Chapter 1

~Sunday August 10, 2025~

It was just after 3:00AM, but I was wide awake as I stood in a dorm room on the second floor of the Oakwood Commons dormitory. The dorm was located at California State University Ashwood, one of twenty-four campuses that made up California State University. Ashwood was a small city just south of Los Angeles County, but CSUA was a prestigious school with a strong academic program and division one sports teams.

The usual quiet of the hour was broken by the chattering of numerous voices coming from the hall and the various people moving around the small dorm room. It was a standard two-person dorm room, with a bed, desk, bedside table, and dresser for each person. There was also a small refrigerator and, more unusual, a bathroom for the two girls rather than a communal one on the floor. The space smelled faintly of disinfectant and cheap perfume.

Students had just moved into the dorms Saturday morning, but the room I was standing in was already well-organized. Clothes were already put away and the desks were neatly set-up, with books and a laptop on each one. The far bed was fully made and had obviously not been slept in.

“Body temperature’s about eighty-six, rigor’s mild in the upper limbs, fixed lividity on the back,” the medical examiner, Doctor Lillian Marchand commented as she knelt beside the other bed to inspect the body of a young woman. “I’d place time of death between ten-thirty and eleven last night.”

“Another fucking overdose,” Detective Adam Nielsen, my partner, grunted. His arms were crossed as he surveyed the sealed crime scene.

“It looks that way, yes,” Doctor Marchand replied as she examined the woman’s vacant eyes. “Given the syringe residue and lack of any obvious trauma, the working cause of death is acute opioid intoxication; likely heroin laced with fentanyl, resulting in severe respiratory depression.”

“The roommate found her?” I asked, glancing toward the door.

“Yep. Lila Cox. Nineteen. Psych major,” Adam answered, flipping through his notes. “Came back from a party around two and walked right into this. Hell of a welcome week.”

Taylor Kephart was laying on her back, head turned slightly to one side and one arm dangling off the bed. Her short brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing a pair of pajama pants and a white camisole. Vacant, bloodshot eyes stared unseeing into the distance and I could see that her lips and fingertips had a slightly bluish tint. There was a small amount of frothy fluid around her nose and mouth, running down her cheek to stain the floral comforter.

The paramedics and campus security had been first on scene, finding the roommate crying hysterically and Taylor unresponsive in bed. By the time they arrived, lividity was already fixed, so they pronounced her at the scene. Campus security secured the dorm room until we arrived to determine exactly what happened.

It certainly did look like an accidental overdose; no obvious signs of forced entry or a struggle and drug paraphernalia on the bedside table. A used syringe with a fully depressed plunger was on the bedside table, beside a scorched teaspoon and a cracked plastic lighter. On the far side of the desk lamp was a small baggie with a dusting of white powder, likely heroin. A water bottle, a paperback book, and the victim’s phone rounded out the scene. A textbook overdose scene.

Police and forensic techs moved carefully through the room, cameras flashing and yellow evidence markers being placed. Folding my arms, I let out a slow breath as I looked at the poor young lady; gone before she had time to find her place in the world. Taylor was only nineteen, a sophomore at CSUA.

“One clean puncture on the right arm, inside the elbow,” Doctor Marchand said as she slowly got to her feet. She sighed as she looked down at Taylor’s body, then turned toward me. “She got the vein right away, no rashes or irritation. Most new users fumble, but I can’t find any old injection sites on her arms.”

“Maybe she tried pills and moved up to intravenous stuff,” Adam reasoned while jotting in his notepad. “She could have a diabetic grandmother or something? That’s how she knew how to handle a needle.”

“Did you check anywhere else for needle marks?” I asked the doctor. “Inner thighs, between the toes?”

“Nothing between the toes, I’ll check her inner thighs once she’s on my table,” Lillian answered, removing her latex gloves and running her fingers through her gray hair. “Not sure why she’d suddenly switch to her arm if she had been using elsewhere, but we’ll see.”

Officer Javier Gomez ran over to us before I could reply, an evidence bag in his hand. “Detectives? Sorry to interrupt, but we found something in the bathroom trash.”

“Painkillers. Strong ones, too,” Adam whistled as he inspected the bottle through the clear evidence bag. “Prescribed to her, and it’s empty. Taylor ran out of pills and wanted another high. Mystery solved.”

“He might be right,” Doctor Marchand acknowledged with a sad nod. “You two know how fast someone can get addicted to painkillers. Such a shame.”

