Page 24 of Innocence

The two men nodded at him, walking toward the building they knew the other professor was in. As they approached the lecture hall, they could hear someone yelling behind the closed doors. Suddenly, it got very quiet, and they opened the door, seeing two young men, a young woman, and the professor all huddled around one another.

“May I help you?” he asked Rafe and Ian.

“Are you Professor Gates?” asked Ian.

“Yes, that’s me. How can I help you?” Ian and Rafe stared at the three young people, and the professor turned to them. “I’ll speak with you later after classes.”

The two males and the female walked up the stairs, passing the two men. None of them even bothered to make eye contact with them, passing casually.

“Professor Gates, we’re two new professors here at the university. Professor Robicheaux and Professor Shepard. We wanted to ask you some questions about the young woman who died?” He stared at the two men, then shook his head.

“Gentlemen, you might be working here as professors, but I’m afraid you stick out just like your peers did. At least, I assume they were your peers with the very inquisitive young woman they had with them.”

Ian and Rafe said nothing, just staring at the man.

“I don’t know what else I can tell you about her. As I said to your friends, she was a good student, hard-working, curious, and trying to overcome her own fears, which is why she was in this class.”

“We understand she had a fear of being tied up,” said Ian.

“Yes. That and other things. She feared being blindfolded as well. I didn’t know her well enough to know exactly why she had those fears. I just know she was insatiably curious about how to overcome them.”

“And those three that were just here?” asked Ian.

“They’ve been causing disruptions in my classes,” he said, letting out a long sigh. “The two gentlemen feel the need to make sarcastic comments throughout my sessions, and they seem primarily directed at the young lady. I’ve told them that if they can’t correct their behavior, they will be removed from my class and placed on warning by the university.”

“Will that work?” asked Rafe.

“Probably not. Their parents will complain about giving so much money to the university, blah, blah, blah.” He stared at the two men, then shook his head. “Sorry. That was very sarcastic, and I’m not usually a sarcastic man. Maybe I need to think about retirement.”

“I don’t think you’re there yet,” smiled Ian. “We were just commenting that we didn’t understand the kids going to school in their pajamas and clothes so revealing it makes me uncomfortable.”

“Oh, believe me. I’m well aware of that issue. I made a complaint that a young student’s clothing was making me uncomfortable, and she counter-complained that I shouldn’t be looking at her! She was in the front row, opening and closing her legs, crossing and uncrossing them. What am I supposed to do?”

“What happened?” asked Ian.

“She finished the semester and moved on. Thankfully. Let me ask you two something. Why are you all so interested in this one young woman? I hear about missing kids, young women, and men all the time. Why this one?”

“We didn’t start out to investigate the murder. We started out to clear a man’s name, which we’ve done. But even Tracy’s father seemed uninterested in how she died. Let’s just say shit like this gnaws at us,” said Rafe.

“You and me both. After your friends left, I wondered if those two young men might have had something to do with it. I casually asked some questions in class around fears and overcoming them. My honest opinion? Neither are bright enough to have pulled something like this off. Besides, they were out of town the weekend that she was killed.”

“That does change things,” nodded Ian. “Don’t ask too many questions, sir. We don’t want suspicion to come your way.”

“I know, but I can’t help but feel as though my class was the start of all of this. I don’t like it. I don’t like feeling like I was inadvertently being manipulated.”

“I can understand that, but don’t put yourself in harm’s way. By any chance, have there been other students in your class that were killed?” asked Rafe.

“Good lord! I hope not. I mean, I know there were a few that died recently, all from either UNO, Tulane, or Xavier. I’ve not heard anything about them being connected, though.”

“It doesn’t feel as though they are,” said Ian, “but we have to check every lead we find.”

“What is the young woman’s name who was arguing with the two guys?” asked Rafe.

“Oh, that’s Beatrice Weaver. She’s very quiet and shy, but she’s also very bright and inquisitive. I suspect she’s had some past trauma, but I never pry with my students. They know I’m here and that I keep office hours if they’d like to speak.”

“Anything else we should know about her or the young men?” asked Rafe.

“Not that I can think of, but I’ll be sure to let you know if I can think of anything.”

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