Free Sorority Sister by Diane Hoh

hadn’t given up. Candie was beautiful ‘ and fun and smart, but so were other girls on campus. His refusal to take the hint — even the insults — of Candie, and keep hanging on, wasn’t … normal.
    Maxie hurried over to them. “C’mon, Candie,” she urged, barely glancing at Graham, “let’s go!”
    As they hurried away, Maxie glanced over her shoulder. Graham was staring after them, his eyes narrowed, his face scarlet with rage.
    “Whoa!” she said to Candie, “stay away from that guy, okay? He looks like he’s about to pop a few blood vessels. Why were you even talking to him?”
    “I was just about to go into the center when I heard someone calling me. When I saw that it was him, I was going to keep going, but he yelled that he had some news about Cath, so I walked over to see what it was. And of course he didn’t know a thing about Cath. He just wanted to know why I hadn’t been taking his phone calls.” Candie laughed softly. “I told him it was because talking to him on the phone was worse than going to the dentist.”
    “Candie! You shouldn’t antagonize him. He looked so furious back there.”
    Candie shrugged and pulled open the door to the student center. “You have to be rude to guys like that. It’s the only thing they understand. If you’re nice, they’re harder to get rid of than fungus.”
    Maybe, Maxie thought as they joined Jenna, waiting at a table by the window in the small, cozy cafe. But Candie had been rude to Graham. More than once. So why hadn’t he disappeared?
    Late that afternoon, when only a naive new sister named Chloe Bannister was in the house, the doorbell rang.
    Chloe opened the front door to see a young man in a white uniform, armed with a red canister, standing on the front porch.
    “Can I help you?” she asked.
    Thick red hair showed under his white cap as he adjusted his sunglasses. “Yes, ma’am. Actually, I’m here to help you. I’m with ZAPCO Exterminators. You were expecting me, right?”
    “Oh, yes.” Chloe opened the door wider, then remembered the procedure they’d been warned to follow. “Could I see your identification, please?” she asked politely.
    “Sure. No problem.” The young man reached into a back pocket and pulled out a vinyl card case, flipped it open and held it out.
    Chloe read it carefully. Nodded. “I guess it’s okay. If you need anything, I’ll be in the living room.”
    “Thank you,” the exterminator said and, whistling a cheerful tune, began marching through the house.

Chapter 11
    W HEN M AXIE GOT HOME , Erica was in her room, studying. She had already called the hospital to see how Cath was doing. “She’s awake and feeling better, but she’ll probably be there another four or five days.”
    Her tone of voice was so despondent, Maxie felt compelled to say, “It wasn’t your fault, Erica. Someone tampered with the bricks. Have the police been here yet?”
    “No. They’re coming after dinner. We’re all supposed to be here. They’ll want to talk to everyone.” Erica sighed heavily. “Not that we have any answers.” Then, “Did you see the new peephole?”
    “What new peephole?”
    “On the front door. Tuttle put it in, so we can see who’s out on the porch before we open the door. And he put a new chain lock on the door, too. But,” Erica’s mouth turned downward, “that’s all the university would spring for right now. According to Mildred, the Dean said there wasn’t any real evidence of a pressing need for more security.” Her grimace deepened. “I guess he means, there aren’t any dead bodies lying around the house.”
    Not yet, Maxie thought involuntarily, and quickly banished the thought from her mind. “Maybe the Dean will change her mind after the police tell her the wall around the fountain was deliberately tampered with.”
    “Don’t hold your breath. She might just point out that the wall is outside, so what good would installing a security system inside the house do?”
    Tired