7. Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Standing outside the university bookstore took Tessa back to her own college days. But Tessa hadn’t started college until after she retired from modeling at twenty-five. She wondered what it would have been like to leave home at the age of eighteen and live on campus and make friends. But then she wouldn’t have met Megan. They had both been older undergraduates at Ohio State and latched on to each other, eventually sharing an apartment. Tessa had graduated and moved to Tennessee to work for Katrina, and Megan had finished her master’s degree before moving back to her hometown of Nashville as well and starting an internship at the museum.
Now Tessa was waiting for Ben. She’d agreed to meet him here. He suggested they go together, but even though she had jumped in with both feet when she followed him, she didn’t want to be in a car with him yet. Especially when she’d sat down last night and decided to research him online, only to realize she didn’t know his last name.
How had she not asked him his full name?
Sloppy detective work on her part. She would be asking that today so that she could do some digging on the lumberjack detective. Normally she wasn’t a beard woman, but he was a handsome specimen. Working in the fashion industry, Tessa was used to being surrounded by beautiful people, but Ben was different. He was good-looking, but he didn’t seem to realize it, and in her experience, men almost always realized it. It was refreshing.
Not that he wasn’t a little cocky. Bringing her a coffee while she was stalking him was cocky. And even though Tessa would never let him know it, she appreciated him approaching her in a confident yet nonconfrontational way.
Students rushed by her carrying huge containers of coffee. Many were talking to themselves. Rattling off equations and historic dates. It was time for finals, and they were sleep-deprived and stressed. She remembered that feeling well.
This might not be the best time to try and talk to the professors, but if they waited any longer, they would miss talking to them during summer break. Even though she had struck out on researching Ben No-last-name, she had spent time on the Vanderbilt website studying the History of Art staff. There were several associate professors, professors, and lecturers. Even though Megan had gone to Ohio State, she had completed a year at Vanderbilt in an exchange program with Professor White. Mia had selected Megan to work with her because of Megan’s white papers on the history of mythology and dragons in art. Mia White was the expert on both subjects in the academic arena. Megan had raved about how amazing she was. Until she dropped off the face of the planet.
Had she walked away from everyone she knew and everything she’d accomplished because of grief? Tessa couldn’t imagine losing the person you loved the most in a tragic accident. But something told her it was more than that. How many people wanted to talk to Mia White about dragons and the curse? Not just John or Eric and Sienna’s clan, who were the good guys…dragons… But they had already faced the bad guys too. Eric and Megan almost died, and Adam had died trying to find a way to break the curse.
It was mind-blowing enough to see Eric unfurl his wings and fly. What if they could break the curse and the clan would be able to transform into their full dragon forms?
Holy guacamole. That would be amazing.
Speaking of guacamole…she would have to ask Marilyn, the clan chef, to make her guacamole again the next time she was at the clan house. She added pineapple to it, which sounded weird but was oh so good.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
She flinched before blurting, “Taco Tuesday!” How had he gotten so close without her noticing?
He held up his hands as if to calm her. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” His eyes danced. “Taco Tuesday? Is that your version of a swear word?”
She couldn’t stop the grin on her face. “Kind of. But more like a craving. I was thinking about guacamole if you must know.”
He smiled and lines appeared by his eyes. “Got it. So do we need to feed you first?”
“Nope,” her brain said as her stomach hollered, Yes! “I can hold off for now. I did some research last night on who to speak with. There is an associate professor, Alisha Brown, that teaches art and mythology, which would be what Mia White would have taught when she was here. I think we start with her.”
“Sounds like a plan. I reviewed the campus map to find where the art history department was. We have to head to the right down that sidewalk.”
They walked toward the building in silence, Tessa’s thoughts spinning as to their next steps. “So how do you want to handle this?” she asked.
“Handle this?”
She stopped, which prompted him to stop as well. Students maneuvered around them in a mad rush.
“You’re the PI. When you question someone, how do you normally approach them? Do we need to make up some elaborate story about why we’re looking for Mia White? Or do we need to play good cop, bad cop?”
He hesitated for a moment before responding. “I think we just tell them the truth. You said your friend is worried about her, right? We tell them that we’ve been asked to find her since friends are concerned about her, and leave it at that.”
Tessa sighed. “That makes sense.”
The right side of his mouth quirked up. “Are you disappointed we don’t have to make something up?”
