Wiccan, A Witchy Young Adult Paranormal Romance (21 page)

I suppressed a growl of frustration,
but only because there were other people around. I didn’t need the
other students in my class to think I was rabid, though I’d often
felt that way lately. Instead, I reached into my bag for some
Tylenol, something I’d started carrying with me in the last week
since I’d begun having so many headaches. I tossed one into my
mouth, straining to swallow it without water. When it finally went
down, I worked my tongue around in my mouth for a minute, trying to
stimulate enough spit to take the other one.

When my mouth didn’t feel like I’d
eaten ten cotton balls anymore, I lobbed the second Tylenol in and
swallowed. I put my fingertips to my temples and started rubbing
small circles, hoping that would alleviate my headache a little
until the drugs could kick in. I closed my eyes and concentrated on
the soothing feeling of my fingers. I didn’t know if it would work,
but it was worth a shot.

My English class was small and I sat in
the back near the door. Today, Professor Tanner had left the door
cracked a little to relieve the stuffiness and I was grateful for
my seat near the airflow. I’d hate to get sick and puke on my desk.
That wouldn’t go very far toward getting me a good
grade.

A laugh echoed down the hall and
drifted through the open door at my back. It was a low chuckle, a
husky kind of laugh, one I’d heard recently. I thought back to the
day at Ruger’s when I’d heard Dr. Phillips laugh. It sounded just
like her.

That’s when it hit me.

My eyes flew open and my heart tapped
against my ribs excitedly. That day, at Ruger’s, I’d thought her
laugh sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Now I knew where
I’d heard it. It sounded exactly like the laugh I’d heard when I’d
watched Lisa die. It sounded exactly like the laugh of Lisa’s
killer.

I nearly turned my desk over in my
hurry to get out of it. I closed my book as quietly as I could and
stuffed it into my bag then took off out the door. I all but ran
out of the building, heading out into the courtyard behind it and
toward one of the deserted benches that dotted the
perimeter.

Where my head was already hurting, my
increased blood pressure and excited heart rate throbbed inside it
like a painful bass drum. I squinted against the light and scrolled
through my phone for Grayson’s number. When I found it, I punched
the send button, slouched down on the bench and leaned my head
back.

Despite the ache in my head and the
uncertainty in my heart, in my stomach, butterflies of pleasure
still twirled and fluttered when I heard his voice.

“
Grayson.”

“
Grayson, it’s
Mercy.”

“
Oh,” he said, sounding a
little less than thrilled. “Hey.”

I jumped right in. If that was how he
was feeling, I didn’t want to explore our personal issues either. I
didn’t need any bad news or blow-offs; I doubted I could handle any
more emotional cluster bombs right now.

“
I think I might know who
killed Lisa Bauer.”

I heard his chair squeak. He must be at
the office. “What? Who?”

“
Dr. Phillips. She’s the
Forensic Science Case Studies professor here.”

“
Why do you think it’s her?”
He sounded less enthused once I’d told him who I thought it was. I
knew it didn’t sound good, what with her esteemed position and all,
but I’d have bet my life on that laugh.

“
I heard her laugh and it
was identical to the laugh I heard from Lisa’s killer.”

“
A laugh? You think she did
it because of her laugh?”

“
No need to be snide. Yes,
that’s exactly what I think.” I had the sudden urge to lash out.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did
you
witness the murder? Do
you
have better evidence than that?
Do
you
have any
viable suspects right now?”

I heard air hiss through his teeth
right before he said angrily, “No.”

“
Well, then what’s your
problem? You could at least say, ‘Thank you, Mercy. I appreciate
your help. I’ll go check that out’.”

This time he sighed. “Thank you, Mercy.
I appreciate your help. I’ll go check that out.”

That was not
satisfying
at all.
“You know,” I began, but just didn’t have the energy to
finish. “Forget it,” I said then I hung up.

I could do some investigating of my
own. It’s not like Grayson had a doctorate in detecting or that it
was illegal for someone other than law enforcement to ask
questions. Anyone with a brain and halfway decent observational
skills could do it. Plus, I’d seen things that no one else had
witnessed. That had to give me an edge.

Now, where to start? I thought about
doing some background stuff, like maybe searching out Jake and
asking him some casual questions about Lisa. His interest in me was
a deterrent to that route, though, so I kept
brainstorming.

I could always go the direct route, I
supposed. I thought about it and the more I did, the better it
sounded. And then I began to formulate a plan, feeling more
optimistic about my approach by the minute.

When I stood up to head across campus
to the PolySci building, I felt the twitch of a grin tugging at my
lips. It would be oh-so-satisfying to get to the bottom of this
thing before Grayson. That thought alone put a little spring in my
step.

It was a beautiful day and the walk
across campus gave me plenty of fresh air and time for my headache
to ease. By the time I reached the building, I was feeling almost
human and better than I had in a while, it seemed.

Faculty offices were almost always
located on the first floor of whatever building they were in and,
more often than not, they were close to the classrooms over which
the faculty member presided.

Reading the placards beside each door
as I went, I searched the hall for Dr. Phillips’ office. When I
found it, I stopped, staring at the closed door with a twinge of
trepidation.

Was it really smart to be tangling with
and privately investigating a cold-blooded killer? Especially one
with extensive knowledge of forensic science and, therefore,
better-than-average chances of concealing a crime? Probably not,
but at the moment, I felt like I had little to lose and much to
gain. Worse case scenario? Someone would kill me and put me out of
my misery and, right now, that didn’t seem like such a bad
alternative.

