“And, if it’s not what we’re asking you to do, you need to understand that going against the law right now won’t go well for you.”
The woman looked at her resentfully. “I owe my allegiance to the dean, who gave me this job.”
“Yeah, I get how you might think that. But, with three university kids dead already, it would be awfully nice if somebody at this university would give a damn about their deaths.” And, with that, Kate swept up one of the boxes in her arms, as Rodney grabbed the other one. Then they turned and walked out. Once they were outside, he nudged her shoulder.
“You really do have a flair for drama.” He practically beamed.
She frowned. “No, it’s not that. I just have a nose for the truth, and it really pisses me off when people intentionally skirt around the edges of it to get to a place that’s more convenient for them.”
He laughed. “Personally I think that’s what everybody does.”
“Of course they do. But, when it’s important and when they get in my way”—she shook her head—“I just see red.”
“I get that.” He put the boxes in the trunk of his car. “There’s more here than I expected.”
“It’s probably a hell of a lot more than he wanted to give us too,” she snapped. As they drove off the campus, she said, “Pull up here at the pizza joint, would you? I just want to take a look around.”
They both hopped out, and he asked, “Is this the place where that ex-cop hangs out?”
She nodded. “Yes.” She walked into the small restaurant, Rodney following her, got herself a coffee, and ordered one for Rodney. There was a different guy at the counter this time. She looked at him for a moment. “Are you the owner?”
He looked up, smiled. “Yeah. I’ve been here for twenty years.”
“I guess you’ve seen all the accidents on this corner, huh?”
“Yeah, bad news. Some have been way worse than others. That poor woman with the baby last year? That one just broke my heart.”
“Do you know what happened?”
“I have a theory of what happened.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“She was upset and distracted. The weather was terrible. She didn’t hear the car coming and rode right out into the street. And that was it.”
Kate nodded. “I’m sorry to hear that. It’s got to be tough.”
“It was tough for those of us with scars. But a guy was sitting here at the time. His son had been killed in a cycling accident a couple years ago, same spot. He was pretty upset and said somebody had to do something about it.”
She stopped, looked at him. “Do you have any idea who that was?”
He shook his head. “No, he just mentioned that his son had been killed there earlier.”
“Thank you. If I brought you some pictures, would you recognize him?”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I’ll be back this afternoon.”
And, with that, she headed outside, Rodney rushing to keep up with her. As they got into the car, she said, “Let’s go check on Pamela. I’ll start researching while we drive. As I remember, the only guy killed on a bicycle was years ago. He was twenty-two and riding home from the university. He lived close by, within a few blocks, I think.”
“That would be him, I’ll bet. What was his name?”
“Vance, I think, or something like that.” She looked it up. “Yeah, it’s Vance.” She checked further. “There’s a picture of him but not of his father.”
“You should pull up his driver’s license photo at least, if you can narrow down his name.”
At that, she searched, and soon she said, “Turn the car around, Rodney.” Without question, he immediately pulled a U-turn. “Take us back to that pizza place.”