43

“Don’t you see”—Allen strained to keep the exasperation from his voice—“if he is alive, you’ll know him. You’ll remember him. I’ve never met the man.”

“Dilworth,” Riley said, “this whole thing is a crock. And what’s your girlfriend going to say when I show up, huh?” The word “girlfriend” came out pinched when he said it. He gave Wendolyn’s name, when he spoke it, the same inflection.

“Diana knows something,” Allen said.

Riley narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t know what it is,” Allen continued, “or how it ties in, but she knows something.”

“The college won’t pay for it,” Riley said. “It’s way out of my area.”

“I’ll pay for it,” Allen said.

Riley’s lips parted. His teeth were revealed. “Sheesh!” he said.