by Becky McGraw
Susan walked up the steps at the front of the six-columned stately administrative offices of Wellington College like she owned the place. She would own it if these people were using her fucking sister for a guinea pig, a lab rat, like she suspected they were.
Her sneakers squeaked on the highly polished floors as she made a left and stalked down the hallway. She tossed tight smiles at the few coeds she passed in the hallway, but her focus didn’t waver from the office at the far end of the long hallway. Since it was Saturday, she knew the administrative office closed at two o’clock, and it was just now that. That damned door better not be locked, or she might very well pull the pistol from her waistband and blow out the glass. One way or another, she wasn’t leaving this campus without talking to Bertie Williams.
She pushed and thankfully the door opened. Stopping at the marble counter, she leaned over and made eye contact with the student serving as the office assistant. Susan didn’t bother to try and hide the fact that she was angry. Very angry. “I need to speak with Ms. Williams right now.”
The girl’s eyebrows raised. “Oh, Ms. Williams is in a meeting with the Dean at the moment. Did you have an appointment?”
“No, I did not, but I will wait until Ms. Williams is finished with her meeting.”
The young woman glanced at the clock on the wall, then gnawed her lip. “The office closes at two o’clock, and I’m sure Ms. Williams will be leav—”
“No, Ms. Williams is not leaving today, until I speak with her,” Susan said succinctly. Unless she wants to leave toes up that is. And that could definitely be arranged as mad as Susan was at the moment.
“Uh, yes, ma’am.” The girl rose from the computer chair and walked over to lift the end of the counter. “You can wait in her office then. I’m sure she won’t mind,” she said sounding quite unsure of her decision.
Susan wanted to kiss the girl, as she walked through the opening, followed her past the Dean’s office door, which was closed, and down the hall to the last office on the right. She held open the door and Susan went inside.
“Can I have your name, so I can let her know you’re waiting?” the girl asked.
“No, I want it to be a surprise,” Susan replied. She wasn’t about to let this girl clue in horse-face that she was here, so she could call security.
“Uh, okay…can I get you something to drink?” she asked.
“No, thank you,” Susan replied with a wave of her hand. “You just do what you need to do, and I’ll wait.” And search this office to see if I can find out what the fuck is going on with my sister, since she refuses to tell me.
The door shut, and Susan sprang into action. She ran behind the desk and sifted through the stacks of paper on the desk, scanning them. One stack was tuition bills, which were stamped with a red overdue mark on the top of them. Beside that pile was a similar stack, but the red stamp was marked through and over it was a bigger blue paid stamp. That was the stack Susan was most interested in. Slowly, she scanned each invoice, noted the names and amounts, looked for anything unusual, before setting it aside. About ten invoices into the stack, she found one with Callie’s name on it and stopped to look closer. The amount of overdue tuition the girl owed was staggering. Almost fifty thousand dollars. Susan knew Jenna’s roommate was from a very poor background. Her family struggled to keep her at the school. Fortunately though, Callie was also one of the smartest students at the college according to Jenna. She found and applied for a lot of private grants to help her family keep her at the school.
Susan was curious if Jenna’s invoice was in the stack, and she wanted to find out before horse-face caught her snooping. She quickly flipped through them until she found her sister’s name. A staple in the left corner alerted her that there was an attachment. She quickly flipped the page and saw it was a contract. Susan had only scanned the first paragraph of the contract when the door flew open. Her eyes flew up to meet the mean brown eyes of the bursar, and a shot of adrenaline zipped through her.
“What in the world do you think you’re doing, Ms. Whitmore?” Bertie Williams demanded indignantly, as she walked inside.
Think Susan, think. Susan dropped the papers back onto the desk. Going on the offense, Susan lobbed an arrow. “Funny,” she said walking around the desk. “I’m here to ask you exactly the same thing, Bertie. What in the world have you done to my sister?”
Bertie harrumphed, as she pushed past Susan to move behind her desk. “I have no idea what you mean. If you’d like to discuss anything, I suggest you make an appointment. I am finished for the day.”
