“Ian Berriman. He was giving a make-up exam to a student—in the history department. The girls stayed in his office after—after—” She wiped her eyes again and looked at the two detectives. “Carlton wasn’t making much sense when he was talking to me.” She blew her nose. “We used to share what is now my office—during the renovation. I never imagined my daughter would ever be in danger from a colleague of mine.” She shivered at the thought.
Detective Park wrote notes.
“I think we’re done here.” The other detective stood. “Your chairman said Professor Berriman was one of the first people on the scene after Professor Dunbar was stabbed.”
She nodded. “He came in after the girls went to his office.”
“Where can we find him?”
“Just turn left when you leave. His department is down the hall on the right. Would you like me to call him, to let him know you are coming?”
Detective Park walked to the door of the conference room. “That won’t be necessary. We’ll find him. Thank you, Professor Gardner. We’ll call you if we have any more questions.”
“I’d prefer that you call me here rather than at home.”
“We can do that,” Rex replied.
“One more thing,” Will said. “You mentioned girls. You have two daughters?”
“No. Cece’s best friend was with her when she came into the office.”
“Her name is?”
“Samantha Olson. Do you need to talk with her or her parents?”
He nodded. “We’d like to do that.”
Amanda nodded and shook hands with the detectives after giving them Joan’s address and phone number, and they departed.
Beatrice entered the room and sat down next to her.
“Cecelia’s in my office—writing notes on my computer.”
“Oh, Beatrice. Do you think you should let her do that?”
“She’s fine, and so sweet.Cecelia keeps insisting it wasn’t you or Marcus who broke my Will. She’s told me at least twice that I shouldn’t be mad at anyone except Carl. I gave her a hug and told her Will was in the art hospital and he’ll be coming back good as new.”
Amanda smiled. “She was worried about that. She knows how much you like that sculpture. I need to get her home. Is Joan outside?”
“No. But she wants you to call her with an update on Marc’s condition. I hope I got all your papers back where they were supposed to be from the other day, the ones near the filing cabinet.”
“Yes, thank you for that.” Amanda rose and walked into Beatrice’s office, where Cecelia was using two fingers to cover and uncover the flashing lights on the oversized printer as it hummed through a job. “Thanks, Beatrice. The detectives took longer than I thought they would.”
“Cecelia didn’t mind, did you?”
Her daughter looked up and grinned.
“Mom, I want a computer like Beatrice’s when I go to college.”
“Of course, honey,” she replied through her tears. As long as she was safe, Cece could ask for the world. Somehow, Amanda knew she’d figure out how to get it for her.
Chapter 21
That night, Cecelia’s nightmares returned. Amanda carried her daughter from her room and deposited her into her bed. By morning, Skipper had joined them at the bottom of the bed.
After breakfast, Amanda called the school and told them Cecelia would not be in that day. She pulled her onto her lap and hugged her tightly.“Tell me about your nightmare, honey.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t want to. It makes me sad to think about it.”
“What makes you so sad?”
Cecelia’s chin quivered. “That bad man. He hurt you and he hurt Marcus, and now Marcus is in the hospital. I’m not supposed to like him—Sam’s mother says so—but I do. I didn’t want him to be hurt.” She lowered her face, hiding her eyes. “He came back—that nasty man came back. I never wanted to see him again.”
“Cecelia, he can’t hurt us anymore. And Marcus will get better.”
Her daughter threaded her small fingers into Amanda’s hands. “You said he didn’t mean to—but he broke your necklace—the one you got from your grandmama. Your most favoritest necklace.” She touched her mother’s neck where the knife had cut her.
“But my necklace is being fixed, and everything is going to be fine.”
Cecelia shook her head. “You said Marcus was trying to protect you, that he’s a hero.” She looked up and her chin quivered. “I didn’t want him to be hurt. He was always nice to me—except he did that icky thing with you. That’s why I don’t want him to come to our house anymore.” She gazed deeply into her mother’s eyes before looking away.