wrong?â Bess asked Nancy.
âMarina Dombrowski,â Nancy repeated. âNo wonder she looks familiar! Sheâs Maxâs daughter.â
âThe maintenance man from the student union!â Bess said, her eyes wide. âDean Jarvis mentioned that he had a daughter.â
âI didnât know that he was her father,â Kristin said, glancing back at the kitchen to make sure Marina was out of earshot. âThatâs a weird connection, though. Marina wanted to pledge Theta Pi last year, but we didnât extend a bid, and she was really bitter about the whole thing.â
âWhatâs a bid?â Bess asked, as she carefully took a taste of the steaming chowder.
âAn invitation to join the sorority. After a few weeks of ârushing,â each sorority reviews the list of rushees and decides which ones to extend bids to. If a girl accepts a bid, she becomes a pledge. Pledges spend a few weeks learning about the sorority. Itâs kind of a trial period before initiation.â
Nancy frowned thoughtfully. âSo not every girl who rushes gets a bid, right?â
âRight,â Kristin said. âLots of sophomores who didnât receive bids as freshmen choose to rush again, and some of them are given bids the second time around.â She lowered her voice. âThe funny thing was, Marina threw a fit when she didnât get a bid from us. She told Denise, our rush chairperson last year, that weâd regret it.â
âThatâs kind of creepy,â Bess said.
Kristin nodded. âI know rejection is hard to take, but most girls are good sports about it.â
Nancy was only half listening to Kristinâs explanation. Maxâs daughter had been rejected by the sisters of Theta Pi! The manâand his daughterâhad a motive for the crimes against the sorority. Maybe they were working together.
âThis sheds a new light on Max as a suspect,â Nancy said quietly. âWeâll need to do some checking on Marina. And I still want to confirm Caseyâs whereabouts on Tuesday night.â
Just then Marina emerged from the kitchen and brought their sandwiches to the table. They changed the subject to the charity auction.
âI still havenât come up with an angle for my valentine,â Nancy said.
âNot me,â Bess said. âIâm all set. As long as Kyle makes it to Emerson in time.â
The girls tried to keep the conversation light as they ate, especially since Marina seemed to be hovering nearby. Afterward they paid the check and hurried off to the supermarket to pick up the items they needed.
While Bess and Kristin waited in line at the checkout counter, Nancy went across the street to the Video Zone, where Casey claimed to have spent the latter part of Tuesday night. The guy on the phone had told her to check back on Friday, but since she was nearby, she thought it was worth a shot.
âA friend of mine was here late Tuesday night,â she told the guy on duty. âIs there anyone I can talk to who might have seen him?â
The guy looked around the quiet arcade and shrugged. âNot right now. You need to talk to Tiger.â He gave her an aloof smile. âAre you the girl who called yesterday? Ha!â He laughed. âYou must be really stuck on Tiger if you keep dreaming up bogus reasons to talk to him.â
âIââ Nancy started to argue, then realized it was useless. This guy wasnât going to give up. âYeah,â she said dreamily. âIâm wild about Tiger.â She pulled a notepad out of her shoulder bag and scribbled the number of the Theta Pi house on it. âHere,â she said, handing the guythe slip of paper. âIf Tiger happens to turn up before tomorrow, would you have him call me?â
He shrugged. âIâll give him the message, but thereâs no guarantee. Tigerâs a popular guy.â
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