You'd probably do anything to keep from losing your job or destroying your marriage." My brow knitted with confusion as I thought about his situation. "If the dean has started his investigation, why are you still working? Shouldn't you be on administrative leave?"

"There was insufficient evidence to warrant a suspension at this time. Dean Montgomery has graciously allowed me to continue teaching."