"What do you want from me!" Bud had exhausted every avenue he could think of trying to get Megan a search warrant for the Amanda Thompson case. Unfortunately, the fraternity president's father served on the Board of Trustees. Money and prestige were preventing their efforts.
"How is it this difficult!" Megan spat back at him. "It's a frat house! These places are practically designed with the intention of trapping and killing young girls."
"How do you know she didn't want to be there? How do you know she didn't drink herself to death all on her own?" Bud challenged. Megan glared back at him with the fury of a protective mother.
"Because I know," she whispered lethally.
Bud shook his head. "I'll keep trying, but you're gonna need to give me more to work with than that."
She rubbed her temples and looked down at the young woman. She had been found on the lawn between houses, both of which vehemently claimed they weren't serving alcohol at their parties. The mess had been cleaned up, but Amanda's proximity, the strange pink smudge on her hand, and the amount of alcohol in her system seemed like reasonable cause to search as far as Megan was concerned. She knew she'd find something if she was given access.
"We got cause of death yet?" Kate asked, a little out of breath as she popped her head into the lab, on her way from one meeting to the next. Megan jumped only slightly.
"Asphyxiation, most likely brought on by unconsciousness due to acute alcohol poisoning."
"So why aren't we searching the house?"
"Because the Greeks have friends in high places," Bud quipped. Kate was not amused. She watched as Megan rubbed her left hand. She knew her parasthesia acted up more when her nerves were at their limit.
"I'll call my friend Jess in the Dean's Office. We'll get you in."
"Kate, I've tried…" Bud started.
"I've got it," Kate cut him off. "I'll let you know when you should be on your way."
"Thank you," Megan offered softly. Kate tilted her head to the side, indicating she was happy to help. Because it meant they would be closer to solving the case, of course.
Bud paced back and forth for a few minutes before leaving. Sam had been silently watching from her stool across the lab. After Bud walked out, she approached Megan—who was still looking down at Amanda— and put her hand on her shoulder.
"Gotta be a tough one for you."
"They're all tough," Megan tried to hold it together. She looked straight up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. Then she looked at Sam and attempted to smile. "This one's a little tougher."
"You'll make sure she gets justice. You always do," Sam smiled back.
"Thanks."
"Besides, sounds like Kate's got your back." She smirked at Megan moments longer than were necessary.
"Don't," Megan practically barked at her, looking her dead in the eye.
"I didn't say anything!" Sam threw her hands up. "I'm just glad you made it home safely Friday night. Somebody was obviously looking out for you."
Though she never would have admitted it, Megan was grateful for the reassurance. She needed it now more than ever.
Kate came through with the search warrant by two, and by four it was clear that it wasn't worth anything. No evidence could be found in any of the surrounding fraternity houses to prove Amanda Thompson had even been there, much less been killed in one. Nothing was adding up. Megan hated to be wrong, but she hated feeling like she was letting Amanda down even more. She needed to escape from it all for a while as she regrouped.
Back in her office, she flipped through the photo albums of Lacey on her Mac. She knew this was probably the least healthy thing she could do, but couldn't stop herself. Finally, she picked up the phone and dialed her number.
"Mom?" Lacey sounded groggy. "You okay?"
"Well hello to you too," Megan replied. She felt a little bit like her own mother. The thought made her cringe. "Everything's fine. Just wanted to see how you're doing. Were you sleeping?"
"I don't have class until five."
"It's 4:30. I just…"
"I spoke to you last night. I told you I would call later this week."
Megan frowned.
"I know, but does that mean I'm not allowed to call if…"
Megan heard coughing in the background and then a voice — a male voice — though she couldn't make out what he was saying. She heard some rustling and then Lacey cut her off.
"Mom, I have to go. Sorry."
The line went dead.
It took every ounce of strength Megan had not to hit redial. Her mind began to race, jumping to conclusions she simply could not handle at the moment.
Dr. Murphy knocked as she entered the office. Megan dropped her phone on the desk and quickly wiped away her tears. Icing on the cake, she thought.
Kate stopped in her tracks when she saw the state Megan was in. She took a deep breath, then slowly walked up to her desk and stood directly in front of it. She said nothing until Megan was forced to look at her.