I twisted the knob and poked my head in
the door. I assumed that the person sitting behind the computer at
a small desk right inside the entry was Dr. Phillips’ teaching
assistant. That’s where they usually sat, those teachers who were
lucky enough to have space for one, that is.

Of all the types of people I might’ve
expected to encounter as a TA in this department, the guy sitting
there didn’t make the list by a long shot.

His multi-colored hair was trimmed into
a close-cropped Mohawk and his face was liberally dotted with
silver studs, hoops and barbells. The upper halves of his arms were
covered with the black material of his t-shirt, while the lower
halves were covered with tattoos.

He watched me with lackluster brown
eyes, but didn’t say a word.

“
Is Dr. Phillips
in?”

He didn’t answer, just continued to
stare at me in that disconcertingly blank way.

I waved my hand in front of him.
“Hello? Dr. Phillips?”

It startled me when he laughed
suddenly. “Ha! Just kidding,” he said with a wide and friendly
smile. His teeth were straight and white and his grin took me
totally off guard. “I love to do that to people,” he said with a
mischievous wink.

I laughed a bit nervously, but said
nothing.

“
Dr. Phillips’ll be back in
a few minutes. She went for an early lunch about half an hour ago.
You’re welcome to wait if you want to,” he said, nodding to
indicate the two chairs that were pushed against the wall opposite
his desk.

“
Thank you. I think I
will.”

“
Cool,” he said amiably then
turned his attention back to the computer.

Talk about your incongruities! I never
would’ve expected a personality like that to accompany such
physical attributes. I guess that’s why we’re not supposed to
judge.

I watched him surreptitiously as he
typed diligently on the computer. He was actually a fairly handsome
guy once you got past all the silver and ink. He had smooth dark
skin and sexy, heavy-lidded eyes. And his mouth was perfectly
sculpted. I was amazed at how distracted I’d been by his personal
“artistic expressions.” It’s a wonder I realized that he had lips
at all.

As I sat waiting on Dr.
Phillips, I considered trying to use my new and sporadically
effective talent. If I could somehow convince her to admit to me
that she killed Lisa, it would be too awesome for words. Although
it would just be my word against hers, but at least
I’d
know
. I didn’t know what the
likelihood of her confessing was, but I figured it was worth a shot
and wouldn’t do any harm either way.

About ten minutes later when Dr.
Phillips walked in, I started thinking to myself how great it would
be if she’d confess. Over and over I concentrated on my desire for
her to just admit what she’d done.

She stopped first at her assistant’s
desk to retrieve any messages. Then she turned to me.

“
May I help you?”

“
Yes, ma’am. I’m thinking
about changing my major and I wanted to ask you a few questions
about Forensic Science if you have a minute.”

“
My day’s pretty booked, but
you can make an appointment for another time. I’d be happy to talk
to you then.”

I hadn’t expected that. I started
desperately wishing for her to squeeze me in, just give me a few
minutes.

Dr. Phillips glanced down at her watch
and then looked back at me. “You know, I have a few minutes before
my next appointment. Why don’t you come on in?”

She led the way into her office and I
followed.

“
Shut the door, please,” she
said pleasantly as the rounded her desk and slid into the chair
behind it.

I shut the door and sat in one of the
leather chairs facing her. I smiled, fending off a sudden attack of
nerves.

“
So, why are you considering
a forensic science major?”

She couldn’t have asked a more perfect
question.

“
Well,” I began, clearing my
throat before I continued. “I became really interested in the whole
process when Lisa Bauer was killed.”

I saw no perceptible change in her
expression or her body language, but she asked a little more
carefully, “Is that right? And why is that?”

I don’t know what came over me, but I
surprised myself when I said, “I think I know who did it and I’d
like to learn how to prove it.”

If I’d hoped for a reaction, I was
getting one. Dr. Phillips’ lips thinned and tightened. I saw the
muscle in her jaw tick as she clenched and unclenched her teeth.
And her eyes, eyes that had been warm and open only seconds before,
were hard and steely.

“
And what makes you think
you know what all the law enforcement professionals in this town do
not?” Her voice was smooth as glass and cold as ice.

“
Because I saw her,” I said
evenly.

A barely-noticeable flush spread across
her cheeks and down her neck and chest. She licked her lips
nervously and smoothed her short bangs. I thought I saw her fingers
shake, but it was such a slight tremor I couldn’t be
sure.

“
Then why haven’t you gone
to the police with this information?”

“
That’s where I’m going
next.”

She stood slowly to her feet and walked
around the desk to the door. I followed her with my eyes until she
disappeared behind me. Though it made me uncomfortable, I wasn’t
really afraid. I mean, what was she going to do, kill me at school
with her TA in the next room and then stash my body in the
closet?

“
Why don’t you tell me what
you know? Maybe I can help,” she said, entering my peripheral
vision as she approached me from the other side.

I quickly debated the amount of
information I wanted to divulge. If my plan went awry, she might be
able to use it to thwart the police somehow. And if that happened
because of information I’d let slip, I’d never forgive myself.
Plus, Grayson would probably throw me in jail for obstruction of
justice or something like that so I decided to try another
tack.

“
Why don’t you tell me why
you killed Lisa and I’ll tell you what I know?”

It was a gamble. She could easily have
laughed it off and told me to leave or she could’ve freaked out
because I’d just accused her of such a heinous crime. But she could
also have denied it. Only she didn’t.

“
You think I did it?” There
was definitely an edge of uncertainty to her voice. It was no
longer so cool and calm.

I whirled around in my chair
and met her eyes. “I
know
you did it. I told you I saw you,” I said, my
confidence growing by the second.