Page 11 of A Thin Line

When she was done speaking with him, he said, “You,” pointing at me and the other three students. “All of you need to stay here.”

I could feel the wrath of the other three directed at me, because they all knew I was the one considered responsible for the lab—but I couldn’t understand how it had happened. More than that, I wondered why.

Dr. Rakhimov began leading the crowd back to the auditorium, probably so they could drink the champagne—this time to drown out sorrows rather than to celebrate. Sinclair Whittier stayed behind and asked the guard, “Are there cameras in the lab?”

“Not yet. They were scheduled to be installed next week.”

“What about elsewhere on campus?”

“We have cameras in the hallways and at various locations outdoors.” He pointed up toward a camera located at an intersection. “There are also cameras at every entrance, recording who walks in.”

“Then it should be easy enough to figure it out. The lab has no windows and just this entrance here. Unless people can actually enter through the two emergency exit doors.” He posed his last sentence as a question.

“No. You can’t enter that way—and, if anyone exited through one of those doors, an alarm would go off.”

“I would like to review the footage once the authorities arrive,” Whittier said, obviously not expecting no for an answer—and the guard wasn’t about to refuse him.

The male student standing beside Piper said, “Look, this is the first time I’ve been down here today. Same with Piper. The only ones here earlier were Jenna and Annalise, so I don’t see why I have to stay here.”

However, the security guard was not afraid to let us students know we had no say. “We’ll let the cops clear you. Just tell them what you know.”

But the male student’s complaint had directed Sinclair Whittier’s attention to all of us. When he looked at me, his gaze was not unkind, but it was certainly more guarded than it had been earlier when I’d led him to the auditorium. “Would you all mind telling me your names?”

“Jenna.”

“Jenna what?”

“Jenna Clausen. I’m starting my second year here at WCC.”

When his eyes shifted to me, I said, “Annalise Miller.” His eyes narrowed a bit hearing my last name, but the name Miller wasn’t exactly rare, so he didn’t dwell on it.

He then finished with the other two and then asked, “Are any of you nursing students?”

None of us were—and I wondered if he thought nursing students would have more interest in preserving the lab than others. Two uniformed officers entered at the end of the hallway and soon approached the security guard. Based on what they said, I realized more people were on the way, people who would take fingerprints from the lab and examine what Whittier had called evidence.

One of the cops approached the four of us and said, “We’d like to get your fingerprints. We’re assuming you all had access to the lab, so it would be helpful to clear you.”

The other officer said, “Not necessarily. That wouldn’t clear you but it could explain why we’d find your fingerprints.”

My stomach was boiling over with acid which was probably why I actually spoke. “You’ll find mine and Jenna’s prints all through the lab. We were the ones in there setting up for tonight’s event.”

They continued collecting our names and other information but, in the middle of it, the male student spoke up again. “What if I don’t want to give you my fingerprints?”

The first cop raised an eyebrow and his voice seemed to deepen. “That’s your choice, but if you refuse, I’m gonna guess you have something to hide. It would be easy enough to get a judge to order you. Or we could skip the middleman and just arrest you for suspicion of vandalism and get your fingerprints that way. It’s up to you.”

The student frowned but didn’t say another word. Like the rest of us, he’d received the message loud and clear.

Two plainclothes officers showed up then. There was some discussion among law enforcement, and they agreed that the uniformed officers would question each of us one by one in the security office while the detectives began scouring the lab, looking for clues. The security guard introduced Whittier who then began talking with the detectives while the four of us were escorted to the main building where we would await questioning.

So much for this night almost being over. I was beginning to suspect it had only just begun.

Chapter 4

As I and the other two female students sat on the overstuffed upholstered furniture in a lounge area just across from the security office, Jenna tried to make conversation, but Piper and I weren’t feeling very talkative. Although it would be light out for another hour, the sun had set behind the mountains to the west and the halls and lounge were bathed in soft artificial lighting in addition to the natural glow that would soon be fading. I was glad I’d had my cell phone in my pocket, because I wanted to update my dad.

I sent him a simple text message: Don’t wait up for me. This is going to last longer than I’d anticipated. I didn’t want to worry him with details. I’d let him know the whole story in the morning.

Unless I wound up being arrested or having to stay overnight.

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