Free The Last Good Girl by Allison Leotta Page B

makes people distraught, it’s a missing kid. I can’t imagine how I’d feel if Olivia was missing. I’d cut Nina some slack in that situation, even if she went a little crazy.”
    The idea of Olivia being missing, possibly abducted, sent cold shivers down Anna’s spine. She got a glimpse of what it must be like to be Beatrice Shapiro.
    When Anna and Jack had been engaged, Anna devoted herself to earning Olivia’s trust and becoming a substitute mother. She’d read parenting books, learned how to roast a chicken, gone to parent-teacher conferences. One of the things Anna loved about marrying Jack was becoming Olivia’s mom. Then Nina returned to town, a move no one expected. She’d been gone for years as part of an undercover operation. Nina wanted to be a mother to Olivia again, and a wife to Jack. In the process, Anna saw that Jack still cared deeply about his ex. When an emergency rocked the courthouse, he had gone to protect Nina, not Anna.
    It was almost a year ago, but Anna recalled with perfect clarity composing the e-mail telling friends and family their wedding was canceled. She had still been deeply in love with Jack. Soon after that, Anna had been called to Michigan to defend Jody in a murder trial, and she’d stayed there for almost a year to see it through.
    â€œI’m not so surprised the father stonewalled you,” Jack said. “Tower University has been slow to cooperate in the task force investigation, and their Clery Act compliance is a joke. The good news is, our investigations dovetail. We can both get different information and share it with each other.”
    They hammered out a plan. Eighty percent of practicing criminal law is logistics, though there’s no class for that in law school. Jack would contact the local prosecutor to try to get Beatrice released as soon as possible; they needed her active in the investigation, holding press conferences, giving information, available for calls. Anna would try to interview Emily’s friends. They’d meet when they were done. Anna’s stomach clenched at the idea of seeing Jack in person. She hadn’t seen him in six months, and seeing him was always a visceral experience for her.
    Sam pulled the Durango in front of a massive stone building with ivy creeping up the sides. Springer Hall had arched windows, carved pillars, and a recessed stone front porch. Its foundation stone said 1872. The dormitory had been standing on this corner for almost a hundred and fifty years. For the last six months, it had also been the home to Emily Shapiro.
    A few kids were stumbling back into the dorm, making their way home after the bars’ two A.M. closing time. Several rooms had lights on, but most of the windows were dark.
    Inside, modern amenities supplemented the historic architecture. A stately marble floor held a whirring robotic vending machine, offering items from energy bars, earbuds, and disposable razors to condoms and lube. Anna did a double take on the condoms. She’d started college only eleven years earlier, but condoms hadn’t been displayed in her dorm lobby then. Sex was an obvious part of college life but hadn’t been so frankly and openly on offer. She supposed it wasn’t a bad idea to have protection easily available. Still, she wasn’t sure about the wisdom of packaging sex as an option as casual as a snack.
    Anna and Sam walked up two floors, then down a long, quiet hallway. They knocked on the door to room 217. It was opened by a petite young woman whom Anna recognized as Emily’s roommate, Preya Parikh. Anna had been worried about waking the girl, but she clearly was wide-awake. Anna and Sam introduced themselves. Preya said, “Everyone will be so glad to see you. They’re all here for Emily.”
    Preya invited them into the living room, which was bright, crowded, and buzzing with conversation. All the available seats, and even the tops of the desks,