Free Bright New Murder by Traci Tyne Hilton

yourself upstairs, and then take a left. Then go a long ways. All the way around almost. But if you just keep following the hall, you’ll get there.” He went back to vacuuming before Jane could ask him if anyone would be there.
    But she followed his directions.
    The hall was long, and quiet, and spooky. The main overhead lights were off, so the hall was lit with low, energy-efficient lights recessed into the ceilings above each door.
    She shivered.
    She was glad she had mace clipped to her keychain.
    The hall felt like a marathon, her heart raced so hard, but eventually she had made it around the corner to a large double door marked “Security.” She knocked, and then opened it up.
    “Hi.” A girl who looked about Jane’s age, but was quite a bit taller and wore a crisp security uniform, smiled at Jane. She was alone in the office. “Can I help you?”
    The office was a brightly lit, modern space. Long, clean counters flanked on three sides by walls covered in flat-screen televisions, each one zoomed at a different setting. Almost every screen showed an eerily silent room, but the effect was still dizzying.
    Jane sat down.
    “I’m Jane. I’m a private detective working on the Fro-Yo Murder case on behalf of the folks who threw the fundraiser.”
    “Oh, okay. I’m Beth.” The security girl rolled her chair around to face Jane. “The police have already seen all the footage we have of the event. Have you talked to them about it yet?” Her face seemed open and friendly, but something about the question made Jane think she would have to prove herself to security.
    Jane sat up a little straighter. “No, I wanted to go for firsthand sources before I got the police’s opinion on the facts.”
    “Sure. Okay. I can’t show you the footage though. The police had a warrant for it.”
    Jane nodded. “I understand.” She chewed the inside of her cheek. So many things she would have known if this murder had taken place at the end of next semester instead of now. “So, were you on that night?”
    “Nope, but Del, my boyfriend, was.” Beth had a promising twinkle in her eye.
    Jane leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Did he see anything suspicious?”
    “Well…” Beth eyed the wall of screens before turning back to Jane. “There was this weird kind of shadowy figure in the corner of the room. It looked like someone dressed in dark clothes and leaving quickly, right after the woman screamed.”
    “Did he show you the footage?”
    “Of course. We all saw it. We have to keep our eye out for anyone we saw in the video returning to the center. Of course, we are really looking for that shadowy figure who left, but between you and me, I don’t know how we’d recognize the person again.”
    Jane scanned the wall of televisions. “How many cameras are in that room?”
    “Just the one. It’s center on the wall with no exit and has a panoramic of the room.”
    “And you all had to watch all of that footage, right?”
    “Yup. We did. We watched it several times. In particular, we were looking to see if we could spot the shady-looking character near the victim, and maybe also coming toward the victim.”
    “You know, I was there that night, and though it was crowded, it didn’t seem overwhelming.”
    “It was pretty mellow at the beginning of the video, but as soon as the protesters came inside, it got a little crazy. From the camera’s POV, it was like a room full of little mobs. Gestures got bigger, voices got louder, large groups sort of formed out of the couples and individuals. It was a lot harder to sort through than I expected.”
    “But did you see more of this shady figure?”
    “I didn’t.”
    Jane watched Beth’s face. She looked like she had more to say. “Did you see anything suspicious?”
    “Yeah, see, this figure kind of steps out from behind someone like a shadow.” Beth pointed at one of the televisions. “So the room is mostly dark now, but can you see how the angle is funny? We