The man shook his head.
“You’re sure?” asked Pippa again.
“I’m sure.”
“And there’s no one else who would have been working here at those times?” asked Luke with urgency.
“Just me. My brother has the night shift.”
Luke and Pippa both sighed in unison. The middle-aged man behind the front desk, who was balding and short, had not proven very informative. Luke and Pippa were immensely disappointed.
“Can you tell us who checked in at those times?” asked Luke. He wasn’t going to let this go. To come all the way here and not get anything… There had to be something this man could tell them.
The man held his datebook protectively. “I can’t tell you who our clients are, that’s our policy. I can only tell you that I haven’t seen this woman before.”
“Does that mean she wasn’t here?” asked Pippa. “Or that maybe she had the man collect the key, and she slipped in the room when you weren’t looking?”
“It’s possible,” shrugged the man.
“Well, was there a guy at those times? Who maybe rented the room for a few hours?”
“There may have been,” said the man behind the desk.
Suddenly Pippa put her hand on Luke’s wrist and pressed firmly. “Excuse me one second, sir.”
The man shrugged again and went back into his little office. Luke watched him pick up a pastrami sandwich and take a large bite. A small dribble of mustard hung on his bottom lip while he chewed.
“Come here,” whispered Pippa.
Luke followed her to the side of the lobby. It was a fairly run-down operation that had clearly seen better days. Paths were worn into the rug by extensive foot traffic, and the walls looked like they could use a fresh coat of paint. Even the fake flowers in the vase on the front desk looked tired. Luke knew that it used to get a lot of bookings from St. Benedict’s parents who came up for games or parents’ weekends, but ever since they built the Courtyard Marriott in Kensville, this hotel had been left in the dust. Luke couldn’t imagine who would choose to stay here. Desperate lovers? It had the word tryst written all over it.
“He wants money,” said Pippa.
“What?” asked Luke in shock, glancing back at the guy. “I don’t think so.”
Pippa nodded firmly. “I swear to you that bloke wants to see some cash.”
“That’s not real. People don’t want handouts. That’s just in the movies.”
“Well, why don’t we try it and see if it’s just in the movies? How much money do you have?”
Luke fumbled for his wallet in his pocket. He pulled it out. “Forty bucks.”
“All right then, I have a hundred. I will give it to you—men prefer men to do this—and then you’ll pay for the cab.”
“You brought a hundred dollars with you?”
“I was prepared,” said Pippa.
Pippa was way more sophisticated than Luke was, that was for sure. It was nice being with someone who was one step ahead. Luke walked back over to the desk. The man put down his sandwich and came back over.
“Listen, sir, if there’s any way we can get more information,” said Luke, sliding the hundred-dollar bill across the counter toward the man.
The man hesitated and then put it in his pocket. He looked up at Luke and smiled.
“There was a guy who used to come in at those times. I suspect he’s the guy you are interested in.”
Pippa immediately joined Luke at the counter. “Who was he?” asked Pippa and Luke in unison.
The man was startled by their sudden enthusiasm and put his hands up. “Hey, wait a minute, this doesn’t have anything to do with that murder on campus.”
“No, no,” said Luke and Pippa, shaking their heads.
“’Cause I don’t want to get mixed up in that. Maybe I should just call the police.”
“No, it’s not that, sir,” said Luke.
“It’s about my daddy,” said Pippa, kicking Luke under the counter. Luke was amazed to watch her eyes fill with tears. She was quite the little actress. “I think he’s cheating on my mum, with this man.”
The man looked at Pippa with surprise. “This guy isn’t English.”
“Oh,” said Pippa quickly. “They sent me to boarding school in the UK when I was young. That’s where I picked up the accent.”
The man shook his head. “No, this guy looked too young to be your father. No offense.”
“How young?” asked Luke.
“Early thirties, tops.”
Luke turned to Pippa. That ruled out Kelsey’s dad as the lover. Luke pushed the student directory at the man. “Could you please look through this and see if it’s any of the faculty.”
The man sighed. “Look, I don’t want to get dragged into this. I have a feeling that you guys aren’t being straight with me.”
“We are, we promise,” said Pippa.
The man stared at them then finally picked up the book. “I really shouldn’t be getting involved. I just had a woman here two months ago freaking out on me, saying her husband had been cheating on her here. Not my problem!”
“What did the woman look like?” asked Pippa. She turned and raised her eyebrow at Luke.
