Page 24 of Girl, Unseen

‘Mr. Blackwood was... a student here. Geology and geophysics.’

‘Was?’ Ella's instincts perked up. Past tense was a red flag in their line of work.

‘He's no longer enrolled.’

Luca looked up from his notes. ‘Geology and geophysics? So, Marcus taught him?’

The dean laced her fingers together, a nervous tells as obvious as a lit cigarette in church. 'Yes, he did.'

‘What happened to Felix? Why’s he no longer enrolled?’

Harper’s perfectly manicured fingers drummed once on her desk, then stopped. ‘We pride ourselves on accepting students from all backgrounds, all belief systems. But Mr. Blackwood wasn't a good fit for NYU.’

Ella leaned forward and began channeling her inner shark. She could smell blood in the water. How so?’

‘He was... difficult. Confrontational. Had issues with authority. Questioned everything. Argued with professors about their own subjects. We encourage independent thinking, but there are limits.’

Ella read between the lines. ‘Him and Marcus didn’t see eye to eye?’

The dean hesitated. Something passed behind her eyes - calculation, maybe, or concern. ‘Only one time. It concerned the restricted texts Marcus is talking about. You see, we have a collection of materials in our archive, down in our basement. Old books. Mostly the English translations. Rare texts on fringe topics. Mysticism, demonology, thatkind of outdated nonsense. We keep them under lock and key for historical value, nothing more.’

Now, it made sense. Restricted texts as in textbooks. Ella and Luca exchanged a look. This was the first lead that felt solid.

‘Felix wanted access to these restricted texts?’ she asked.

‘Demanded, more like. He became quite aggressive about it. Marcus was also the archivist here, so any requests for materials had to go through him.’

‘How did that go?’

‘Not well. Marcus and myself both declined Felix’s request.’

Why?’

Harper adjusted her sleeves. ‘Because those materials are for historians and researchers. Not impressionable kids who watched too many videos on conspiracy theories.’

Ella saw Harper’s point, although she couldn’t help but wonder why the university even bothered to hold such materials if they refused access to the few people who might actually want to see them. It reminded Ella of how museums kept 99% of their collections in their vaults.

‘How’d Felix take the news?’

‘Oh, not well. Marcus caught him trying to break into the basement. He was trying to pick the lock. Marcus called security and, well… you can guess what happened.’

Ella's heart rate kicked up a notch. Now, the past tense made sense. 'So, you kicked him out of the university.'

Harper laced her hands together again. 'Yes, we did. We don't like expulsion, but we had no choice.'

Ella cast a glance at her partner. He must have been thinking along the same lines as her because his jaw had dropped an inch. This Felix Blackwood kid, whoever he was, had a thing for the occult and a vendetta against a man who showed up dead last night. If he wasn't involved in this, it was a hell of a coincidence, and cops weren't allowed to believe in coincidences.

‘How did Felix take the news of his expulsion?’ she asked.

‘As well as you’d expect. Voices were raised, security were called, threats were made.’

‘Against Marcus?’

‘No,’ Harper said, ‘against me. Marcus wasn’t there at the time.’

Ella latched onto that detail. She leaned forward and said, ‘These books Felix wanted. Did he ever specify which ones?’

‘That's just it – he didn't. Said he needed to 'browse the collection.' When we insisted on specifics, he became evasive. Just kept insisting there were 'hidden truths' in our collection that we were suppressing.’

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