Her face heated slightly. She hoped he couldn’t see her blush. “No… Maybe. I think I’ve watched too many movies.”
“Yeah. Not too much excitement with this, huh?”
She shrugged. “Nope. But that’s okay. Hopefully we can get some clue where to go next.”
They continued their trek across campus and entered the building where the Department of the History of Art offices were housed. They walked into the department and, after a couple of quick inquiries, were able to find Alisha Brown’s office.
Tessa peeked inside. Alisha sat at her desk working on her laptop.
“Professor Brown?”
The woman nodded. “Yes. Can I help you?”
Tessa took a step into the office with Ben standing behind her. “Sorry to bother you, Professor Brown, but I was wondering if you have a couple minutes to talk to us?”
Alisha glanced at her watch. “I’ve got to proctor an exam at eleven, so I only have a few minutes.”
Tessa and Ben took seats in front of her desk.
“I don’t recognize either of you as students. So this isn’t going to be a last-minute plea not to fail you, correct?”
Tessa smiled. “No. My college years are well past me. We were wondering if you worked with Mia White when she was here.”
Alisha’s smile dropped away. “I did. I was Professor White’s teaching assistant for two years. Why do you ask?”
Ben leaned forward. “We’ve been hired to find her by a friend who is worried about her.”
Alisha closed her laptop. “Her friend isn’t the only one who is worried.”
“So you haven’t heard from her either?” Tessa asked.
“No. No one in the department has heard from her since she resigned and moved away. I tried to call her after she left, and her cell number had been disconnected.”
Ben pulled a small notebook from his pocket and opened it. “She didn’t tell you where she was moving?”
“No. She was very quiet at the end. Didn’t say much to anyone. She resigned with the dean, and since it was right around this time four years ago, she finished out her classes for the semester and then left. I ended up grading the finals for her. That in itself was strange since she was a stickler about grading finals herself. But she wasn’t the same person.”
The more they talked to Alisha, the more Tessa’s spidey senses kicked in. “Can you tell me why you think she left?”
Alisha hesitated for a moment as if gathering her thoughts. “Mia was an amazing, dynamic, and brilliant academic. Being one of her TAs was a highly sought-after position, and I was so happy to be chosen. Her white papers and other research are used in both the Americas and Europe as well. But as much as her job meant to her, her husband, Paul, was her world.”
“He was a professor here as well?”
“Yes. Sociology. The two of them together were a force.”
“And he was killed,” Ben prompted. “Do you know what happened?”
“Mia and Paul were remodeling an old house.” Alisha grinned. “Mia said an art history professor could not live in a new-build house. It went against her training.” The smile faded. “They had been working on the house together to repair it. Paul was electrocuted.”
Tessa’s stomach dropped. “How terrible.”
Alisha nodded. “Mia was devastated. She blamed herself. She swore that they had shut off the electricity. They were having electricians come to rewire the house. Paul was working on stripping wallpaper, and the metal tool he was using hit a live wire. Mia found him. Paramedics tried to revive him, but there was nothing they could do. What made it worse was that Mia was supposed to be the one working on the wallpaper that day, but she got called into a meeting and so Paul did it instead.”
“God. No wonder she was destroyed.”
Alisha’s eyes glistened, and she blinked several times. “She folded in on herself. And left shortly after that.”
“Did she sell the house?” Ben asked.
Alisha nodded. “I drove by it a couple months after she left to see if I could talk to her, and there was a sold sign in the yard.”
Tessa rested her hands on the desk. “Did she ever talk to you about someone that she was close to, maybe a friend or relative? Maybe she went to stay with them?”
Alisha frowned. “Mia was in foster care most of her childhood. I don’t think she knows any biological relatives. Her friends were her colleagues here at the university.”
Ben clicked his pen. “Did she mention anyone else she might have been close to? Someone she may go to for help?”
Alisha started to shake her head but then stopped. “Wait…she did tell me about one of her foster parents. She moved around to several homes until she settled down with her.”
“Do you remember her name?” Tessa asked.
Alisha closed her eyes. “Evelyn.” She opened her eyes after a moment. “Her last name isn’t coming to me right now.”
Ben wrote the name on his notepad. “Did she tell you where she lived with Evelyn?”
“That I do remember. Mia lived with her in a small town outside of Knoxville. I remember since I grew up not too far from there myself.” Alisha glanced at her watch again. “I’m sorry, but I need to get going.”