“A mousy brunette. Definitely not a homicidal type if that’s what you’re thinking.” The man started flicking through the pages, not in any particular order.
“It’s always the mousy ones,” said Pippa. “I think…”
The man interrupted her. “Could have been this guy,” he said pointing.
“Mr. P.!” said Luke. He turned and looked at Pippa. Could Mr. P. really have been the one having an affair with Mrs. Heckler? He certainly didn’t seem the type.
“Do you think?” asked Pippa, incredulous.
“I can’t imagine…”
“Wait, wait, could have been this guy also,” said the man.
“Mr. Hamaguchi?” asked Luke. “Wait a second, those guys couldn’t look more different. One is white and the other is Asian.”
“Well, I told you, he wore a baseball hat and sunglasses. It was hard to tell,” said the man with exasperation. “I try not to look too carefully at them, makes them nervous. I don’t want to scare them off. I need the business.”
“All right,” said Luke. “Who else?”
The phone rang, and the man picked it up swiftly. “Southborough Days Inn?” he asked hopefully.
“Yeah, let me look. Where did you leave it?” He paused waiting for the person on the other end to respond. “What room were they in, do you remember?” Again a pause. He began writing something down. Then he started opening drawers.
“I have to look in the safe, just a sec.”
The man disappeared into the back room.
Pippa gave Luke a look. “We have to get back to campus before dinner,” she whispered. “I promised Ms. Chang.”
Luke nodded.
The man reentered “Naw, I’ll go check out the room.”
Luke made a motion toward the man.
“Hang on a sec,” said the man into the phone. “Yeah?”
“Do you mind checking now? We really have to go.”
The man shook his head. “Sorry, dude, I can’t. It’s my boss. I have to locate something, or he’ll have my ass.”
“We really need to get back,” said Pippa, glancing at her watch.
Luke was frustrated. “Okay, we have to go, but maybe you can keep that and look through it a little more,” he said, gesturing to the directory. “Something might pop out at you. Call me, please, if anything jogs your memory,” said Luke, scribbling his cell phone number and name on a Post-it from a pad on the front desk.
The man held up the Post-it. “Luke Chase. The Kidnapped Kid. I thought you looked familiar.”
Luke normally cringed at the media’s pet name for him, but this time he smiled. “That’s right.”
“You’re like a real-life Houdini.”
“You know it,” said Luke, playing along. He felt Pippa’s eyes burning into his face, but he refused to turn and look at her.
“Wow, all right. I finally meet a celebrity,” said the man. “For you, I’ll take another look at that book.”
“Thanks,” said Luke.
The man returned to his phone call while Luke and Pippa walked toward the front door of the motel.
“What do you think?” asked Luke.
“About you being a Houdini?” asked Pippa.
Luke glanced at her quickly, then looked away. “No, about everything else.”
Pippa shrugged. “I find it terribly hard to imagine Mr. Palmer as Mrs. Heckler’s lover.”
“I know. I lived in Nichols, and he seemed like a totally devoted family man.”
“Also, wouldn’t it be a little hard for him to be out there in the middle of the night? How would he explain it to his wife?”
“Right. But you know what? His wife was no fan of Joanna Heckler’s. She made that clear, according to Liz. Maybe there was a reason.”
“Worth pursuing,” said Pippa.
Luke held the door open for Pippa. A large gust of wind scuttled leaves across the parking lot.
“Wow, it’s really picking up,” said Pippa, zipping up her jacket. Her hair was blowing in the wind, and she turned and gave Luke a smile as they exited the motel office. He smiled back. She looked gorgeous.
The sky was now completely dark. It took a second for their eyes to adjust to the gloom, aided by two lampposts that marked the entrance of the parking lot. The scattered leaves were sucked up by a mini-tornado of wind and frantically whipped around in small circles as if in a blender. There was a chill in the air, the lick of winter.
“Where’s our taxi?” asked Luke, surveying the lot. In the two slots against the Inn were two parked cars—a green Chevy and a red Toyota—but no cab.
“You told him to wait, right?” asked Pippa.
“Yeah, I handed him twenty bucks and told him we’d be right back, just sit tight. This blows!”
“That’s for sure,” agreed Pippa. “Maybe he’s around the corner?”
They walked a few steps to glance hopefully around the side of the building, but there was no taxi.
“What the hell?” said Luke with annoyance.