Susan slammed her palms down on the desk, and took great pleasure to see Bertie Williams flinch. She leaned in closer into the woman’s personal space. “You could be finished forever, lady, if you don’t tell me what the hell is going on with my sister.” Susan growled.
“I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about,” she said taking a sidestep to shuffle the scattered papers back into a pile.
“Stop playing dumb, Bertie. Jenna is ill and I have a feeling it has something to do with this secret project you’ve talked her into joining.”
Bertie folded her arms over her flat chest. “If Jenna is ill with the flu which seems to be affecting this campus, have her go to the infirmary. I’m afraid I can no longer discuss the project or anything else pertaining to your sister’s education with you, Ms. Whitmore. Jenna is an adult and has chosen to exclude you from her decision-making. I’m afraid there’s not a thing you can do about it.”
“We’ll see about that. I’ll talk to the Dean,” Susan grated, folding her own arms.
“The Dean has left for the day and is away next week,” horse-face informed smugly. “I can assure you she will concur with my position on the matter anyway.”
If that position was face down on the floor, Susan wondered if the Dean would concur with that? That’s exactly where Susan wanted to put Bertie Williams right at that moment. “You’ve coerced my sister into joining a project that is negatively impacting her health and most likely her studies.” That was entirely too calm, it wasn’t accomplishing anything, so Susan folded her lips over her teeth to shout, “I want to know what’s going on here now!”
“Jenna has chosen to participate in this voluntary and confidential project. Neither of us are going to discuss it with you. I’m afraid there’s not a thing you can do about it.” Bertie seemed unaffected, and quite smug for a woman who was very near to pushing Susan over the edge.
Susan’s eyes fixed on the white keycard with horse-face’s photo on it. It sat on the edge of the desk on the other side of her chair taunting her. That was the golden ticket to get her back in here tonight to get the answers she wanted. But she couldn’t let Bertie know what she was up to, so she dragged her eyes back up. “I’m sure you’d hate to have the FBI investigating your programs, Bertie.” Susan wrinkled her nose. “Those kind of investigations are never pretty. I bet if I dropped a few hints, I could get the IRS in on the action too.”
“If you were still with the FBI, Ms. Whitmore, I might be concerned. Since you’re not, I guess I have nothing to worry about, but you on the other hand have a lot to fret over. Like the fact that you are trespassing in my office. You have no business here, so I suggest you leave, Ms. Whitmore. If you don’t leave, I’ll be forced to call the police.”
So that’s why Bertie had a new attitude with her. Even though Jenna said she hadn’t, it was obvious that someone had told Bertie that Susan was no longer employed by the FBI. Whatever shred of respect this woman might have had for her was gone. Now that Jenna had signed the emancipation papers, declared herself an adult, Bertie had an opening as wide as the Grand Canyon to move in and work her black magic on Jenna, and had done that. Because she didn’t consider Susan a threat.
Stupid woman.
Susan slid her hand on the desk, and one of the stacks of papers disappeared over the edge of the desk to flutter to the floor. Bertie gasped, her chair shot back and she dropped to her knees. “Get ou
t!” she grated, as she gathered up the papers. “Or I’ll call security to have you removed!”
Susan leaned across the desk, and grabbed the plastic keycard. For good measure, to keep Bertie too busy to notice, she shoved another stack of paper off of the desk, as she inserted the card into her pocket.
“I will be happy to leave, Bertie. Your office smells like onion-covered mothballs,” Susan said as she walked to the door. “Be a nice host and have it deodorized before I come back won’t you?” And I will be back. Tonight.
