Got Your Number

Nell spoke.
    "Roxann, how well do you know Angora?"
    Roxann frowned. "She's my cousin."
    "Yes, but how well do you know her? Is she always so unpredictable?"
    She splayed her hands. "If you're talking about her behavior at the auction tonight, I think she was feeling a little upstaged by the award they gave me." She smiled. "If you hadn't noticed, she has a thing for tiaras. And throwing money around is her way of getting attention. Besides, she was drinking."
    "You're being generous, don't you think?"
    Roxann tamped down the spark of anger at Nell's uncharacteristic sarcasm. Besides, the woman had tapped into some of her own concerns. "Four days ago she was dumped at the altar."
    "Oh? Yes, that's tragic. Still, she seems...unstable."
    "If you knew her mother, you'd know why."
    "Does Angora have psychological problems?"
    Roxann frowned. "You're serious."
    Nell nodded.
    "Not that I know of. Why?"
    "I shouldn't say anything, it's been so long ago."
    "What?"
    Nell glanced around them, then leaned closer, her mouth pinched. "Did you know Angora was a suspect when that girl was killed on campus years ago in a hit-and-run?"
    The hummus turned to sawdust in Roxann's mouth, and she swallowed painfully. "Tammy Paulen?"
    "You remember her?"
    "Yes." She was still digesting Nell's words, and replaying snatches of troubling conversations with her cousin. "We were talking about her the other night when we found my annual. Angora was a suspect?"
    Nell nodded.
    Now was probably not a good time to mention that Tammy had taunted Angora, or Angora's comment that the girl had gotten what she deserved. "Did the police ever make an arrest in the case?"
    "No."
    "Well...there were probably lots of suspects, weren't there?"
    "Three. The two boys who called in the report, and Angora."
    She put her fingers on her temples. "Why didn't I know this?"
    "The investigation was kept under wraps because the president was afraid of a scandal. I was brought in to assist because I was Tammy's faculty advisor."
    "I can see why the police would suspect the guys who reported the incident, but why was Angora a suspect?"
    "I understand that her name kept coming up when Tammy's friends were questioned."
    "But all of Tammy's friends were her sorority sisters. Angora quit the sorority because they gave her such a hard time."
    "The sorority mother told me that Angora was forced out."
    Angora did have a habit of adjusting the truth until it reflected well on her. Still, Roxann's head was spinning. "But...but there must not have been enough evidence to warrant an arrest."
    "No. There were no witnesses. But I watched the videotape of the police interviewing Angora, and it was clear to me that she had issues with the Paulen girl."
    "I heard the Paulen girl wasn't the nicest person."
    "I heard the same thing," Nell conceded. "And Tammy's friends admitted that she treated Angora badly. They said she had something on your cousin, was holding it over her head."
    "What?"
    "No one knew, although one girl said she thought it had something to do with a blond wig."
    Roxann went completely still. "A blond wig?" She managed a little laugh. "That's...strange."
    "You don't know what they might have been referring to?"
    She tried to speak, but could only shake her head.
    Nell shrugged her thin shoulders. "You know how girls are—maybe she found out that Angora wasn't a natural blonde, or something superficial like that."
    "Right," Roxann said, recovering. "No connection to the accident. Besides, I just can't see Angora being involved."
    "Roxann—" The professor looked down, sighed, then looked up. "Do you think you're a good judge of character?"
    She pulled back. "I'd like to believe so."
    "That came out wrong—I meant where your cousin is concerned."
    Words of defense gathered in her throat, then Roxann swallowed them. Hadn't Angora always been able to evoke her sympathy? To convince her to do things against her better judgment? Was it possible that instead of being a poor little rich girl, her cousin was a grand manipulator? After all, she had a master tutor in Dee.
    "Angora and I will get a hotel room tonight."
    "Don't be silly, you're staying with me."
    "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable about Angora sleeping under your roof."
    "I don't, and I didn't mean to upset you. Please don't leave." The woman looked a little desperate—she was indeed lonely.
    Roxann touched Nell's hand. "Thank you for telling me the truth. I'll keep an eye on Angora. By the way, I ran into