“Hmmm… He’s not there,” said Pippa. “This stinks. I need to avoid drama, and Ms. Chang is extra strict about off-campus since the murder.”
“I guess we could walk, but I don’t want to walk back to school in this windstorm. It’s friggin’ cold!” Luke’s formerly sweaty shirt now felt damp and clammy next to his body. He was aching for a nice, hot shower. “Let’s call the taxi.”
“Okay, but can we do it inside? I’m freezing!”
They returned to the entrance of the motel. Luke opened the door, allowing Pippa and about a hundred leaves back inside. The man was now off the phone and came out from the back office.
“Our cab took off.”
“Hey, glad you’re back. If it helps, this guy was here asking a few questions too.”
Luke and Pippa walked over to where the man was standing, his greasy finger pointing to a picture. Dean Heckler. Luke lifted up his face to look at the man. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, this guy was for sure. He had that military look. I definitely recognize him.”
Pippa and Luke exchanged wide-eyed glances. “What did he want to know?” asked Pippa.
“Just, you know, if I saw the broad, who the guy was. Same as you.”
“Why didn’t you mention it before?” asked Luke.
The man shrugged. “Why bother?”
“Do you remember exactly when this man was here? Was it recently?” asked Pippa.
The man looked up at the ceiling as if there was a calendar there. “It was about two weeks ago.”
Pippa and Luke stared at each other. Two weeks ago. Before the murder. So Dean Heckler had been on to his wife!
“Brilliant,” Pippa said. As she continued to interrogate the man behind the desk, Luke called the taxi company. It took a few minutes, but they paged the driver and connected him to Luke.
“Sir, why’d you leave?”
“That man came out and told me you changed your mind. Gave me twenty bucks to take off.”
Luke felt a chill go up his spine. “What man?” He turned and looked out the window. Despite the dim streetlights, it was impossible to see if anyone was out there. All he saw was the green Chevy. The Toyota was gone.
“I don’t know. Some guy.”
“What did he look like?” asked Luke, he voice rising with fear. Even Pippa noticed something was off and stopped her inquisition to turn to Luke.
“What?” she mouthed, but Luke put up his finger to silence her.
“I dunno, baseball cap. Sunglasses. He just handed me the dough. I was on the phone, so I didn’t really look at him too hard.”
“Okay. Well, can you come back and pick us up?”
“I’m all the way in Rodon now. On the way home. Don’t want to turn around. Sorry.”
Luke hung up the phone and turned to the man. “Sir, is that your Chevy out there?”
“Yeah.”
“Whose Toyota was out there?” asked Luke.
“Dunno. Maybe a guest.”
“What is it?” asked Pippa.
“We need to get back to school,” said Luke.
“Can’t we call a teacher?”
Luke glanced at his phone. “It’s six. We’ll get in trouble for being out this late.”
“Great. What should we do?”
Luke racked his brain. Dinner was in fifteen minutes, and they were required to be there. Sure, you were allowed to miss two dinners, but as it was only October, it was awfully early in the year to use one of those misses. He texted his friend Henry Price, who was a day student. Maybe he could pick them up.
“Hopefully he’ll text me back.”
“And in the meantime?”
“In the meantime? We walk.”
They braced themselves and set off outside. It was a definite windstorm. Tree branches heaved and flailed in the wind above them.
“This is fishy. Who would tell our cab to take a hike? And why?” wondered Luke.
“Who do you think it was?” asked Pippa, looking around. The parking lot was empty. There was the wall of trees encompassing it, and a chain-link fence on the far side, but it was so dark and shadowy that it was hard to see beyond.
“More importantly, what’s he going to do next?” asked Luke, grabbing Pippa’s hand and crossing the street, suddenly protective. They were now walking against the traffic flow on County Road 674, not that there were any cars on the road now. On this side of the blacktop, there were clusters of trees and bushes dappled about randomly. Nothing was visible in the darkness, although there were some faint lights far in the distance that probably belonged to farmhouses. It was only about a mile and a half to campus, but they’d have to pass through long stretches of desolate areas to get there. They walked quickly, thrusting out their chests against the crisp air, determined to make this journey as hastily as possible. For a few minutes they didn’t speak.
“Do you think we’re being followed?” asked Pippa, glancing over her shoulder.
Luke looked back. He squinted and scanned the road and sidewalk. All completely abandoned.
“I don’t see anyone.”
