LITMIR.BIZ

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you, Mr. Brighton. I understand your predecessor would have left well after this woman was gone from campus, if she were ever here at all, but it’s worth looking into.”

      As he got up to shake her hand, once again offering his slightly callused but warm palm, he nodded.

      “I suppose he’ll tell you himself, if he sees reason to, so there’s no harm in me mentioning this.” His tone captivated Chesca and she made sure to drown out the sound of a nearby photocopier rallying to distract her senses with its repetitive output of paper. “Those last years he put in were indeed a struggle for him. Believe me, I worked day and night beside him, being mentored along the way. Something within him had changed. Whatever it was, it was eating at him long before he decided to call it quits.”

      Through his forced smile, Chesca could see pain, maybe even regret. “Thank you for telling me, Mr. Brighton. As you’ve said, he’ll likely bring that up himself if it’s relevant.”

      Not yet letting go of her hand, the slightly robust man, equal in her height, made sure to meet Chesca’s eyes.

      “Do understand, Miss Thorne, I respect that man. He never so much as hinted at any personal problems he may have experienced, and I never asked. I would prefer if you do not mention this little conversation we have had.”

      “Certainly, sir. Not to worry.”

      Following his lead out of the office and down the hallway back to the reception area, Chesca caught the scent of something earthy percolating. The receptionist was preparing a tea set complete with cookies and fruit.

      “Give Miss Thorne the contact information for Mr. Schneider,” Brighton instructed of his attentive receptionist, then added, “I’ll take my tea now.”

      Knowing that was her cue to receive the information quickly and make her way out of the office, Chesca respectfully thanked each of them for their time and made a polite exit so that Brighton could get on with his evidently important and likely ritualistic tea service.

      As she crossed Commonwealth Avenue to head back to the parking lot off Granby, Chesca momentarily checked her watch. She had been less than an hour with Brighton. Not bad. With the majority of the day left to her disposal she would be able to get a number of leads taken care of, and hopefully make some diligent progress on her assignment.

      Or so she thought.

      Chesca slowed her steps when she approached the rental car.

      She could hardly believe it, given the short amount of time she had spent in the campus building.

      From her stance directly in front of the car, it was clear someone had keyed the body on each side. Lines tracing the length of the automobile were etched deeply into the no longer fresh red paint.

      When she noticed the tires were also gashed and flattened, she scooted down to the pavement and checked the undercarriage for anything to suggest further foul play.

      Satisfied, but with more damage than she would have liked to have seen, Chesca let out a heavy sigh. Her day would evidently not be as cut-and-dried as she had hoped.

      Now, added to her tasks, she would have to replace the rental car—and apologize profusely to the company, though fortunately she had insured the car against such predicaments—and due to the nature of the damage, it seemed Chesca would also be making a friendly stop at the local police precinct.

      Once the quick and necessary phone calls were made to each, Chesca took a moment to sit on a concrete parking slab and rest her head in her hands, digging her elbows into her lap.

      As she sat there, letting her temper at this inconvenience subside, she allowed a few moments to pass before she was able to admit the inevitable.

      This was no coincidence.

      It was not random.

      Someone was trying to send a message.

      As she carefully scanned the area, taking note of the passersby and being on the lookout for anything suspicious, Chesca hated the sinking feeling in her gut.

      Despite only getting started, she knew without a doubt she couldn’t hide this bit of information from Delphi. She would have to disclose what had happened, seeing how she had been warned more than once of the sensitivity of this case and the potential for risk.

      Bethany had done her part in advising Chesca to watch her back, and now Chesca knew it was something she needed to seriously keep in mind. Those who had secrets to keep would do just about anything to keep them.

      While Chesca was handy with a pistol and trained in martial arts, she wasn’t cocky enough to assume she could handle anything and everything without at least clueing in her counterparts. It was her responsibility to Oracle to keep the agency abreast of how the case was going, whether there was reason to be alarmed or not.

      Knowing her commitment to the case, Chesca sent a quick text message to Delphi informing her of the incident. She hoped to goodness it didn’t come off as too quick for a mishap to happen, that something like this wouldn’t have happened to someone else. But Chesca shook her head, reminding herself no matter who was on this case, if someone wanted to shut it down, they wouldn’t be picky about their target.

      It was rare for Chesca to get a call back on her cell phone, but within minutes Delphi was on the line. “You may want to consider finding another place to stay,” the enigmatic voice said, no doubt using a disposable and untraceable mobile. “Double-check the hotel, but not until you have backup.”

      “Backup?” Chesca echoed, thinking she hadn’t meant to come off as so needy.

      With the nature of her job being mostly mental, Chesca had become accustomed to working on her own for the majority of a case, especially during the legwork. Only when she was out on the prowl for a suspect would she have someone tag along with her.

      Then, as she thought about it, reflecting on all that she had learned about Giambi, Arachne and the Queen of Hearts personae, Chesca knew she had to swallow her pride. She was, in fact, working on a case that had already seen enough violence and danger in recent months, and she knew when to give in and just follow orders.

      “No arguing. In the meantime,” Delphi said, “keep me posted as to any other updates, so I can make sure to send the courier to the right place at a good time, okay?”

      “Not a problem. May I ask, though, who this backup will be?”

      “I wouldn’t worry about it just yet,” Delphi said. “What are your plans now? What’s your destination?”

      Chesca thought about it.

      By the time the car company sent a representative to take care of this and exchange her car, and the police showed up to take a report, Chesca would be losing some much needed time. But she knew there was one thing she could handle without a babysitter.

      “I’ll be speaking with Schneider. Brighton gave me a lead on his predecessor in computer sciences,” Chesca said, giving Delphi his address. “Then I’ll be making a stop to chat with the local cops, if that makes sense to you.”

      Delphi agreed. “That should finish off your day. You’ll have your partner by tomorrow. You have any idea where you’ll be staying tonight?”

      Chesca gritted her teeth.

      She didn’t want to argue with Delphi. As per her request, she wouldn’t be returning to the hotel room until she could clear it with the assistance of whoever Oracle would be sending her way. And there was little point in checking into another hotel if the risk would be just about the same in Delphi’s eyes.

      She hated the idea of it.

      It made her skin itch.

      But what choice did she have?

      “Yeah,” Chesca said, grudgingly, before sharing the all-too-familiar address. Though she wasn’t looking forward to the unplanned visit, Chesca knew one place with more security than Fort Knox to its credit. It would be the safest location for the

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