Mountain Peril. Sandra Robbins
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watched his car disappear in the distance before she headed for her Jeep. She’d put off leaving for school long enough. She couldn’t ignore her responsibilities there, but today she wished she could go somewhere other than Webster. Jack’s words had left her wondering what secrets might be hidden inside the walled campus.
FIVE
Danielle tossed her briefcase onto her desk and dropped down in her chair. Most mornings she couldn’t wait to get to her office and begin the day’s work. Not today.
The usual happy mood of the students had disappeared. The atmosphere on the campus hung heavy with a veil of fear. The few students she’d encountered on her way from the parking lot walked in groups of twos or threes and cast glances over their shoulders as they headed from one building to another.
She wondered if Jeff had come in yet, but she had no idea how late he and Nathan had stayed. Jeff, who usually was the first one to arrive in the mornings, had probably been at his desk for hours. She pushed up from her chair and strode from her office toward his.
Betty, Jeff’s assistant, wasn’t at her desk when Danielle stepped into the president’s reception area. Just as she started to knock on his office door a voice startled her.
“He’s not in there.”
Danielle whirled to see Landon Morse, conductor of the school orchestra, standing in the entrance behind her. She sighed in relief. “You scared me.”
Landon leaned against the doorjamb. His rumpled suit looked like it hadn’t been pressed in weeks, and the bow tie he always wore was missing. “Sorry. Just thought I’d save you the trouble of knocking. I saw Betty in the dining room. She said Jeff would be back at nine o’clock and wanted to meet with the faculty advisory board then.”
That meant she and Landon would join Jeff and Nathan to discuss the events of the night. “All right.” Danielle took a step back toward him. “Did she say where Jeff went?”
Landon shifted the backpack he carried in one hand to the other. “He went to Nathan’s office.”
Danielle’s eyes widened. “Oh, Nathan’s already here? He never gets here this early.” Then she frowned, closed her eyes and put her hand to her forehead. “But this isn’t like most mornings.”
Landon shook his head. “No, it isn’t. Too bad about Tricia. It’s just like when we were students and Jennifer was killed.”
A slight tremor prickled her skin. What was it about Landon that made her uneasy? Maybe she remembered how he’d stayed to himself while they were students and didn’t seem to want any company. Why he’d decided in the last few months to seek out her friendship, she didn’t know.
Danielle shuddered. “It’s too much like Jennifer’s murder.”
“Yeah. Brings back some bad memories, doesn’t it?”
Danielle bit her lip and nodded.
“I’ve left several messages on your answering machine, but you haven’t returned my calls.”
She frowned. “I’ve been busy. Sorry. Is there something you wanted?”
He shook his head. “I just wanted to ask you out.”
She walked toward him, but he didn’t move. Was he deliberately blocking her exit from the room? “Landon, I’m sorry. You know how I feel.”
“Yeah, but don’t you think you’ve used your fiancé’s death as an excuse long enough?”
Danielle drew back from him in shock. “That isn’t for you to decide. Now please let me pass.”
He stared at her without moving. “There is one more thing.”
“What?”
“The Christmas Fundraiser Reception. I’ll get my students’ performance information for the program to you before the day’s over so you can get it to the printer.”
Danielle gasped. “This isn’t the morning to be thinking about that. We’ve had a student murdered.”
Landon chuckled. “Tell that to Jeff and Nathan. I’d already had calls from both of them this morning about our meeting before I saw Betty. They want to make sure the plans for the fundraiser don’t get lost in the middle of a murder investigation.”
Danielle could only stare at Landon. After a moment he moved aside, and she hurried past him into the hall. As she entered her office, she glanced over her shoulder, but he wasn’t following. She breathed a sigh of relief.
She closed the office door and walked to her desk. Stopping, she stared in confusion at what lay before her. A single red rose with a white ribbon tied around its stem lay next to her computer. A sealed envelope lay next to it.
She slid her letter opener underneath the flap, pulled the card out, and blinked in surprise at the ornate calligraphy that adorned the page. She held the note closer and read—You have sent light into the darkness of my heart.
The words sent a chill down her spine. As she stared at the note, her hands began to shake. She’d received a rose the morning after Jennifer’s death. There was no card with that one, and at the time she’d assumed it was left by a fellow student. Suddenly the air in the room chilled, and she shivered. Ten years ago she’d felt an evil presence on Webster’s campus. Try as she might, she couldn’t rid herself of the feeling it had returned.
At nine o’clock Nathan, Jeff and Landon rose from their seats as Danielle walked into Jeff’s office. Nathan, fatigue lining his face, pointed to the chair next to him. “Sit here, Danielle.”
The kind tone of his voice poured over her and eased the ache in her heart. She smiled at him and took the offered seat. “Thank you.”
He settled next to her and sighed. “We’re all having trouble dealing with what happened last night. Perhaps the police will have some news for us today.”
Danielle turned in her chair to face him. “Detective Denton came by my house this morning. He’d been at the station all night, but he said an officer brought Flynn back to campus.”
Nathan’s eyes grew wide, and he stared at her. “The detective visited you at home?”
Danielle’s face warmed, and she laced her fingers in her lap. “He only wanted to see how I felt.”
Nathan cleared his throat. “That seems strange. You hardly know the man.”
Danielle gasped and shrank back in her chair. “He was kind enough to make sure my house was safe last night and to check on me this morning. I appreciate his interest.”
Nathan pursed his lips. “Well, when you put it that way, I suppose you’re right.” Waving his hand in dismissal, he glanced toward Jeff. “Why don’t we get on with the reason for this meeting?”
Jeff cleared his throat and shuffled some papers on his desk. “Before we do, I think you should know that Detective Denton called and said he was coming to search Tricia’s room. Security locked it last night, and no one has entered it since her death.”
Danielle nodded. “She didn’t have a roommate, did she?”
“No, so everything should be just as she left it. Detective Denton said that since you’re Dean of Students, he’d like you to accompany him there.”
“I’ll be glad to go with him.”
Jeff smiled. “Good. Betty will give you the key to the room.” He hesitated for a moment and glanced at each of them. “The past twenty-four hours have been difficult for all of us at the school. Nathan and I have talked with Tricia’s parents. They’re flying into Asheville today. We plan to meet them at the airport and drive them here.”
Danielle reached for a tissue in her pocket and wiped at the tears pooling in her eyes. “That’s kind of you. I’m sure