They continued walking, with Luke every so often glancing at his phone, hoping like hell Henry would get back to him. The darkness had now completely enveloped them, and the crescent moon had come out in full force. But then they both froze in their tracks. Distantly behind them they could hear the soft but growing hum of a car’s motor. It was getting closer. Luke pulled Pippa closer toward him and quickened their pace.
“Do you think it’s the man who dismissed our taxi?” whispered Pippa in a hoarse voice as she trotted alongside him.
“I don’t know, but I don’t want to find out.”
“Should we hide in the trees?” Pippa pointed to three large oaks ten feet ahead.
Luke hesitated. He didn’t want to come off as a wimp, but there definitely was someone out there who didn’t want them to get back to school on time.
“Okay,” he said.
Luke and Pippa walked briskly over to the trees and bent down. The car was getting closer now; they could make out the headlights. Luke’s knees started to hurt from bending down so close to the ground. Pippa turned and grabbed his hand, squeezing it.
The car came closer and closer as the wind blew. They pushed themselves back into the wooded area and huddled together, as low to the ground as possible. Pippa was clinging on to Luke, so close he could feel her heart beating. Slowly the blazing headlights swept past where they were hiding. False alarm. Pippa glanced up at Luke, her eyes pleading. They paused for a moment, adrenaline and fear still pumping in their veins.
“Phew!” said Pippa finally. “He’s gone.”
“I think we’re psyching ourselves out,” said Luke.
“Yeah.”
They stared at each other for a beat longer, before they both awkwardly glanced away. Neither wanted to admit how scared they really felt. Pippa moved slightly back and shivered.
“Sorry I practically jumped in your lap.”
Luke grimaced. “No worries.” Silver lining, he thought, but didn’t say.
She stared at him again. “Um, I guess we should go?”
Luke stood and held out a hand to help Pippa up. He didn’t let go after she rose, and he clasped it firmly as they walked together. It didn’t feel awkward—he’d already held her hand a couple of times. They walked along in silence.
They passed a mailbox, its hinge squeaking in the wind. The wind had picked up a plastic bag, which was scraping along the road, dancing with the fallen leaves. Every noise was amplified.
Luke pulled Pippa toward him to avoid a ditch. It was then that Luke sensed something. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the flash of someone jump behind a tree. Luke’s muscles tensed. They were being followed.
“Don’t turn around, but someone is behind us,” warned Luke. “On foot.”
He saw Pippa’s neck stiffen. “Who is it?” she whispered.
“Not sure, but let’s speed up.”
They started walking as fast as possible without running. Luke felt as if there was a bull’s-eye on his back. Was the person who was following them wild enough to do something to harm them? What if he had a gun?
They were about a block away from the nearest streetlight. Luke feared that if they walked under it, they would be completely exposed to whoever was following them. It seemed safer to remain in the shadows. He abruptly pulled Pippa diagonally across the street. They picked up their pace and stayed on course.
“We’ll be able to see who it is when they pass the streetlight,” said Luke.
“Do you think he crossed, too?”
Luke pricked his ears. He could hear a distant tap-tap. Footsteps. “No, he’s on the other side.”
They walked past the streetlight and up about thirty feet before stopping short and turning around. For a split second, they saw a figure bathed in the light, but then it darted to the side. It looked like a man in a baseball hat. But he was too fast for them. Luke grabbed Pippa’s hand tightly.
“We need to run.”
They both took off down the street, adrenaline driving them every step of the way. Luke could have gone even faster, but kept pace with Pippa so as not to abandon her. Their legs moved swiftly, pounding hard against the pavement.
Luke wasn’t sure how far they had run before they hit a fork in the road.
“It’s faster if we cut over on Wilmington,” said Luke, motioning toward the street that intersected them. “But it’s sketchy.”
“Okay,” said Pippa, breathing heavily. She wasn’t much of an athlete. “Let’s just get there.”
They veered off to the right and continued running. This street had one lone streetlight in the distance, and other than that, complete darkness. Luke craned his neck to see if they were still being pursued, but he was moving too quickly to gauge. He didn’t want to take any chances, so he kept moving. He glanced at Pippa, who was definitely struggling.
“We’re almost there,” encouraged Luke.
They continued running down the side street before they reached another intersection. They veered right and finally reached a residential block full of split-level houses.
“Can we slow down?” asked Pippa, out of breath.
“I think so,” said Luke.