They all stood. Tessa reached for Ben’s notepad, and he handed it to her with a question in his eyes. She flipped to a clean page and scribbled her phone number before ripping it out and handing it to Alicia. “If you remember Evelyn’s last name or anything else that could help, please call or text me.”
Alicia took the paper and walked around the desk. “I will. Maybe something will come to me while I proctor the exam. I hope you find her. If you do, tell her we miss her.”
“Thanks for speaking with us,” Ben said. “Is there anyone else here on campus you can think of to speak to?”
“Maybe the dean? But I don’t know if she’s in today. You would have to check with her office.”
After Alisha gave them directions to the dean’s office, they quickly learned she was out. Tessa and Ben walked down the hall and out onto the sidewalk as students hurried into the building, more than likely headed to their exams.
“What do you think?” Tessa asked.
“I think it’s time to eat. Are you up for an early lunch? I passed a spot coming here that I think you’ll like. We can talk through things there.”
“I can always eat.” They headed down the sidewalk, and Tessa let him lead. They both walked in silence, which was fine with Tessa as she thought through what they’d learned today.
Tessa chuckled when Ben pointed to their destination. “The San Antonio Taco Company or SATCO for the locals.”
Ben grinned. And why did that smile kick something awake low in her tummy?
“You were fixated on guacamole earlier. I thought this might help.”
She smiled back. “You thought right.”
They placed their order, his eyes widening as she ordered several items. Then they settled on the deck with their food. She grabbed a chip and scooped up some guacamole, humming slightly as she took a bite.
Ben’s eyebrows rose, and his tummy-tingling grin hit her again. Time to take control of things.
“What? I’m showing my appreciation. Try it before you mock me. Unless you don’t like guacamole?”
He scooped up some on his own chip and took a bite. After swallowing, he nodded. “It’s good.”
“Their queso is awesome too. Try some.”
He followed her instructions and groaned a bit himself.
“Hah! I told you. Now you know why I ordered all of this. I may be willing to share more if you behave.”
He held up his hands. “I’m happy to see a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t shy in asking for it.”
“Good to know. Since I am definitely not shy.”
“I figured that out quickly.” He smirked.
She would have thrown a chip at him, but why waste it? It didn’t take them long to finish their meals. Tessa sat back and almost patted her stomach, but she stopped herself. She didn’t need Ben making a comment about that.
She took a sip of water. He was an interesting specimen to be sure. But she wasn’t in the market for a man. This was about protecting Megan and Arabella.
“So what do you think?” she asked again.
He sat back himself. “I think we don’t have much to go on except Evelyn with no last name. Hard to find anything online without a last name.”
“Yeah. And finding out her name is going to be difficult. I don’t see child services giving us that information. It was years ago, and I’m not sure, but I would think those records would be sealed. Maybe Alisha will think of it,” Tessa said. As if speaking it out loud would make it so. “While we’re waiting to see if she thinks of anything else, let me talk to my friend and see if she knows who this Evelyn is. And speaking of last names. What is yours?”
He hesitated for a moment. “Wells.”
“And what will I find when I search for you online, Ben Wells?”
He shrugged. “Honestly? Nothing. I’m not on social media.”
She gaped at him. “At all?”
He chuckled. “You sound like I told you the sky is falling. In my line of work you learn very quickly that social media can be your downfall. I don’t want my personal life flashed all over the Internet for someone to track or steal my identity.”
She guessed that made sense in a paranoid kind of way. “What about your business? Don’t you have a website?”
“Nope. I get jobs through word of mouth mostly. It works for me.”
“Huh. I have no words.”
“Why do I have a feeling that is not a common occurrence for you?”
She glared at him in mock outrage. “Are you throwing shade at me?”
“Of course not. What’s your last name?”
Now she didn’t want to tell him since she definitely was on social media, and he might make assumptions based on her past. But she needed to play fair. “Stuart.”
“Okay, Tessa Stuart. Do you want me to go with you to talk to your friend?”
Nope, nope, and nope. That was so not happening. “No. I’ll talk to her, and then we can regroup and decide where we want to go next.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He collected the remnants of their lunch. “Did this curb your guacamole craving?”
Tessa smiled at him. “Good food is my religion. My love of guac will never be curbed.”
He chuckled. “Good to know, Tessa Stuart.”
His deep laugh made her warm in the belly. Or more than likely it was the jalape?os she just ate.
And that’s what she would continue to tell herself.