From the floor behind her desk, Bertie mumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like fuck you. Laughter bubbled in Susan’s throat as she walked through the door and slammed it shut.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Shortly after dark, Susan sat slumped down behind the steering wheel of her car in the parking lot across from the admin building at the college, which happened to be the parking lot of the library and student union building. That gave her some degree of cover because it was open late, and students were always in and out of the buildings. In the last two hours there hadn’t been any activity inside the admin building. The cleaning crew had come and gone, and now the building was quiet. Susan just needed one more cigarette to calm her nerves before she did this. Because she knew a blow pop just wasn’t going to do it tonight, she’d stopped at a convenience store earlier to buy a pack, before she set up here to watch and wait.
Thank God most of her wardrobe was black, so this morning she’d worn black yoga pants with a baggy black top and her sneakers. At least she’d be mostly camouflaged in the darkness if she kept to the hedgerow near the building. Quietly, she patted the pocket in her pants to make sure the key was still there, and opened the car door. Susan casually strolled toward the admin building so she didn’t attract attention. She crossed the street, and walked down the sidewalk to the side of the building, before moving into the shadows. At the foot of the steps to the side entrance, she stopped and pulled the key card from the pocket in her pants.
The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she slid the card into the slot on the outside of the door. Automatically her right hand went to the center of her back for her gun, and she found nothing but the holster. Purposely, she’d left her weapon in the car so she didn’t get into more trouble if she happened to get caught doing this. Susan was not used to working alone, and doing it now was a little disconcerting. But she needed to do this to help her sister. Until she knew exactly what Jenna had gotten herself into, she couldn’t help her.
The red light blinked, and Susan slid the card into the slot again making sure she kept it steady as she swiped. The green light came on and she heard the lock disengage in the door. Huffing a relieved sigh, she pulled it open, and slipped inside. Adrenaline caused her heart to speed up as she walked down the long hall toward the admin office. Her hand shook as she slid the keycard into the slot outside the door, and her breath came out in a whoosh when the tumbler released. So far, so good, she thought opening the heavy glass door. She let it swing shut behind her and looked around to get her bearings in the darkened office. Ducking under the counter, Susan started down the hallway toward Bertie Williams office.
Her hand closed on the doorknob, and she froze when she heard the lock up front beep and the tumbler roll again. Susan’s heart shot up to her throat, as she hurriedly twisted the knob and the door opened thank goodness. She shut the door and leaned back against it, feeling a little lightheaded from the adrenaline coursing through her.
Heavy footsteps sounded on the tile floor of the hallway outside the door, and Susan held her breath praying she wouldn’t hear the doorknob jiggle. The footsteps stopped right outside the bursar’s door, and her heart skidded to a stop. It had to be a security guard doing a routine pass through the building. Or she hoped it was anyway. For one long minute she waited to hear that jiggle, but it didn’t come. When the footsteps finally started again, Susan’s breath came out in a rush.
Being this keyed up over something she’d done for ten years for a living was just absurd. Well, illegal B & E wasn’t what she’d done, this was new. And although she’d been on undercover missions to solve federal cases, Susan hadn’t been in the field much in the last six years after she was promoted to SAC. She’d sat in an office and sent others out into the field. Right now, considering her anxiety, it was obvious she’d lost her edge in those six years, and the odds of her being caught tonight were damned high. She couldn’t hide behind her badge now. If she got caught, she was going to jail, end of story.
But she had to do this for her sister. And if she was going to get out of this office with the information she needed without spending the night in jail, she’d better find that edge again and stop being afraid of her shadow. Susan pulled the little penlight she’d bought at the gas station out of her pocket and flicked it on.
Running the beam over Bertie’s desk, she saw that it was completely clear now, and cursed under her breath as she walked to the desk. She yanked on a drawer and it was locked. Picking locks was not in Susan’s training at the academy, and she didn’t even have a paper clip to give it a try. Damn, this was not working out as she thought it would. But she was in here now, so she had to at least try to find some answers.