They slowed to a fast walk. Luke looked behind them but didn’t see anyone.
“At least if something happens, we can scream and people will hear us,” said Pippa. She was so winded she could barely get the words out.
“Yeah,” said Luke.
Their pace got slower as they walked by parked cars and more houses. The cul-de-sac eventually dead-ended into a large, metal fence covered with overgrown bushes.
“St. B’s is on the other side of this,” said Luke. “We just have to jump it.”
Pippa glanced up at the fence, her eyes wide. “Easier said than done.”
“Come on.”
“I don’t think I can make it. Can’t we just go back the other way?”
Luke turned and glanced back at the end of the road. He could swear he saw someone duck behind a mailbox. At this point, it may have only been someone who lived on the street, but he didn’t like the odds.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you over the fence.”
“I have vertigo.”
“You won’t have to look down. Close your eyes if you want.”
Pippa looked tentative. But glancing back at the street behind him, debating which was the lesser evil, she turned back to Luke and agreed. “Okay.”
Luke expertly pulled himself up on the fence. He went up a few feet before leaning back and putting out his hand to Pippa.
“Don’t worry,” he advised. “Trust me. I’ve got you. I won’t let you go.”
Pippa took his hand, and with the other, clasped her fingers around the metal fence.
“Ow, this hurts,” she said, snapping her hand back toward her as if she had been burned.
“Hold on to me with both hands.”
“Are you sure?”
“I can carry you.”
Pippa took a deep breath and did as she was told. It was difficult for Luke to steady himself with one hand while pulling Pippa up with the other, but he soon balanced himself. He dug his sneakers into the gaping holes and with one hand deftly climbed up; he used the other to pull Pippa. He’d carried backpacks heavier than Pippa on his climbing expeditions; this should be a piece of cake.
“Are you okay?” asked Pippa.
“I’m fine,” said Luke.
He swiftly reached the top of the fence.
“Hold on for one second while I go to the other side.”
“Okay,” said Pippa. She glanced down and then recoiled in fear. “We’re so high up.”
“Don’t look down.”
Luke maneuvered himself to the other side and shinnied down to the ground. Pippa was still teetering on the top.
“Jump down,” he advised Pippa.
“I can’t,” she said, her voice tight with fear.
“Trust me, I’ll catch you.”
Pippa opened her eyes. She looked conflicted. But she had nowhere else to go. So she closed her eyes and jumped. Luke caught her and placed her carefully on the ground.
“Whoa! That was the scariest part!” she said.
“I wouldn’t have dropped you,” said Luke. He held on to her for a second longer.
“Thanks,” said Pippa. It felt like she might be doing the same, keeping her hand on his back longer than she needed to.
“Anytime,” said Luke.
Glancing around, they found themselves near the rear entrance of the St. Benedict’s gym.
“We made it,” Pippa said.
They smiled at each other. Luke felt warm inside, with heat that had nothing to do with the recent physical exertion. He tried to remember if he’d ever felt like this around anyone else, but he didn’t think so. All this fear was definitely heightening his feelings for Pippa. This must be why guys take girls on dates to horror movies, he thought.
“We did. We made it.”
They continued along the path down the hill toward their dorms. The campus was quiet; most of the students and faculty were already at dinner. There was an eerie stillness. Both Pippa and Luke were breathing heavily. Luke’s hands were burning; they’d been ripped up entirely by the fence and were most likely bleeding. He didn’t want to check so as not to alarm Pippa. He was proud of himself for protecting her like he had.
“You going to chapel?” asked Luke.
“It’s probably too late now. I’ll just slip into dinner.”
“Yeah. I guess we’ll have to suck it up and get demerits.”
“Lovely,” said Pippa.
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Try to bring down my blood pressure! I’ve never been so scared,” she confessed. “That was worse than the other night in the woods.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna shower, try to calm myself down. This was…interesting.”
“Any thoughts on who dismissed our cab, and who was following us?” asked Pippa.
“No. I want to say the murderer, but I honestly don’t know…”
“No one knew we were there, right?”
“Right. But someone might be on to us.”
“Dean Heckler?”
“Could be.”
Pippa shivered.
“Now we know for sure we have to watch our backs.”
“I don’t get it. We don’t really know anything. Why would the murderer want to come after us?” asked Pippa.
Luke shook his head. “I’m not sure. That is, unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless we do know something. Maybe something is right in front of us, and we’re unable to see it.”
