My phone buzzed. “Love you, sweetie. Thinking about your delicious little pussy and my cock is hard again. Love to fuck you in front of my class right now.”
I gulped. Picked up my phone. Debated. I knew responding was the wrong thing to do. Hell, even clicking the text would give him satisfaction. The text faded from my screen. I swiped my finger across and opened a new text.
“Hey Eddie, been thinking we need a redo on our last date. You up for it tonight? Eight? My place?”
I put my phone down. Let out a long breath.
Eddie texted back within a minute. “Absolutely. See you at eight. I’ll bring a bottle of wine and some dessert.”
I smiled with relief. Distraction. Check.
One last thought of Steve—a fleeting cringe-worthy idea of what would happen if he found out about Eddie and then I shook it off. Steve didn’t control me. No man did.
Then I dug back into my research and didn’t look up again for an hour.
It was the flickering of the lights that had me regaining awareness of things around me. I glanced at the overhanging fluorescent bulbs. One was fluttering like it was about to lose its grasp on life any second. I thought about letting someone know but remembered that I didn’t have a security key to get back down to the archive room and also probably shouldn’t have been down there without Steve. Losing the light wouldn’t send me into total darkness anyway—it would just make reading a little more difficult.
I closed up the book I’d been going through and decided to give my body a stretch. With a glance at the call number on the two books Steve had brought, I picked both up. I’d gotten what I needed from them and wanted to see what else there was. I had another hour to kill before I needed to head back to the office to meet up with Arthur. I opened the door of the room I was in and met total darkness.
My heart ramped up and I’ll admit to panicking a little. Darkness in front of me. A maw of nothing. It was creepy. I almost dropped the books.
“Hello?” Had Steve, the fucker, turned the lights off when he left?
I stood still, listening. Hearing nothing but the thump of my heart. Seriously, it was in my throat. I couldn’t explain why I was so freaked out, I just was.
“Hello?” I sucked in a breath then took a few steps past the doorway.
As soon as I moved the lights came back on with buzzing comfort. I let out my breath and chuckled to myself. Sensor lights. Of course. I shook off the creepies and moved into the stacks, taking the wrong direction at first, but finding my way eventually. Steve had gotten the books I was carrying from along the back wall, an area that I hadn’t given too much time in my initial roaming, mainly because the section was more modern looking. Didn’t hold the same appeal as the old and worn texts had. Now I knew better.
I rounded the corner, the call numbers I was looking for within sight and halted mid-step. In between two shelves was a gate. I moved closer. Another fucking passageway entrance. I shivered despite myself. This one was covered with what looked to be a heavy duty plastic bolted around the wall. I moved past it, found the spots that housed my books and put them back. Then I returned to the gate to investigate. It was old, like the one upstairs in the library and by the looks of things, unlatched. I ran my fingers along the plastic, a slight dampness touched my skin. It wasn’t sealed. I leaned closer, curled the edge of my fingers along the seam and gave a yank.
“You shouldn’t be down here.”
The plastic pulled back. I yelped, jumped about a foot and spun to face whomever spoke, fists in the air. And he was too close. All I could see was man. Without thinking, I shot my fist out and slammed it into him. Gut shot.
He went down with a moan, curling into his body. “What…the hell…did you…do that for?” he panted.
“Oh my god!” He was scrawny, just a kid, couldn’t have been more than twenty with a mop of brown curly hair and glasses. I’d just punched out a nerd. What an asshole. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” I bent down to help him up.
He eyed my hand warily. Wincing as he rocked onto his ass. His face was the shade of a stop sign.
“I’m not going to hurt you again.” I motioned for him to take my hand. When he hesitated, I sighed and pulled my offering back. “Well, what the hell were you doing sneaking up on me like that?”
“I wasn’t sneaking!” he squeaked.
“Whatever.” I shrugged and took a step back.
He stood with some effort, rubbing his stomach and adjusting his glasses. “Besides, you didn’t hit me that hard. I just wasn’t expecting it.”
