‘Why The Cellar Club?’ Banks asked.
Neela shrugged. ‘It’s the coolest place near campus. And the DJ is really wicked.’
‘As in a DJ who plays records?’ Banks asked.
‘What? No, like, a real DJ.’
Banks assumed that she meant one of those idiots who spins records backwards and talks all the time. ‘And you and Adrienne used to go to these dances and take E?’
Neela nodded. ‘Sometimes. Not always. And not for a while. Mostly it was last year. There was a whole gang of us.’
‘All girls?’
‘No. Mixed. But we were all just, like, friends. Nobody was going out together or anything.’
‘Just E? Any other drugs? Cocaine, speed, downers? I happen to know you can buy just about anything at The Cellar Club, Neela. You probably also know that Eastvale has a growing drug problem these days, and the college especially. Places like The Cellar Club.’
Neela looked horrified. ‘No. Nothing serious like that. Honest. Just a little E. And only now and then.’
‘I know that E might seem safe,’ Banks said, ‘but it has caused problems with some people who’ve used it.’
‘That’s just dehydration, though, isn’t it? We always make sure we drink gallons of water.’
‘There can be other problems,’ Banks went on, aware he was sounding like a boring old fogey. ‘Contaminated pills. Depression. Heart disease. When was the last time you went to The Cellar Club?’
‘About a month ago. Just after the start of term.’
‘Did Adrienne take E on that occasion?’
‘No. None of us did.’
‘OK. Let’s move on. Did Adrienne have a boyfriend?’
‘Not this term.’
Adrienne’s parents had said the same, but Banks was more inclined to believe her best friend. ‘You sound very sure about that, Neela.’
‘I am. She didn’t have time, working at the shelter on weekends and keeping up with her term work during the week. Then there was her music. She thought it was important to keep practising her violin, even though she didn’t have enough time for the orchestra any more. She told me she wasn’t planning on dating anyone this year, and as far as I know she didn’t. Besides, she would have told me.’
‘Usually when any of my best friends got boyfriends,’ said Winsome, ‘I saw a lot less of them. You say you saw less of Adrienne. Might that not be why?’
‘No. Not in this case. I would have known. Besides, she told me she didn’t have or want a boyfriend. Why would she lie?’
Good point, Banks thought. Though if the boyfriend were someone who might elicit Neela’s disapproval, Adrienne might keep it to herself. On the other hand, they say that young love puts a spring in your step, and best friends notice things like that.
‘And last year?’
‘Colin Fairfax.’
It was the boyfriend Adrienne’s parents had mentioned. The ‘nice lad’ she took home for tea.
‘What happened between them? Did they have a row?’
‘Dunno. Don’t think so.’
‘There was no big split up, no fight or falling out?’
‘Not as far as I know.’
‘Was it because of someone else? Because Adrienne took up with another boy, or Colin with another girl?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘Did Adrienne cry on your shoulder? Was she upset about the break-up?’
‘I’m sure she was upset, but she wasn’t the type to cry on anyone’s shoulder. We shared lots of stuff like best mates do, but she could be secretive, could Adrienne, and sometimes she kept her feelings bottled up.’
‘Is Colin Fairfax still around?’
‘Yes. We bump into him every now and then.’
‘At The Cellar Club?’
‘Not so much there. Just around campus. The coffee shop, the pub.’
‘And did he and Adrienne get along all right?’
‘They were fine. Just, like, old friends. But he wasn’t part of the gang. Mostly we hung around with Jessica, Cameron, Chloe and Callum and the rest.’
‘Can you give us the full names, Neela?’
Neela did so and Winsome wrote them down.
‘There was Mia, too, at first,’ Neela said, ‘but she dropped out. I’m sorry I don’t know her second name.’
‘When did she drop out?’
‘Quite early. I remember she was around at the start of term, that was the twenty-fifth of September, but she’d gone by mid-October at the latest.’
‘Why did she leave? Where did she go?’
‘Dunno. I didn’t know her very well. I guess she decided Eastvale College just wasn’t for her.’
‘And Colin Fairfax wasn’t part of the gang?’
‘No. Like I said, we just saw him occasionally, to say hello to.’
‘What’s he studying?’
‘Modern languages.’
‘Is there any chance he might have been stalking Adrienne? You know, pestering her to get back with him or anything like that. Is that what might have made her distracted, on edge? Frightened or apprehensive, even?’
Neela shook her head. ‘She certainly didn’t say anything like that to me, and I’m sure she would have done if there was a problem like that. Anyway, Colin’s not particularly scary.’
‘So you never noticed him hanging around when he wasn’t wanted, that sort of thing?’
‘No. Like I said, we just saw him in the coffee shop or the library sometimes.’
‘OK, Neela,’ said Winsome. ‘Have there been any wannabe boyfriends since Colin Fairfax? Anyone Adrienne was interested in, or who was interested in her?’
Neela made a snorting sound. ‘There was always someone interested in Adrienne. You should have seen her. She was so pretty. Boys fell all over themselves to buy her drinks and stuff.’
‘But she didn’t single out anyone in particular for her affections?’
‘No. She wasn’t interested. Just wanted to save up and go to Africa. That was her dream. We always did stuff as a group, like. Not pairing off in couples.’
It was what a lot of young people today did who didn’t want commitment or unwanted attentions, Banks knew. ‘What about money?’ he asked.
‘What about it?’
‘Was it a problem for her?’
‘Money’s always a problem. It’s very expensive to go to university.’
‘But surely the scholarship must have helped?’ said Winsome.
Neela frowned. ‘Scholarship? What scholarship?’
‘The one she got this year. The one that paid her fees and allowed her to avoid taking out student loans.’
Neela shook her head. ‘I know nothing about any scholarship.’
‘She never told you?’
‘No. But come to think of it, she was a bit more flush this year. She didn’t go on about money problems as much as she did last year. Never asked to borrow any. She even paid me some back. I thought maybe she’d got a raise at the shelter as well as working extra hours there, but they don’t really do things like that, do they, not in jobs like that? Mostly they expect you to volunteer because you love animals. Adrienne would have done it for nothing. As it was, they barely paid her the minimum wage.’