Page 236 of The Texas Sterling Collection
“I’ll make a note of that, sir,” Healy chuckled as he returned to his desk, conveniently forgetting to make a note.
O’Brien searched through the phone records. He knew MacGowan and Knowlan talked to each other every afternoon. On Wednesday morning, he found a call from MacGowan to Knowlan—an inconsistency in their well-established pattern.
“We’ve got another inconsistency,” he yelled at Healy. “That makes two, and both occurred within 24 hours of the unsolved homicide.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
After Rod dropped him on campus, Wyl headed to Ailbe’s office and knocked. “Ailbe?”
“Wyl…good to see you,” Ailbe said and stood, extending his hand. “Come in and have a seat.”
“Thanks.” Wyl shook Ailbe’s hand. Ailbe’s palm was damp.
“I’m glad you’re helping me with this project,” Ailbe said. “Every year, I do this myself, and it’s a big drain on my time.” Ailbe sat. “Having an expert lend a hand will not only make my task easier, but it will also add an authenticity that has been absent in previous years.”
“I’m unsure about the authenticity, but I’m happy to help. Rod won’t want me working all the time, but I can spare a few hours a day.”
“Perfect. That is all I ask. I know you two are honeymooning, which makes your generosity even more valuable.”
“Thanks. Now show me where I’ll work and give me a stack of projects. I believe they were due today?”
“That they were, and a stack you shall have,” Ailbe gathered papers for Wyl to work on. “Follow me, and I’ll set you up in the vacant office next to mine.” He led Wyl out of his office and down the hall to the right. He opened the door to the vacant office, turned on the lights, and laid the stack of projects on the empty desk.
“This looks fine,” Wyl said, “and there is a computer, so I can check things if needed. Do I need login credentials?”
Ailbe handed him a small piece of paper with his network login information. “I took care of that for you. Here are your login details.”
Wyl figured Ailbe could monitor what he did and would know everything Wyl checked. Any email messages he sent would be archived. “Thanks, Ailbe.”
“You know where my office is. Come find me if you have any questions.”
“Will do.”
Ailbe left the office, and Wyl sat at the desk, thumbing through the stack of projects. He arranged them in sequence order as near as he could. He turned to the computer atop the credenza behind the desk to start working.
He worked through three projects, checking a few things on the computer as he scanned the code. Warm hands gently squeezing his shoulders startled him. He expected Rod, then a voice reached his ears.
“Since it’s nearing lunchtime, why don’t we tour the facilities before I treat you to lunch?” Ailbe said.
“Ailbe, I didn’t hear you come in.”
“You did seem rather preoccupied with your work,” Ailbe’s hands still resting on Wyl’s shoulders. “You’re quite muscular under that shirt.”
“Rod likes his husband a bit on the beefy side,” Wyl chuckled. He suddenly realized what Ailbe was doing, and it made him uncomfortable.
“We need to talk about the involvement of students,” Ailbe said.
“Student involvement?” Wyl was curious about that aspect. “I thought the submission of their projects was the goal.”
“Oh, that is most of it.” Ailbe removed his hands. “But I want the students to input their own projects. They’ll spend time in the lab once we determine the projects will work.”
Wyl shuddered, hoping Ailbe didn’t notice. “Wow…so this isn’t only grading papers, it’s also production.” He didn’t like being touched by any man except Rod.
“Right. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t deserve an A,” Ailbe said.
“Sounds interesting. I’m eager to see this process.” Wyl knew the end goal of Ailbe’s plan but had not yet explicitly determined how the combined student projects would achieve it.
“Let’s take a walk.” Ailbe led Wyl down the hall to the lab. “Here is where we do much of our work in this program.” The lab was a well-lit room with 30 Mac computers.
