She kept her hand on the closed door, willing herself to calm down. Victor and his secretary were watching her expectantly. She wanted to rail against the kid, to curse him for being such a heartless bastard, but she did not. It was a bit early in their relationship for Victor to see her bitchy side.
"So?" He stood with his hands in his pockets, his usual smile on his face. "Was he useful?"
"As much as a bag of hair," she told him. An idea occurred to her. "Did you search his room?"
"What for?"
Faith had thought it inconsequential at the time, but now she said, "For the pot I found in his sock drawer when I was searching Gabe Cohen's things last night."
Victor's smile widened. "Marty, if you could have campus security check into that?"
"Certainly." The secretary picked up the phone, giving Faith a look of approval.
Victor told Faith, "We have a strict policy on drugs. Automatic expulsion."
"I think that might be the best news I've heard all day."
"Here's some more: Chuck Wilson called back. He says he's got a pretty good guess on what your substance is. He's across the street at the Varsity if you want to go over and find him."
Faith felt a flash of heat in her face. She had put the stolen evidence in the back of her mind, treating it as an intangible thing, but now there was no turning away from what she had done.
"Faith?"
"Great." She made herself smile.
He opened his office door. "Are you sure you can't grab a quick bite? I know that fast food isn't very romantic…"
If Victor wasn't ready to see her bitchy side, he certainly didn't need to watch her wolfing down a chili steak sideways with a PC. "I appreciate the invitation, but I've got to meet my partner on this case."
"How's it going?" he asked, leading her to the building lobby and outside. "Any luck?"
"Some," she admitted, but wasn't more specific than that. Evan Bernard's arrest did not feel like an accomplishment when they still had no idea where Emma Campano was.
"It must be hard for you," he said, squinting in the sun as they walked past the football stadium. Large brick buildings were opposite; more student housing.
"The not knowing is hard," she admitted. "I keep thinking about the girl, what it must feel like for her parents."
He pressed his hand to the small of her back, indicating a one-way street on the right. Faith took the turn, and he continued talking. "I've dealt with a lot of students' problems over the years, but nothing like this. The whole campus feels tense. I can't imagine what it's like at the girls' school. We've lost students before, but never to violence."
Faith was quiet, listening to the soothing sound of his voice, enjoying the sensation of his touch through her thin cotton blouse.
"This way," Victor said, indicating where the sidewalk narrowed. A tall iron railing cut into the sidewalk, the ground sloping downward.
Faith stopped. They were about two blocks from the North Avenue bridge that crossed I-75 and led to the Varsity. "What's this?"
"You've never used the tunnel before?" Victor asked. She shook her head and he explained, "It's a shortcut under the interstate. I wouldn't use it in the middle of the night, but it's perfectly safe now." He took her hand as if to assure her-as if she didn't have a gun on her hip and the ability to use it.
He continued playing the part of tour guide as they walked. "The Varsity was founded by a Tech student by the name of Frank Gordy. He opened it mainly to service the school, but that's changed quite a bit over the years. We try not to let our students know Gordy dropped out of school in 1925 to start the restaurant. Between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, it's hard enough to convince technology majors that there's actually a reason to complete your degree."
"You know I can't say anything," Faith commented. She'd told him last night that she had dropped out of college a year from graduating. Jeremy had inherited her love of math, and seeing him get his degree was more than enough.
Victor reminded, "Tech has a wonderful adult enrollment program."
"I'll keep that in mind," she answered, humoring him. You didn't need trigonometry to arrest a vagrant for public intoxication.
They were inside the tunnel, but Victor did not move his hand from her back. Above, Faith could hear the rumble of traffic passing over their heads. She wondered how many Tech engineers had worked on the highway project, and whether or not the city planners had known about the secret passageway. The tunnel was large, about twelve feet wide and at least twenty yards long. The ceiling was low, and though Faith wasn't normally the type, she felt a bit claustrophobic.
Victor continued, "I'm sure you know that the Varsity is the largest drive-in fast-food restaurant in the world. It covers two city blocks. This tunnel comes out on the north side of the building at Third Street."
"I don't remember this part of the tour when Jeremy visited the campus."
"It's a well-kept secret. You should see this place during football games. It's wall to wall."
Faith felt herself sweating, even though it was cooler underground. Her heart started pounding for no reason and no matter how far they walked, the stairs lining the tunnel exit seemed to get farther away.
"Hey." He sounded concerned. "You okay?"
She nodded her head, feeling silly. "I just-" She realized she was clutching the envelope and slipped out the pictures to make sure she hadn't creased them. When she looked up at Victor, she felt her panic from a few moments before start to return. His face was hard, angry.
She asked, "What is it?"
He glared at her, his fury almost tangible. "What are you doing with pictures of Evan Bernard?"
"How do you-"
He quickly closed the space between them, grabbing her right arm. His grip was tight. He was left-handed. Why hadn't she noticed that before?
"Victor-" she breathed, panic taking hold.
"Tell me what you know," he demanded. "Tell me right now."
Faith felt her right arm go numb where Victor was grabbing her. "What are you talking about?" she asked, her heart beating hard enough to hurt.
He pressed, "Was this some kind of sting operation?"
"To catch you doing what?"
"I have no connection to that man. You tell them that."
"You're hurting me."
Victor let go of her. He looked down at her bare arm, the mark he had made. "I'm sorry," he said, walking back to his side of the tunnel. He ran his fingers through his hair, pacing nervously. "I don't know Evan Bernard. I had no idea what he was doing. I never saw him with students, I never even saw him on campus."
She rubbed her arm, trying to get the feeling back. "Victor, what the hell are you talking about?"
Victor put his hands in his pockets, rocked back on his heels. "Just tell me, Faith. Does this mean anything to you, or are you investigating me?"
"For what? What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything. That's what I'm trying to tell you." He shook his head. "I really liked you, and this was all some kind of game, wasn't it?"
"Game?" she demanded. "I've spent the last three days trying to find the sick fuck who killed two people and abducted another to do God knows what to her. You think this is some sort of game?"
"Faith-"
"No," she snapped. "You don't get to sound like the reasonable one here. Tell me exactly what's going on, Victor, starting with your connection to Evan Bernard."
"He's been a part-time tutor for over twenty years. Our students aren't exactly well versed in liberal arts. He helped them with their course work."
"Was Adam Humphrey one of his students?"
"No, we fired Bernard last year. He taught remedial classes during summer term. We found out he was having an affair with a student. Several students. He's suing us-he's suing me-for wrongful termination."