Page 19 of Shelter for Sharla

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I interviewed the dean of students. He said the organization calls itself the RainbowUniversity League. Other than the name, he really doesn’t know much about it.”

“All of those organizations are supposed to have a sponsor who’s a member of the faculty,” Carter pointed out.

“Right. And it appears whoever their sponsor was retired two years ago. And that was just about the time the organization was formed. Get this?there wasn’t another one assigned. It’s like nobody thought to ask somebody else to be their sponsor, just kept feeding them the paperwork to stay on campus.”

Carter could feel his eyebrows pop up. “That’s pretty weird.”

“Yeah. I thought so too. I talked to the woman over in FacultyHall whose office is responsible for issuing the paperwork. She said she got it ready every year and gave it to the dean of curriculum to assign. And every year the dean signed it and gave it back. So nobody was addressing the fact that they had no sponsor. Looks like they slipped through the cracks.”

“Or sneaked through the cracks. Maybe somebody knew they didn’t have a sponsor and wanted to keep it that way,” Carter mused aloud.

“I thought of that too, so I did some checking and if there’s any infraction being perpetrated, or that has been perpetrated, by any of the faculty, I haven’t found it. Of course, I know universities have a way of burying that stuff.”

“True. So I assume you asked students around campus?”

“Duffy did that while I was talking with administration. He said it was as though the organization didn’t exist. Nobody he stopped seemed to know anything about it. Matter of fact, he sat out in front of the library and watched for kids with gay pride shirts on or carrying anything that would give him reason to think they were gay. Found about eight of them in just a few minutes, and they all claimed to know nothing about the organization. I found that pretty strange.”

“It is.”

“So what did the two kids know?”

“Nothing,” Carter answered, feeling more than frustrated. They were getting nowhere fast, it appeared. “The Kent girl was the one who initiated the attendance at the rally. Neither of them are gay, neither are members of the organization, and they know very little about it. Said it’s called tanner de lupo?”

“Huh. Well, that’s a new one on me. I haven’t heard that. What does that mean?”

Carter shrugged to himself. “I have no idea, but I aim to find out. If I do, I’ll let you guys know.”

“Sounds good. Maybe you could get the kids to go to another one of those rallies,” Atkins suggested.

“That’s a good idea, but considering they didn’t know anything about it and just went along with the Kent girl, I’d say their chances of finding out about another rally would be pretty slim unless somebody let it slip. But theyareon campus and we’re not, so I’ll talk to them about keeping an ear to the ground.”

“Sounds good. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know,” Atkins assured him.

“Thanks. Same here. Have a good weekend.” Carter hit END and sat there. Nobody seemed to know anything. What would it take to find out? And how long?

If there really was somebody following Sharla, even one more day might be too long.

* * *

He’d checkedon Sharla both days with a text, and she claimed she was fine. Carter wanted to see her, but with the kids home for the weekend, that just wasn’t possible. Not that they’d be any kind of security, but at least she wasn’t alone in the house. That was something.

He spent Sunday afternoon at his mom’s, fixing her bathtub faucet and building some stairs to the little shed out back. It was beyond worth the effort when he discovered she’d spent the afternoon making chicken ‘n dumplings from scratch, his grandmother’s recipe and his absolute favorite meal. One thing Carter could honestly say was that he enjoyed spending time with his mom. He’d felt the same way about his dad, and he often thought of things he’d like to tell his father if only he were still alive. When the investigation was over and he and Sharla could see each other openly, he could see himself stepping into that role with Chelsea, if she’d let him. After all, she came with Sharla, so they’d have to get along.

Matter of fact, he’d been thinking about a relationship with the brunette beauty ever since they’d spent the evening together. Sharla was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman, insofar as he could tell. Of course, he needed to get to know her a lot better, but that wasn’t going to happen until they could get the investigation settled.

So bright and early on Monday, when the call came, he was glad. “Sure. I’ll be there.”

“Two. Bring anything you’ve dredged up and we’ll all talk about it,” Griffin ordered.

“Will do, sir. See you then.”Finally?we’re seeing some movement, even if I’m going to have to drive like a maniac to get there, he told himself as he readied his messenger bag, pulling the files he’d started on Sharla, Lionel, Chelsea, and Tamara into it, along with some other information he’d found. Last but not least, he’d actually transcribed the notes he’d taken during the meeting he’d had with the kids the week before, and he took time to make copies of them so he’d have them to hand out.

He hit the road with enough time to stop in Bardstown on the way and grab a bite to eat. It was an easy-enough drive, parkways and interstates almost the entire way. One look at his uniform and the server at the restaurant got his food and got him out the door as quickly as possible. By the time he pulled into the parking lot at the state police headquarters in Frankfort, the state’s capitol, he had forty-five minutes to spare.

There were handshakes and fresh coffee awaiting him as he walked in, and one of the clerks showed him to the conference room they’d be using. BudGriffin was there, as were RonDuffy and JasonAtkins. He hadn’t seen AmosFletcher and JesseTalbert yet. A hand landed on his back between his shoulder blades and he turned to find SamCurry standing there. “Hey, Sam!”

“Carter!” The men shook hands jovially, and Carter was glad to see Sam there. He’d felt a little out of place and outranked by the state police detectives and KDCI agents, but with Sam in attendance, at least he had another small-town guy participating.

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