Her hand felt soft and warm and very nice, and Kevin hated letting it go. She was stunningly pretty. Or was that just in contrast to what he was expecting? She appeared to be a few years younger than Kevin but carried herself like someone much older.
“I imagine I’m not what you expected,” she said, gently pulling her hand out of his.
“I guess not,” Kevin replied, “But I, uh...,” he couldn’t help smiling back at her, “I think I’ll manage to get over the disappointment.”
Her smile remained the same, easy, cordial but not flirty. Kevin was having a hard time reading her body language.
“Now, where are my manners? Let me carry that for you,” Kevin motioned toward her suitcase.
“It’s not heavy at all.”
“Well, I’m not about to walk out of here looking like some lazy oaf who makes a lady carry her own suitcase,” Kevin said sternly but still smiling.
“Very well then,” she handed him the suitcase. Despite her words, she was growing tired of carrying it.
“I’m parked out this way,” Kevin turned and motioned toward the parking area outside. He moved to the door which opened in response to his presence. He stood to the side and turned so she could walk through.
Outside, she waited for him to take the lead and they walked abreast toward the crosswalk.
“So, how much do you know already about what’s going on?” Kevin asked.
“I was given all of the data the Memorite Society currently has and was able to analyze it during the flight.”
Kevin nodded, “I’m not really sure what was sent to them, so why don’t you give me a rundown of what you have and I’ll see if I can fill in the blanks.”
They had arrived at the crosswalk and waited for the signal to cross.
“At approximately 1:30 am this morning,” Laura began, “Todd Engstrom left the building his office was in, accompanied by a student, Janie Daniels. They walked along the walkway toward the south where they were met by two other students. Janie left Professor Engstrom to accompany the students, and they proceeded north-northeast toward the dormitories. Professor Engstrom continued toward the south and was killed by one bullet to the head a few yards south of where the students had left him.”
The light came on for them to cross the street, so they started walking.
“The shooter was positioned on the other side of the wooded area to the east of the administration building about nine feet from where Professor Walser was seen by the same students almost immediately after the shooting. The shooter utilized a series of small openings through the intervening branches of the trees to pinpoint the Professor’s position. This technique would have been impossible for anyone but a Memorite to accomplish.”
They had reached the car. Kevin had unlocked it remotely with his key chain, so he opened the passenger-side door for Laura and allowed her to get in.
“Did I miss much?” Laura asked, knowing the answer.
“No,” Kevin answered somewhat subdued, “you seem to have gotten just about all of it.”