Pippa distractedly tucked a piece of her hair behind her hair. “Bollocks. That’s freaky.”
“I know.”
They had reached Hadden, and were lingering on the steps. Luke had an intense urge to kiss her if he got the chance.
“Yeah, but don’t worry. You’re safe now.” Luke motioned to two passing security guards, who were immersed in conversation and completely oblivious to Pippa and Luke.
“Oh, yes, brilliant security,” said Pippa sarcastically.
“Well,” said Luke. He stared at Pippa, who in turn, stared back.
“I just want you to know that I’m not going to press you on the Kidnapped Kid stories. I mean, of course I heard all about your notoriety when I arrived here, but that’s not why I agreed to go to the Dip with you.”
“Okay,” said Luke.
“Unlike most, I don’t have a morbid curiosity about horrific things that happen to people. And it didn’t impress me that you managed to free yourself and evade detection and run fifty miles and all that.”
“Forty-six,” corrected Luke.
“Oh, was it only forty-six? That does change things,” she said teasingly. “But seriously, I just want to make it clear that I am not trying to hang out with Luke Chase just because you’re Luke Chase.”
“Then why are you trying to hang out with me?” asked Luke with a crooked smile. “Why did you agree to come to the Dip that night?”
Pippa smiled and tipped her head back, as if looking for the answer in the night sky.
“Because I thought there was something about you, Luke Chase, something different. And you know what? I wasn’t wrong.”
She leaned in quickly and kissed him. It was a soft kiss, but Luke quickly brought both hands up to cup her face then gave her a deep kiss. Their nerves were fraught with anxiety, their limbs were tired, but right now a surge of energy moved through both of them. Finally, they broke away and stared at each other.
“Now go, or you’ll get in even more trouble,” Luke said. And with that, Pippa turned and entered the building.
Luke stared after her for a minute before walking down the path toward his dorm, trying hard to wipe the smile off his face. If any of the guys ran into him and saw him smiling by himself, they’d know he was thinking of a girl and never let him hear the end of it.
He slipped into the hall as quietly as possible. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself and have to answer questions. He had started to make his way up the stairs when someone called his name.
“Luke?”
He turned around. It was Mr. Crawford, standing on the base of the stairs in his bathrobe.
“Oh, hi,” he said.
“Why aren’t you at dinner?” asked Mr. Crawford.
“I, um…lost track of time. I was out and didn’t look at my watch.”
Mr. Crawford gave him a look. “You’re putting me in a bad position. I need to give you a demerit.”
“I know…” said Luke, before adding hopefully. “But maybe give me an out because of all the stuff happening this week?”
Mr. Crawford looked like he was debating. Luke knew he hated to be the bad guy. “I suppose I can. The whole thing is surreal. I’m heading to the shower now because I just returned from filling in on an alumni event that Mrs. Heckler was supposed to host.”
“That’s a bummer,” said Luke.
Mr. Crawford straightened his posture. “Listen, Luke, even if it seems stupid, if there is something that worries you, let me know. This killer is still out there, and although the faculty is supposed to make everyone feel safe and go along with it, I’m not so sure about that approach. They’ve never caught the Strangler, and now this. Why should we feel safe?”
“Jeez, Mr. Crawford, way to make me feel better!” said Luke.
“Sorry, sorry. I’m just thinking out loud. I wish I could remember more about the Strangler from when I was a student here. Maybe I could think of some details that would be helpful now.”
“I don’t think the police think it’s the Strangler.”
“Yeah, I know they don’t think that. But come on, you and I both know Oscar had nothing to do with this. It’s ridiculous. No, it’s up to us to figure it out. And I want you to know I’m on it, man. So don’t worry.”
“Thanks.”
Suddenly the door swung open. Luke whipped his head in its direction. It was a security guard. Tall, black hair, midtwenties. Luke had seen him around campus. The guards were starting to become part of campus; all of this was starting to feel normal.
“Just doing rounds and checking in here, everything okay?” asked the guard.
“Yeah,” said Luke.
“We’re just dandy,” said Mr. Crawford, winking at Luke.
“Okay, then,” said the guard, before leaving.
“I guess I’ll go shower,” said Luke.
On the way up the stairs to his room, Luke glanced out the window. He saw Mr. Hamaguchi hurrying along the courtyard toward the dining hall. It gave Luke pause.