Uh huh. I’d hit him about as hard as I hit the standing punching bag. Pretty damn hard.
“Well, for what it’s worth, I am sorry. I don’t like people taking me by surprise.”
“Yeah.” He rubbed his stomach again and winced. “I kinda got that.”
I pointed toward the stacks. “I was just doing a bit of research with Professor Caul.”
The kid looked around. “You’re down here with someone?”
“No, he had to go. I was just putting my books back when I saw the passage gate.”
The kid’s face had somewhat returned to a normal shade but his hand was still protectively covering this abdomen. “Well, you shouldn’t be down here alone.” He sneered a little. “I bet you don’t even have a security pass. If you got hurt no one would know you were down here.”
Ooookay. “I’m not worried about getting hurt. I can take care of myself.” I shrugged, cutting the kid off before he could argue. “I’m getting one. I’m a research assistant with Arthur Stone.”
“Either way. It’s better you don’t come down here until you have one.”
“Sure, okay.” I could have argued it, was pretty certain I could either sweet talk or bully the kid into letting me stay but I figured it was better to scatter for a bit. I’d just assaulted a student, probably not the best way to start my job. I began to move around him then paused. “Hey, did you know that the plastic there isn’t sealed? It’s letting damp air in, could damage the books.” And it had practically pulled out of the wall when he’d startled me.
The kid moved to inspect the plastic, his fingers picking at the spot I’d just been looking at. “Yeah, that’s one of the reasons we’re scanning the books.” He ran his hand over the drafty spot and shook his head. “I found this entrance a few weeks ago; it was behind a cabinet that was falling apart. Probably ’cause of the dampness. The wood was all bloated, case studies getting damaged. I got the books moved and was going to just replace the shelf when I found the passageway. Pretty cool, huh?” He made it sound like he’d built the damn thing himself. “You ever been down there?” He peered through the plastic, cupping his hand over his eyes to cut the glare of the lights.
“Nah, you?” I leaned back a little, scanning the kid from head to toe. He was wearing combat pants, a black T-shirt and shitkicker boots, probably steel toe. Not as scrawny as I thought either. His shoulders were broad, arms toned. He was taller than me by a few inches. And all of a sudden, he was sending off some major creep vibes.
He glanced over his shoulder and speared me with a smirk. “Could get lost down there. You ever hear the stories? Satan worship and all that? I bet they sacrificed virgins.” He turned, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he scanned me from head to toe and back again.
I took a step toward him, eye to eye, fist clenched. “I guess you better watch yourself then, huh? Someone might be looking for some fresh virgins.”
He curled his lip up and gave me a haughty huff. “I’m not into older chicks and I’m not a virgin.”
As if I was coming on to him. I gave him a wicked smile as I stepped back. “You better let someone know about the plastic.” I moved past him, forcing him to the side and placed my fingers on the edge. “It’s not sealed to the wall.” I gave the plastic a tug and it pulled away, the bolts that should have held it in place coming smoothly out.
“Oh shit!” He hastily pushed the plastic back and gave me a dirty
look. “Don’t do that!”
I took a step back, hands raised. “I just thought you should know.”
“Yeah, whatever, okay.” The kid pushed hard on the plastic like he could reseal it with his hand. “I’ll let them know upstairs.”
“You wouldn’t want anyone wandering around down there, getting lost, having their guts ripped out all in the name of Satan.” I winked; he curled his lip again. “Gotta protect the virgins.” I walloped him hard on the back. “I bet you’re just the guy for the job.”
I stopped by the coffee house and picked up a couple for Arthur and myself. It had already been a long day. I needed the caffeine infusion. Part of my job duties was to sort the papers and give him a list of who hadn’t submitted. He liked to be prepared for when a student came crying about his or her zero. I hadn’t done that yet thanks to the Steve distraction. I also needed to help Arthur plan for his next series of lectures. He had said he wanted a change and needed my input on the direction he planned on going. All in all, it would probably take a couple of hours. Plenty of time left to get home, clean up and be ready for Eddie’s visit.