Turning, Susan ran the flashlight beam along the bookshelves behind the desk, reading the spines on the books and binders to try and find something that would help her. At the end of the shelf, the beam hit a black binder with a white adhesive label that read GenMax Project Data, and her breath hitched. That was the name of the project on the contract attached to Jenna’s tuition invoice. Paydirt, she thought, as she reached for it, but couldn’t quite grab it. She tiptoed, but still couldn’t slide the thick binder out. Putting her flashlight between her teeth, Susan grabbed the upper shelf and pulled herself up on the ledge. She yanked the binder and it came out too fast. She wobbled and fought to try and steady herself, but without her hands it was impossible. The binder was so heavy, it slipped from her hand, bounced on the edge of Bertie’s desk and clattered loudly as it landed inside the metal trashcan at the base of the desk.
The door flew open, the light came on and a scream lodged in her throat as Susan lifted her forearm to block the flashlight which was blinding her. “Get down slow and easy lady, and I won’t shoot you,” the guard drawled, his voice quavering. “The cops are on the way.”
Susan lowered her arm slowly, and saw the guy did indeed have a pistol aimed at her. His hands were shaking so badly, Susan was worried he might accidentally shoot her. “Okay, put the gun down and I’ll get down,” she said not daring to move until he did.
***
“She’s where?” Dave shouted, his blood pumping more from anger than exertion as he leaned on the rake he had been using since dawn to clean out the horse stalls in the barn at his parent’s ranch. It was long after dark now, but he wasn’t quitting. Dave had to finish and be at the compound by eight in the morning. But thanks to Susan Whitmore, it appeared he wouldn’t be doing anything other than trying to get her out of jail tonight. “What the fuck did she do now?” he asked Slade, not really wanting to hear.
And wasn’t it was ironic she’d called Slade, the man he’d had to bail out of jail more often than any of the others on his team? Even Fletcher, a man who was a felon before he even reached adulthood. But then Susan and his second-in-command were damned cozy for some reason. Probably because they were alike. Smart ass delinquents. When they got into trouble they sure seemed to remember his number though. Dave wished they’d remember it before they decided to do whatever they were thinking of that might get their ass in the slammer. He didn’t have kids, but sometimes he felt like he had a whole team of them to watch out for.
Slade chuckled, and Dave ground his teeth. “Snapper decided she needed something from the bursar’s office at Wellington College, but she didn’t want to wait until morning and be late to the compound to meet you.”
“Bullshit.” Susan wasn’t laying her illegal late night activitie
s off on him.
“Yeah, it is,” Slade admitted with another laugh. “It has something to do with her sister. She went to visit her at school and thinks something squirrely is going on. Susan broke into the bursar’s office to do a little recon, and was caught by the mall cops.”
Dave rolled his eyes and sighed. “Well, she called you buddy. I guess that means you need to go bail her out.”
Dave hadn’t missed the kissing sounds in the background on Slade’s end of the line. It was Saturday night, and he’d had plenty enough time to get some willing female in bed. Dave knew exactly what his friend was doing right then. He had a feeling it didn’t have a damned thing to do with shoveling horseshit. Except over the phone to Dave.
Everyone had a life except him.
Slade’s breathing hitched, he moaned and Dave was done. “Deal with it, Slade. I’m busy,” he growled.
“Whoa, mmm…” Slade said quickly.
“I’m going to hang up, Slade,” Dave grated.
“Bail isn’t set yet, she hasn’t even seen the judge. She sounded pretty bad, man. I think this is going to take pulling some strings, and you are the puppet master.”
Then why the hell did he feel like the puppet right then? Everyone wanted him dancing to their tune, his family, his men, and now a woman. Sometimes, Dave just wanted to cut the strings, find a desert island and camp there for the rest of his life. He had survival skills, the Recon Marines had taught him plenty. He would do just fine.
“What college? And where is she being held?”
“Wellington and the Hays County lockup.”
Dave sighed heavily. “I’m on it.”
“What’s going on, Dave?” his mother asked from the next stall.
“I’ve gotta go, mom, I’m sorry. I’ll come back and finish one day next week.” Dave didn’t have time to come back out here, he had a mission to get ready for, but he couldn’t leave all this on his mother.