Chapter 26
Sure, Vaughn had seen the video of the Bae-sian Prof. But in it, she was half turned. Hard to see much of her face. In real life, Dr. Ivy Reeves was young. Really young. Pretty, too, despite not wearing a lick of makeup.
Vaughn thought that this might be a work thing, playing down her good looks to appear more professional. He suspected that if she put a little effort in, Dr. Reeves would be stunning.
“Your . . . dad?” Darnell said, squeezing into the small office behind Vaughn.
“Yes. Is he okay?”
“What’s your dad’s name?”
Confusion washed over Dr. Reeves’s features.
“Gene—I mean, Eugene Reeves.”
“No, this isn’t about your father,” Darnell said flatly.
Relief replaced confusion, but Dr. Reeves remained on edge.
It wasn’t uncommon for civilians to become nervous—even good, law-abiding citizens—in the presence of cops.
Vaughn had a friend in college, a woman, who had family who lived in Canada. She’d drive up to visit them for every major holiday. After a late-night study session, she’d offered to give Vaughn a ride home. He’d noticed a set of glasses on the dash and picked them up.
“I didn’t know you wore contacts.” A flirtatious opening. He liked her.
“I don’t.”
Vaughn waved at the glasses.
“Oh, those? I wear those for when I cross the border.”
“But you don’t need them?” They weren’t the sexy secretary type. They were old, thick frames. A decade or two out of style.
“Naw. They just make me look less suspicious.”
“You some sort of international drug smuggler?”
She’d laughed.
“Dr. Reeves, can we speak with you for a moment?” Vaughn said, clearing his mind of the reverie.
“Sure.”
Darnell put a hand on his hip and narrowed his eyes at the man with the long hair who had opened the door for them.
“Right—uh, I was just leaving. I have class.” He was nervous, too. Sweeping his hair behind his ears, he said to Dr. Reeves, “I’ll catch up later. Excuse me.”
Darnell moved just a little, forcing the man to turn sideways to get by him and out the door.
“Your father—he in some kind of trouble?” Darnell asked.
“N-no. It’s just . . . I’m sorry, what is this about?”
The woman was clearly flustered. Her brow was sweating even though the AC unit inside the office was pumping out cool air.
“We saw your TikTok video,” Darnell said.
This was usually how these things went. Darnell did the talking, Vaughn observed. But they generally reserved this approach for suspects.
And Dr. Reeves wasn’t a suspect.
“Jesus, that was fast. I only just reported it. Is it gone?” She reached for her phone. “Was it taken down?”
Vaughn noticed that her hand was shaking.
“You didn’t post it?” Darnell asked.
“No, of course not. I don’t normally . . .” She sighed, checked her phone, darkened the screen. “I reported it—I want it taken down. I thought you were here because of the video.”
“We are . . . sort of.” Darnell took out his phone. “You want it taken down?”
“Yes.” Exasperated.
“I can report it for you.”
“Thank you. And because you’re a cop—”
“—detective,” Darnell corrected.
“Sorry, detective. That should get it taken down, right?”
“Ehhh, it’s my personal account.”
“I just want it gone.”
Dr. Reeves’s blue eyes flicked in Vaughn’s direction.
“Sorry, I don’t have TikTok.”
She nodded. Looked to be in physical pain.
“I don’t even know how someone recorded it.
I always confiscate the students’ phones before class.
” She cocked her head. “Oh, shit, wait a second. I was late, I . . .” Dr. Reeves stopped herself when she realized she was rambling.
“I’m sorry, Detectives. It’s been a day.
But if this isn’t about my dad or the video, then why are you here? ”