As I walked across campus, I felt the tug of nostalgia again. I really did love being around books and students. Academia suited me pretty well. This campus was home to me no matter how much time I spent away. Most of the structures on the way to Arthur’s office were at least a hundred years old. Heritage buildings that screamed academia complete with ivy roping its way from ground to roof and gargoyles hanging out on every ledge. I loved it here. Maybe Arthur wasn’t totally insane to think I could be happy with a teaching position. Hell, if Steve had done it, I certainly could as well. It would take some time to get in, but it’s not like I had better things to do. And it gave me more time to snoop. I was going to connect with Devin Bells, talk to her about the alibi she’d given. The passageway entrance to the archive room would be something Eddie might find particularly interesting. It would give him something else to focus on instead of being so fixated on Arthur.
I made it back to the Psych building without spilling the coffees and entered the main office. My desk was still cluttered, a few extra papers tossed on top of my piles. Arthur’s coat was on the rack. So he was back.
I beelined straight for his door, not bothering to knock before I barged in.
And there he was, pants around his ankles, dick deeply buried into Helen from behind. She was half sprawled on his desk, papers scattered all over the floor.
“Holy shit!” I managed to keep a grip on the coffees somehow.
Arthur’s head snapped up, eyes blazing with a predatory gleam. I flinched. I’d never seen sex on his face before.
“Shit, I’m sorry.” I backed out of the room and closed the door. My heart was hammering, my palms sweaty. I was sure my face was glowing red by the burn I felt. “Fuck.”
I moved over to my desk and put the coffees down. That had been unexpected. And slightly gross. I shuddered. I felt like I’d just walked in on my parents doing it.
About ten minutes later, Helen came scurrying out of Arthur’s office, her eyes down, a little smirk on her lips like she was trying not to burst out laughing. She murmured something that sounded like see you later and was out the office door in two seconds flat. I sat numbly in my chair, not sure what to do.
Arthur appeared, leaning against the doorframe. “So, that was awkward.” He chuckled when I looked up at him.
“Just a little.” I laughed lightly then picked up his coffee. “I got this for you, thought you might need a pick up.”
He burst out laughing, like full on belly laugh. “Oh, Jade, the look on your face.”
I shook my head. “Give me a break, old man. That was the last thing I expected to see.”
“No shit!” He slapped his leg. “Your face is still a nice crimson.”
I reached up to pat my cheek, feeling the heat against my palm. “Well, laugh it up.”
He wheezed out a few more rounds of chuckling and then grabbed the coffee from my hand. “At my age I’ve got to take it when I can get it.”
I tried to keep my expression neutral, even though I so didn’t want to know anything more. “Well, it doesn’t seem like you’re having any trouble in that department.”
“Helen is a little minx. With her I don’t even need any medicated encouragement, if you know what I mean.” He winked.
“Ugh, can you stop, please?”
Arthur chuckled again. “Stop being such a prude. Don’t deny me my happiness. It’s not like I don’t know what you and Steve do and where you do it.”
I wanted to die. Seriously. “Stop.”
He laughed again then turned into his office. “Get your ass in here, I’m not paying you to sit around. We have work to do.”
“Yeah, well, if you want me to keep working for you, you’re going to need to start locking some doors around here.”
More laughing came from inside. I sighed, grabbed my coffee and laptop, knowing that from now on, Arthur’s office was going to mean something totally different to me and not in a good way. I hoped to hell it didn’t smell like sex. Arthur sex. I shuddered again.
21
I opened the door dressed in yoga pants and a tank top. Eddie’s eyes lit up.
He lifted the box of pastries and smiled. “Brought you something delicious.”
I eyed the box, reaching for it as I motioned him in. “It better be cannoli.”
He chuckled. “You’re too easy to please.”
I shot him a look over my shoulder that hopefully said the opposite. “Come in.” I put the box on the counter. I opened the drawer and pulled out a bottle opener a second later. “I need that.”
