Page 112 of Under His Protection
When the detective doesn’t reply right away, his hesitation puts me on edge.
“I have some updates on Christian’s status,” he finally says, “as well as some additional information that has come to light. If you don’t mind, Haley, I’d rather wait until we’re together to go into detail.”
Now I’m really getting nervous. “Okay. We’ll see you at two-thirty.”
“What was that about?” Jasmine asks after I end the call.
“Detective Bauer wants to meet with me and Philip this afternoon. It’s about Christian.”
Everyone at the table gets quiet.
“What else is there?” Layla asks. “I mean, they got him in custody, right? And you have an audio recording of his confession. It’s sounds like an open and shut case.”
“He wouldn’t say. He wants to speak to us in person.”
After lunch, I go back to my dorm room to relax before heading to my last class of the day. On the way, I get a text message from Philip.
Philip – Bauer asked me to come to a meeting at 2:30. I’ll pick you up at your chem lab.
Me – Did he say what the meeting was about?
Philip – Not really. He was pretty hush hush. I guess we’ll find out.
Me – OK. See you soon. <3
When I walk into my chemistry lab, Mark nods at me. “Hi, Haley.” But that’s it. He’s friendly, but a bit reserved.
I walk past his table to the one I share with Andrea. She’s already seated, busy digging her lab manual out of her backpack.
I take my seat. “Hi, Andrea.” I don’t want things to be awkward between us.
She gives me a small smile. “Hey. How’s it going?”
“Good. I’m trying to get back to normal.” I have to remind myself that Andrea’s suffering, too. She lost her best friend, at least for the foreseeable future. She’s probably feeling a bit disoriented as well. “Maybe we could have dinner one night next week.”
Her smile widens. “I’d really like that, yes.” She seems less nervous now after she’s had some time to get over the shock of what Christian did.
The rest of class is a breeze. When it’s over, I walk out of the room to find Philip leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. I saw him just yesterday when he helped me moveback onto campus, but last night was the first night we spent apart since this whole stalking thing escalated. And today was the first day I spent on campus without him shadowing me. I already miss him terribly.
“Hi,” I say as I walk over to him.
He reaches for me, and we hug. “Hi.” I feel his lips in my hair as he kisses my temple. “I missed you last night,” he whispers.
“Me, too.”
Mark walks past us on his way out. He doesn’t avoid eye contact, but he also doesn’t say anything. Whatever Philip told him before class on Wednesday has had quite an impact on him.
Andrea waves as she passes us. “Hi, Philip. I’ll see you in class Monday, Haley.”
“Ready?” Philip asks me as he holds out his hand.
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
We walk across campus to the police department. When we enter the office, Detective Bauer is waiting for us by the front desk. He motions us toward his office, and he follows us in and closes the door.
“Thanks for coming, guys,” he says as he takes his seat behind the desk. “Please sit.”
Philip gets right to the point. “So, what’s the news?”