"What's wrong?" Kate asked.
"What's not wrong?" Megan snapped, immediately feeling guilty. She wiped another stray tear and continued. "Sorry. On top of being at a dead end with the Thompson case, I think I just… interrupted Lacey…with a guy…in her room."
"Shit," Kate gasped, taking a step back. "Uh…that's…how do you know?"
"Its 4:30, she's still in bed, and I heard a deep voice grumbling in the background before she basically told me not to call her again."
Kate hesitated before responding. She crossed her arms, then put one finger in front of her lips as she thought.
"It could have been the TV," she suggested. "Or a study partner."
Megan glared at her.
"Trust me, I know. I don't want to know what I know, but I know."
Kate tried not to smile, or laugh, or do anything that would make Megan think she wasn't taking this just as seriously.
"Okay. But why would she answer the phone if she was having…"
"Kate!" Megan put her hands over her ears.
"It's a legitimate question! You could be imagining things."
"No. I told her I would wait for her to call me later in the week. We've been trying to establish boundaries. I call too much, I know. But she just lost one parent, so if the other one calls, even if it's inconvenient, she's going to answer because she's worried. I don't want to cause her any more stress than she's already been through, believe me. But how am I supposed to back off when I know that's what's going on!"
Megan had herself so worked up the shaking in her hands had made its way to the rest of her body. Her teeth were practically chattering.
She watched as Kate turned around and walked back towards the door, thinking she had finally had enough with her. Instead, Kate closed the door and returned to the desk. This time, she stepped around the side of it and sat on the edge, facing Megan, right next to her chair. Megan looked up at her, then around the office, outside to the hallway, and then back at her again. Kate put her hand on her shoulder. She very gently traced her fingers over her red cashmere sweater. Megan's breathing sped up before evening out. She closed her eyes and leaned back a little in her chair.
"You're gonna make yourself sick if you don't calm down," Kate lightly scolded. "Then you won't be any good to anyone."
Megan smirked, her eyes still closed. She felt Kate's fingers make their way down her arm, stopping at the wrist, lingering there.
"Have you talked to Lacey about sex?"
"Sort of," Megan admitted, the word and Kate's fingertips on her wrist sending tingles back up her arm. "Every time I tried she said she already knew. I gave her the basic 'Make-sure-you-really-care-about-the-person-and-use-protection-speech,' but I never really worried about her. I always knew where she was. Now I barely know her class schedule, let alone who's sleeping over."
"Listen," Kate said, trying not to change the tone of her voice, continuing to trace her nails over Megan's skin to keep her calm. "I didn't say anything before because I didn't want to break Lacey's trust, and I told her if things got serious she should tell you, but now…"
Megan's eyes shot open. She pulled her hand away and looked up at her boss.
"She's dating someone and she told you?"
Kate tried not to feel offended. She knew it wasn't personal this time.
"She didn't even give me a name, Megan. I don't want us to jump to conclusions. Just wait till she calls next and ask her yourself."
"Oh right, because if she's telling you instead of me, that's a great sign she's going to answer all my questions."
"I'm sorry," Kate huffed. "I did what I thought was right. I've never been in this position before."
Megan wondered exactly what position Kate was in. She didn't think either of them could answer that question just yet. She knew it wasn't Kate's fault, but the fact that Lacey would rather confide in her when it came to things like this was a hard pill to swallow. Still, it was better than her daughter not having anyone to talk to. Once again, on some level, she had to be very thankful to Kate for helping her survive these changes. Without her, she'd be facing them completely alone.
Kate went to stand, but before she could, Megan reached out and gently pressed her hand down on the desk. She looked up at the blonde. So many questions seemed to flood the space between them. Lines of all sorts continued to be crossed, while some crucial ones had not. Nevertheless, as much as they continued to fight it, the universe seemed to be conspiring to wash away whatever boundaries remained.
Megan was about to speak, not knowing exactly what was going to come out of her mouth, when she saw Ethan speeding down the hall towards her door. She quickly let go of Kate's hand, and Kate shot up from the desk just as he entered.
"You guys have to see this," he demanded, out of breath.
The two women jumped to their feet and tried to bring themselves back to reality as they made their way to the lab.