He cocked his eyebrows as he slid the bottle toward me on the island. “Hard day?”
I uncorked it and then turned to the cupboard and pulled out two wine glasses. “Yeah, you could say that.”
“What have you been up to?”
“I had a chat with Kiefer Jones the other day.”
Eddie frowned. “Why were you talking to him?”
I shrugged, poured us both some wine. “I was curious. Wanted to get a little more insight.”
“And?”
“He’s an actor, a good actor.” I cocked an eyebrow.
“He has an alibi.”
“Yeah, Devin Bells, right? She’s interesting too. Quiet. Meek, really.”
“You been investigating on your own? Because Jade, that’s not what I meant when I asked you—”
“Listen, your case has stalled. I have access you don’t. I would have thought you’d be happy with more information.”
“More information? We interviewed and investigated within the limits of the law. Nothing more to be done there right now.”
“Ya see? That’s your problem—you’re limited to the law.”
“And so are you.”
I shrugged, took a drink of wine. “What about the caretaker? I didn’t see him in the file.”
“Wright?” Eddie shook his head. “What about him?”
“He has access to the passageways.”
“And offered to map them out for me. He’s the one that gave me the schematics. He also has an alibi for that night.”
“Who doesn’t?” He opened his mouth to argue and I held up my hand. “Listen, I’m not doing anything to jeopardize your case. I’m just asking a few questions here and there, see if I can apply my skills at reading people to your case.” I didn’t tell him that Kassey was also on the case because I just knew by the attitude he was throwing that he wouldn’t be cool with it. And my ploy to get more info from Kiefer had probably broken some kind of detective code.
“So what’s your assessment on Kiefer?” He leaned on his elbow, his arms folded in front of him. “He seem like the murdering type?”
“Don’t patronize me.” I growled.
“I’m not.” He raised his hands in defeat. “I asked for your professional opinion on the photos and now I’m asking again. What did you think of Kiefer? Maybe I o
verlooked something.”
I nodded slowly, trailing my finger down the stem of my glass. “I thought he was hiding something.”
“Everyone has secrets, Jade.”
“Yeah, well, he got really agitated. No, he got angry when I steered the conversation to Candace. And then just as suddenly he switched to calm and collected. Everything about him seemed calculating. I don’t know.” I shrugged. “You talk about your gut instinct all the time. I have a feeling about Kiefer. He’s up to something. And he’s unfaithful.”
“So you think he could be a murderer because he has a few women on the go?”
“I think he warrants a closer look.” And maybe a little baiting. He had that glint in his eye. The aggressive look that sometimes came with the rapists. I didn’t have a complete pulse on him mainly because I couldn’t exactly put him in a situation where he’d feel comfortable attacking me.
“Okay, fine. I’ll have another chat with him.” Eddie smiled in a way that said end of conversation, which was fine. He didn’t have anything useful to say about my suspect list anyway. “What else is on your mind?”
“Well.” I poured us both some more wine. “I took the job Arthur offered.”
Eddie picked up his glass and raised it to me. “Congrats!”
I nodded then took a drink. “Yeah, and by the way, I also met his girlfriend.”
Eddie choked on his wine. “His girlfriend?”
I gave him my version of the I told you so look. “That’s right, his girlfriend. Young, pretty, dark hair…sound familiar?”
He sucked in a breath, let it out. “Yeah, sounds like the girl I saw him with.”
“When you were peeping in his windows?”
“I wasn’t peeping.”
“Steve said he saw you that night sneaking around Arthur’s place. Looking in his windows.”
“I wasn’t sneaking.”
“Listen, Eddie. This shit with Arthur needs to stop, okay? I don’t know what your obsession is with nailing the murders on him but it’s wrong. You’re wrong. I think there’s enough evidence against your suspicions at this point. And you should be busy enough if you’re going to take a closer look at Kiefer.” I pinned him with a glare. “Arthur’s innocent, okay? Let it go and leave the man alone.”
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