As he got close to the large bank of elevators, he slowed his steps and yawned, when someone small crashed right into him. His yawn turned into a gasp, and he stumbled back a step as he focused on a surprised young woman with bright blue hair.
“Oh, gosh! I’m so sorry. I didn’t even see you there,” she said, covering her mouth with both hands. “Oh! Wait! You’re Carrick. No, you’re Jude.”
Jude blinked against the rush of words, trying to get his exhausted brain to catch up to what he was hearing while taking in the person’s appearance. She looked familiar, but it wasn’t until she dropped her hands to reveal a lip ring that he realized that he was looking at Jordan’s ex-girlfriend Emily. Of course, now she had a couple more piercings in her ears. Her long black hair had also been chopped into a pixie cut and dyed blue to nearly match her wide eyes.
“Emily, right?” he said slowly.
“Yes. We met at a dinner over at Jordan’s mother’s. Well…I guess your mother’s too,” she said with a blush. “I…I heard about Jordan. I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. How did you hear?” It wasn’t like they were advertising it on social media that Jordan had been beaten and shot. The news was kept to immediate family for the most part.
“I ran into Brian Perkins at NKU between classes. He told me. How’s Jordan doing?”
“He’s still in critical condition, but he’s fighting it.” Jude paused and swallowed back the lump that was forming in his throat again. He had to cling to positive thoughts, especially after the rough start to the day. “It’s going to be a very long recovery for him.”
Emily nodded and stopped to wipe her eyes. “Jordan has always been a fighter. For as long as I’ve known him.”
Her comment pinged something in his brain, and for a moment Jude was able to push aside his worries and focus on another issue. “Can I ask how long you’ve known my brother?”
“Oh…ah…I think we met back in our sophomore or junior year.”
“You went to the same high school?”
Emily shook her head. “No, I was out at Dixie, but we met through some mutual friends. We all used to hang out on weekends and just kind of goof off. Then we tried the dating thing for a while. But…you know…”
No, Jude didn’t know, and that was what he was trying desperately to get to the bottom of. He flashed her a smile that he didn’t feel in the least just to keep her from getting scared. “How long did you and Jordan date?”
Emily’s eyes dropped to the ground instantly, and she shoved her hands into the pockets of her puffy pale blue coat. “Not long. Six months, maybe.” Her voice became softer and she sniffed.
“I’m sorry, Emily. I don’t mean to bring up something painful. It’s just…this whole thing doesn’t make sense to me. Why would anyone attack Jordan? I’m trying to talk to his friends, find out what was happening in his life prior to the attack.”
The young woman looked back up at him and held his gaze for several seconds. He could see the pity there in those blue depths before she shook her head again.
“I don’t know how much help I can be. Jordan and I haven’t talked for months. He…well, it just didn’t work out, and we went our separate ways. It’s not like we had a big fight or anything.”
“Can I ask why?”
She stared at him again and he was starting to get afraid that she’d blow off the question, but to his surprise she said, “Have you ever been sitting with someone, but knew that they weren’t even aware you were in the room?” Jude gave a small nod and she continued. “It didn’t start out like that, but in the last couple of months, it was like he didn’t care if I was around or not. And I wanted to date someone who wanted to spend time with me. I thought we’d be able to stay friends, but I never heard from him again. After talking to Brian, I get that he stopped talking to a lot of people, but I really don’t know why.”
“Thank you, Emily. I really appreciate your honesty.”
“I’m sorry I can’t help more.” He nodded and pointed her in the direction of the family room, where she’d be able to pass along her sympathy to his mother. She liked Emily. He remembered her remarking after that dinner that she liked the girl’s spunk.
Turning toward the elevators, Jude punched the call button and sighed heavily. While interesting, Emily’s information didn’t really help him out a damn bit. When the doors opened, Jude stepped inside and was instantly grateful that it was empty. He selected the button for the floor he needed and leaned against the wall. Closing his eyes, he tried to sift through all the information he had, but it did no good. There were too many missing chunks to fit anything useful together.