I leaned closer to read the label through the plastic. “Why were they prescribed?”

“It doesn’t say, it just says to take them ‘as needed for pain management.’” Adam replied. “Maybe ask the roommate while I finish up in here?”

“Alright, I’ll see what the roommate knows,” I nodded, turning to head out into the hall.

The narrow hallway was crowded with campus security, police officers, and forensic technicians working to process the scene and talk to any potential witnesses. Female students in pajama pants and hoodies whispered to one another, while a few others looked dazed and anxious as they stood in their party clothes. The only male student in sight stood half-dressed in a doorway with a girl wearing what was probably his t-shirt. They were talking to campus security and looked like the two of them had been interrupted mid-hookup.

Officer Renee Callahan was speaking with a short Latina who was likely the resident assistant. Renee still looked pale, which made sense since she was barely older than Taylor. Officer Callahan had recently been assigned to the seventeenth division and was eager to prove herself. I was the only female detective, so she naturally gravitated toward me. Our lieutenant was also a woman, but I was the only female to work active cases before Renee showed up.

Near the stairwell, Lila Cox sat wrapped in a university blanket, her green eyes swollen and glassy. Her raven hair was disheveled, framing her face as she looked around fearfully. The blanket covered most of her body, but I could tell she was wearing jeans. Under the harsh fluorescent lights, Lila barely looked twelve.

I sat beside her on the bench. “Lila, I’m Detective Sarah McLorn. I know this is hard, but I need to ask you a few questions.”

“She was fine when I left!” Lila said shakily, her fingers twisting the edge of the blanket. “I asked if Taylor wanted to go to the party, but she said she was gonna read. She never went to parties so I didn’t think anything was wrong. When I came back, s-she was like that. The door wasn’t even locked. S-she was just laying there and w-wouldn’t move when I called her. I screamed! I couldn’t breathe, I, I, I...”

“Lila? Lila! Breathe, you need to relax, okay?” I asked, my voice firm as her lower lip trembled. “I know this is tough, let’s just take it one thing at a time, okay?”

“O-okay,” Lila swallowed weakly. “Okay.”

“You mentioned Taylor never goes to parties, but you two just moved in,” I probed gently. “Did you know each other before?”

“W-we were roommates last year, too,” Lila explained. “We got along well, so we asked to stick together. I was the social one, she was the quiet one.”

“So you went to the party by yourself?” I wondered, sitting close enough to comfort her, but not close enough to make her uncomfortable.

“Y-yes, it was a frat party,” Lila whispered, her voice barely audible. “I shouldn’t have gone, I should have stayed with her, but I had been stuck with my parents all summer. They treat me like I’m still in middle school and I, I just wanted to be an adult and party. I wanted to enjoy myself.” the poor girl sniffled, tears running down her cheeks. “I should have stayed in.”

“You couldn’t have known this would happen,” I insisted firmly. “What can you tell me about Taylor?”

“Taylor was so smart. Like, freakish smart. Perfect GPA, Valedictorian at her high school,” Lila swallowed weakly, looking down at her hands. “She would even help me in classes she wasn’t in, making sure I got the math and science I had to take for general requirements. She was majoring in data science and applied statistics. I never did figure out exactly what that meant.”

“She sounds like a genius,” I commented, smiling softly.

“She was,” Lila agreed. “Taylor was a member of the school’s honor society, Sigma Epsilon Phi. Oh, and she worked part-time at the data center. She even worked remotely over the summer.”

“What did she do at the data center?” I inquired, making sure to keep my voice calm and controlled.

“Something about the accounts for student clubs, fraternities, sororities,” Lila shrugged. “I don’t really understand it; I’m a psychology major.”

“Right, I heard that,” I nodded slowly. “You two must have been very close.”

“We were,” Lila sighed sadly. “I’m the wild party girl, the cheerleader. She was the quiet one, the wallflower who was always overlooked.”

“She didn’t have a lot of friends?” I inquired.

“A couple,” Lila shrugged. “She was friendly with a couple of people from the honor society and the data center. Klarissa loved that Taylor never caused any trouble.”

“Klarissa?” I probed.

“Our RA last year,” Lila explained. “This year, too.”

“Do you know if she was having trouble with anyone?” I asked quietly. “Or if she was really stressed about something? Something that might make her, ah, feel the need to relax?”

