“Did you ever ask her about it?”
“Not directly. I asked her where she was or what was going on sometimes, but she always said she’d been out for a run or stayed late to ask a teacher for help or something like that.”
“You didn’t press the issue?” Josie asked.
“No. I’m not her mom. She’s an adult. She can do what she wants. We live together and we’re friends, but she doesn’t have to tell me everything.”
“If she was seeing someone but didn’t want to talk about it,” Josie said, “do you have any idea who it might have been?”
“None.”
“Someone on the swim team, maybe?”
“I guess, but I don’t know why she wouldn’t just tell me that. It’s not a big deal.”
The cool air that was so wonderful a few moments earlier now sent a chill through Josie’s limbs. “Was there anyone she seemed particularly interested in or someone who was interested in her, that you know of?”
Christine hugged herself again and started shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “I don’t know. She always said she only had time for school and swimming and that dating was a waste. Maybe, after saying all that stuff all the time, she was embarrassed to admit that she was seeing someone and that’s why she wouldn’t tell me.” Christine said this last part almost to herself.
Josie coaxed, “What about anyone who was interested in her?”
“Oh, I guess Hudson. He’s on the swim team. He had a big crush on her last year, but Nysa shot him down. This year they’re just really competitive with each other, like trying to outdo each other and stuff. He was part of the special they did on the news over the weekend. They’re, like, the two best swimmers or whatever. They were supposed to just do the piece on Nysa ’cause she won the big scholarship, but Hudson’s mom had a shitfit that they didn’t include him, so he was on there too. That was kind of awkward. Anyway, he’s a nice guy, and she liked him, but she said his family was a little intense for her.”
“I saw the piece,” Josie said. “Intense in what way?”
Christine shrugged. “I don’t know, like overbearing, I guess. Nysa said he was one of those guys whose mom would be in the middle of their relationship the whole entire time, and she didn’t have the energy for that.”
“Any chance they could have been seeing one another in secret? Maybe not telling anyone?”
Christine said, “I don’t think so. He still looks at her with those puppy dog eyes all the time. It’s kind of sad.”
Josie’s list of mental notes grew the more that Christine talked. She pulled her phone from her back pocket so she could fire off some texts to Mettner. After the flooding in Denton five months earlier, during which Josie had been in the water more often than not, she’d purchased a Samsung Galaxy 9 which purported to be waterproof. Jumping into the pool with the phone in her pocket was the first test of its ability to withstand water. As Josie pressed the power button and then tapped in her passcode, she was relieved to see that the phone had, in fact, survived her plunge.
She tapped in text messages to Mettner even though he was still by the pool, telling him that they needed to interview all swim team members and, in particular, someone named Hudson. She asked Christine, “Was Nysa having any problems with anyone recently?”
“No. Everything’s been great.” Her chest rose several times in succession as a sob worked its way up into her throat. More tears streamed down her face. Josie gave her a moment to regain some of her composure, then asked, “How has Nysa’s stress level been lately?”
“Fine. It’s only the beginning of the year, so things aren’t that bad yet.”
“How about her mood?” Josie asked. “Was she upset or depressed lately? Distraught?”
Christine’s body went still. “Why are you asking that? You think she killed herself or something? No way. Nysa wouldn’t do that. She’s one of the most upbeat and driven people I know.”
“You’ve known her for a year. Did she ever mention any history of depression or anxiety?”
Christine shook her head vigorously. “No, no. Definitely not Nysa.”
“Okay,” Josie said. “I understand. How about drugs or alcohol? Did she use them at all?”
“You know we’re not twenty-one yet, right?”
Josie gave a weak smile. “Christine, in my experience, that’s never stopped anyone, certainly not on a college campus. It’s okay if she did. We just need to know.”
“Definitely no drugs. She rarely drank. She was very focused on her conditioning for swimming. I mean, there were times last year at parties where she had a drink or two, but she was really into healthy eating and staying fit. Especially with this swim scholarship. Her parents aren’t rich or anything, so it was a big deal for her to get it. If she performs poorly on the swim team or falls behind academically, she could lose it.”
“Christine,” Josie said, “I’ve got to confer with my colleagues, but after that, I was hoping you could take me to see yours and Nysa’s apartment.”
“Sure.”
Goosebumps erupted along Josie’s bare arms. Her clothes were still wet, and she was getting colder by the minute. “Will you wait here for me?”
Christine nodded.
“Can I call anyone for you in the meantime?”
“Nysa’s parents, maybe. They’re still in town. They visited this weekend because WYEP was doing that special on the swim team. They’re staying at the Marriott.”
Josie was most certainly not going to call Nysa Somers’ parents to come to the scene of her death, particularly while it was still in chaos, but she would have someone dispatched to the hotel to speak with them and ask them to come to the morgue to make a positive ID. Perhaps Noah or Detective Gretchen Palmer, either of whom would handle the death notification with compassion and sensitivity.
Through the glass doors, Josie could see the flashing red and blue lights of two police cruisers pulling up in front of the building. She stepped closer to the entrance and saw Dr. Anya Feist’s small pickup truck pulling in behind them.
“I’ve got to talk to my colleagues,” Josie told Christine. “If you wouldn’t mind—”
Christine folded her arms over her chest. “I’m not going anywhere. I want to know what happened to Nysa.”
Seven
Josie met the other Denton officers and Dr. Feist at the doors. She stationed a uniformed officer just outside the front doors and another outside the pool entrance with a clipboard so that he could log anyone entering the scene. Then she led Officers Hummel and Chan of the ERT and Dr. Feist into the pool area. Josie felt a shiver in spite of the welcome heat in the room. A loose circle had formed around Nysa Somers including Sawyer, Owen, Chief Hahlbeck, one of the other campus officers, and Mettner. Glancing at the benches lining the wall, Josie saw Patrick still seated there, watching the emergency personnel. She walked over to him and asked if he was okay. He answered with a tired nod. Touching his shoulder, she told him he was free to go and that if his boss had an issue with him taking the day off, he could take it up with her. He squeezed her in a brief, unexpected hug and jogged off. Josie turned to the new arrivals and gave them the rundown of what had happened and what little they knew, including what she had found out from Christine Trostle.