Page 42 of Innocence

“How do we tell if someone is truly unhinged?” asked Ian. “I mean, give me a bad guy pointing a weapon at me, and I get it. This is different. It’s subtle, hidden, and that, to me, is even scarier.”

“It should be,” said Ashley. “Whoever this is, they’re hiding who they really are, what they really want. I’m guessing that they want to know how others react when their fears are played out. Maybe he or she believes that if their own fears were to manifest themselves, this will help them to overcome them.”

“Any hints as to how to flush this person out?” asked Baptiste.

“Play out the fears of the students in front of the class,” said Bree. “I know it sounds terrible, but the technique is used in helping victims of domestic violence overcome their fears. They face an aggressor and overpower them, giving them back their sense of independence and security. Maybe this person needs to see that, and maybe the other students need it as well.”

“It’s not a bad idea. I think I’d just like to have you and Ashley in the room with us if we do that. It could trigger something we’re not ready for,” said Mary.

“Just let us know. We’ll be happy to help,” said Bree. “By the way. There are four pies on the menu for tonight.”

They all stared at Ashley and Bree as they walked away, laughing at them. They’d scarfed down all of the pies and were already hungry for more. What were they putting in these things?

“Well, I guess I could work up my appetite before dinner,” smiled Ian. “I’ve never been able to turn away a slice of pie.”

“Easy for you to say,” said Mary. “I have to fit into professional attire for the time being.” Angel kissed her neck, nuzzling behind her ear.

“Baby, the only attire you need around me is your skin. Everything else just doesn’t matter.”

“Where does she live?” asked the altered voice.

“We don’t know, and that’s the truth,” said one of the young men. “Look, I’m done with you and your torture. You want to report me for cheating on an economics exam, go ahead. I’ll deal with the fallout, but I will not do this shit for you any longer.”

“Suddenly brave?” laughed the voice.

“No. I suddenly realize you have no power over me any longer. None.” He turned to his friend. “Are you with me?”

“Strength in numbers. I’m with you.” They turned to leave the darkened room.

“Where are you going? What do you think you’re doing? I’ll destroy you!”

“Go ahead. Anything is better than this.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“Hey, uh, Ms. Jordan, Mr. Anders, can we talk to you about something?” asked Zane Potsdem.

“Sure,” said Mary, looking up to see the young man with his constant companion. She’d learned that they’d been somewhat disruptive previously, but in her class, she hadn’t had any issues. Maybe Noah was the cure-all to that.

“This is, this is probably going to get us both in a lot of trouble,” said the second young man. Lenny Bergman was sleight of build, dark-haired, and wore glasses. Mary suspected he was quite intelligent, but both young men never showed that side of themselves.

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” she said.

“No, ma’am. Promise that you won’t let him kill us?” he said.

“Now you’re scaring me,” said Mary. “What’s going on?”

“You’ve been asking us about phobias and fears, and we, Lenny and me, we’ve never spoken up about it.”

“I’ve noticed,” she nodded.

“We both suffer pretty badly from anxiety created by authority. We didn’t grow up together or anything. We were roommates our freshman year. One day, we got to talking about our, uh, bathroom issues.”

“Bathroom issues?” frowned Noah.

“Yes, sir. We get, uh, upset stomachs when adults yell at us or push us to do things. We have an insane desire to always please those in authority. We also were losing our hair, getting weird rashes, all of it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” frowned Mary. “Have I done something to worsen your symptoms?”

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