Today was a bit weird because shortly after posting the pic, I ran into an old acquaintance I hadn't seen for a long time. We were talking about Bloomington and the subject of Lauren's disappearance came up. His nephew works at Kilroy's and said on that night Lauren kept going around the bar asking people if they had any coke.
We don't know if this story is true; and it might not be fair to LS to imply that she was participating in illegal activity.
The phrase "kept going around" could be interpreted as meaning that LS behavior was persistent and perhaps aggressive. The situation suggested: the not-too-busy bar may have had 5 or 6 (?) tables, extremely loud music, groups of students and/or young couples. LS then approached these tables and asked these small groups of people whom she presumably did not know very well if they had cocaine.
The fact that persistence is implied suggests that other people were trying to discourage her from this behavior; but she "
kept going around ..."
Who would be discouraging her from this behavior? Some friend in the bar? CR? The other patrons themselves? The bar staff?
On the other hand, LS may have known the other patrons or at least knew who they were. If a group of people who happened to know each other all happened to be at the bar that night, maybe this meeting had been planned. CR & LS may have gone to the bar for a perhaps very informally organized meet-up.
While she was supposedly asking for the drugs, what was CR supposedly doing?
How did the bar staff get this info? Could anyone really hear what LS was saying at other tables, or was the bar staff independently informed that LS had asked multiple persons for cocaine?
I was flummoxed because this is a version I have not heard before. He said a Hispanic guy approached her several times asking her if she wanted to do some coke. (Maybe she didn't because she was with CR? Because they wanted to buy and do on their on? Who knows?)
CR would have described the man's behavior to the police. He would probably be able to identify the man, or he might know who he is.
LS supposedly persisted in the face of repeated refusals and/or discouragement in asking the various patrons for cocaine, but yet when this particular individual offers her the cocaine, she rejects the offer.
Asking someone several times if they want to do drugs sounds a bit aggressive, esp. when she is with another guy.
Maybe LS was afraid of the guy, and that's why she and CR left to go to Smallwood.
My acquaintance thinks this dude waited until he saw her alone and then invited her to do coke with him.
This scenario makes sense for several reasons, and I'm interested in just sitting with it for a while. It actually feels good not to be fixated on the usual suspects, as they say.
Possibly LS confided in a friend that she was being threatened by someone, but the friend wasn't paying much attention at the time.
The story also suggests that CR did not want to confront this individual.