“Everyone loved her,” Lila mumbled sadly. “And the semester just started so what would she even be stressed about?”

“I don’t know, I’m just trying to figure out what happened,” I answered as a forensic tech walked by us.

“Taylor doesn’t do drugs!” Lila insisted, lifting her head to glare at me intently. “She would never, ever! She’s never even had a sip of alcohol. She’s the nicest, sweetest, most innocent girl. Was ... was, not is. S-she’s gone. She’s gone. I was out getting laid while my friend was dying all alone!”

“I’m sorry, I know how hard this is,” I said, rubbing Lila’s back as she cried. I gave her a minute to calm down before speaking again. “Do you know if Taylor was seeing anyone?”

“No, she barely dated,” Lila shook her head. “We did talk about a lot of stuff. Remember when I said she was innocent? She was really, REALLY innocent.”

“Oh,” I replied, my eyes widening in understanding. “Got it, thank you.”

“She was so easy to embarrass,” Lila added, her eyes staring off in the distance.

“Is that so?” I asked, continuing the conversation.

“You should have seen how red her face was the first time she walked on me and, um, a friend,” Lila smiled at the memory. “I was the one naked and I thought she was gonna die from embarrassment.”

“Sounds embarrassing for all involved,” I observed. “So, no boyfriend. Could any of her friends stopped by tonight?”

“I guess,” Lila shrugged. “Taylor didn’t mention anyone coming over.”

“We also found a bottle of painkillers,” I continued in a light, friendly voice, “do you know anything about that?”

“She told me,” Lila confirmed immediately. “Last week she had something with her tooth. I think it cracked down the middle or something. The dentist prescribed a few pills after fixing it.”

“That makes sense, thank you,” I whispered, noticing how overtired the poor girl looked. “Listen, I should let you get some rest. Do you have a place you can stay?”

“Klarissa found me a room down the hall,” Lila answered. “I don’t know how I’ll be able to sleep.”

“I know, but you should at least lay in bed and rest,” I responded as I took out one of my cards. “I’m gonna give you my card, okay? We’ll talk again soon. Call me if you think of anything. I don’t care what time it is.”

“O-okay,” Lila mumbled, accepting my card.

Getting to my feet, I instructed an officer to bring Lila something to drink before taking a quick peek in the dorm room. My partner was still working with forensics to process the scene, so I decided I should talk to the RA. Officer Callahan was still talking with Klarissa, but it seemed like Renee was mainly focusing on keeping her calm. I told Renee to help out Adam while I spoke with Klarissa.

“Aguila?” I frowned when I learned Klarissa’s last name. “I know that name.”

“You helped my baby sister, Kelsey. After she was assaulted at that party,” Klarissa sighed. “Thank you for arresting those monsters.”

“I was just doing my job,” I replied professionally. “How is Kelsey?”

“Still working through things in therapy,” Klarissa answered. “A lot of anxiety, lots of nightmares. She’s hoping they set a trial date soon so she can put all this behind her.”

“It can take a long time to get a trial date, unfortunately,” I told her.

“Yeah, I noticed,” Klarissa rolled her eyes. “She’s starting classes here, but she’s gonna live at home.”

“Avoiding the stress of the dorms makes sense,” I leaned a shoulder against the wall, watching her shift her weight from foot to foot nervously. “Speaking of dorms, this one is coed?”

“Yes, with alternating floors,” Klarissa answered. “First floor is guys, second is girls, third is guys, and so on.”

“I did notice at least one guy,” I commented while jotting in my notepad.

“We can have guests,” Klarissa explained, fidgeting slightly as she tried to think of more to tell me. “Everyone has to use their student ID to get into the building, but people often hold doors open for each other. Guests have to sign in at the front desk and, uh, oh! It’s a dry building; no alcohol. I hope that helps?”

“It does, thank you,” I nodded slowly. “What can you tell me about Taylor?”

“Nice girl. She was quiet, stayed out of trouble,” Klarissa said quickly, suddenly looking nervous. “Really smart, not much of a party girl at all, unlike Lila. Those two definitely proved opposites can get along. I was their RA last year, too.”

“Did you notice anything unusual tonight?” I inquired, noticing how much the girl was fidgeting.

“Like what? I mean, it looked like an overdose,” Klarissa replied quickly, her eyes darting toward the room. “It was a normal day. Everyone moved in and there were no problems. I was too tired to party so I just went to sleep. I woke up when Lila screamed.”