boyfriends? Did she ever talk about her sexual experiences?”
Sarah shook her head. “The only guy she ever mentioned having a crush on was Michael. That was her freshman year before she found out he was into dudes. But let’s face it—even if she’d wanted to have sex with somebody, it wouldn’t have been with three guys at the same time. That’s what she said, that they took turns. I can tell you, she wasn’t like that at all.”
It wasn’t enough to get Sarah’s opinion. Theo needed examples of things Hayley had said or done that supported that characterization. With prodding, Sarah recounted conversations about dating and sex, the sort of girl talk roommates shared when they were drifting off to sleep.
“Tell me what you remember about Hayley’s behavior in the weeks after the incident. Was she depressed? Angry? Frustrated?”
“All of those. Some days she was hysterical. Like the day they called her from the dean’s office. I was sitting right there with her in the room. They told her how serious it was to make false allegations…something like that. She could be expelled.”
That also tracked with the other evidence from her notes to Michael. Sarah’s independent corroboration was an important addition, but not a smoking gun. A threat delivered by phone could have come from anyone—an administrator, a coach or even another student who wanted to protect the basketball program.
“One of her professors told her to go see a therapist so she did. Three or four times maybe. I don’t think it helped all that much though. Her prof was going to report what happened to the chancellor. But nothing ever came of it—they didn’t do anything at all.”
As a last effort to confirm the version of events Celia and Michael had cobbled together, she asked for the names of everyone in their sorority who might have talked with Hayley about what happened. In particular, she needed to substantiate the claim that Hayley’s state of mind deteriorated as a direct result of the school’s inaction. That was critical in order to hold the university responsible for her death.
“…and Jordan Cooke. Now there’s somebody you really ought to talk to. She’s a Chi Omega but we’re all friends. She was super pissed about it on account of it happened to her too, like a month ago. Not a whole bunch of guys like Hayley, but he did practically the same thing—put something in her drink while they were watching the tournament at Theta Pi house.”
“A month ago, you say.” The timeline was striking, but not as much as the fact that Jordan Cooke also had been drugged. “Did she report it?”
“Why bother? She saw how they handled Hayley. Those guys know all they have to do is say it was consensual. That’s it. No more questions.”
Theo looked at Jalinda, who nodded as she furiously made notes. They definitely wanted to talk to Jordan Cooke.
* * *
Celia cleared a corner of her desk for the cardboard box. “I appreciate this, Duncan. I packed that way too heavy to carry all the way from the faculty parking lot.”
Duncan had been eager to help in any way he could, though his brown-nosing was for naught. She’d already submitted her final grades for the semester.
“Anything else I can do?” he asked.
“Relax already. You got a B-minus.”
He pumped his fist and said a silent prayer skyward.
“But I’ll be honest with you. A lot of that was for effort and for turning in your work on time. Acting requires a fair bit of natural aptitude, and I don’t really think it’s your grace. If you’re set on a career in the performing arts, you might want to look on the business side.”
“Don’t worry. I promise not to sign up for any more of your classes. I’m a broadcast journalism major. I thought it would help if I had some performance experience, but Shakespeare doesn’t exactly jibe with SportsCenter.”
“And vice versa,” she added with a chuckle.
As she arranged the research materials on her
Sarah shook her head. “The only guy she ever mentioned having a crush on was Michael. That was her freshman year before she found out he was into dudes. But let’s face it—even if she’d wanted to have sex with somebody, it wouldn’t have been with three guys at the same time. That’s what she said, that they took turns. I can tell you, she wasn’t like that at all.”
It wasn’t enough to get Sarah’s opinion. Theo needed examples of things Hayley had said or done that supported that characterization. With prodding, Sarah recounted conversations about dating and sex, the sort of girl talk roommates shared when they were drifting off to sleep.
“Tell me what you remember about Hayley’s behavior in the weeks after the incident. Was she depressed? Angry? Frustrated?”
“All of those. Some days she was hysterical. Like the day they called her from the dean’s office. I was sitting right there with her in the room. They told her how serious it was to make false allegations…something like that. She could be expelled.”
That also tracked with the other evidence from her notes to Michael. Sarah’s independent corroboration was an important addition, but not a smoking gun. A threat delivered by phone could have come from anyone—an administrator, a coach or even another student who wanted to protect the basketball program.
“One of her professors told her to go see a therapist so she did. Three or four times maybe. I don’t think it helped all that much though. Her prof was going to report what happened to the chancellor. But nothing ever came of it—they didn’t do anything at all.”
As a last effort to confirm the version of events Celia and Michael had cobbled together, she asked for the names of everyone in their sorority who might have talked with Hayley about what happened. In particular, she needed to substantiate the claim that Hayley’s state of mind deteriorated as a direct result of the school’s inaction. That was critical in order to hold the university responsible for her death.
“…and Jordan Cooke. Now there’s somebody you really ought to talk to. She’s a Chi Omega but we’re all friends. She was super pissed about it on account of it happened to her too, like a month ago. Not a whole bunch of guys like Hayley, but he did practically the same thing—put something in her drink while they were watching the tournament at Theta Pi house.”
“A month ago, you say.” The timeline was striking, but not as much as the fact that Jordan Cooke also had been drugged. “Did she report it?”
“Why bother? She saw how they handled Hayley. Those guys know all they have to do is say it was consensual. That’s it. No more questions.”
Theo looked at Jalinda, who nodded as she furiously made notes. They definitely wanted to talk to Jordan Cooke.
* * *
Celia cleared a corner of her desk for the cardboard box. “I appreciate this, Duncan. I packed that way too heavy to carry all the way from the faculty parking lot.”
Duncan had been eager to help in any way he could, though his brown-nosing was for naught. She’d already submitted her final grades for the semester.
“Anything else I can do?” he asked.
“Relax already. You got a B-minus.”
He pumped his fist and said a silent prayer skyward.
“But I’ll be honest with you. A lot of that was for effort and for turning in your work on time. Acting requires a fair bit of natural aptitude, and I don’t really think it’s your grace. If you’re set on a career in the performing arts, you might want to look on the business side.”
“Don’t worry. I promise not to sign up for any more of your classes. I’m a broadcast journalism major. I thought it would help if I had some performance experience, but Shakespeare doesn’t exactly jibe with SportsCenter.”
“And vice versa,” she added with a chuckle.
As she arranged the research materials on her
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