“No, she swore me to secrecy. She really didn’t talk to anyone else about her personal life, you know?” Susan’s chest had puffed with a small sense of pride, and Taylor felt for the girl. The secret keeper always was made to feel like the most important person in a woman’s world, especially if the person was a shade too nerdy and harboring some more-than-friendly feelings toward her friend. Women could be used that way, and it was starting to look like Jill Gates had been taking advantage of Susan’s affections from the beginning. Taylor realized Susan was still talking.
“...Jill was kind of intense, you know? Like when you’re talking to her, she like leans into you, like she really cares about what you’re saying. There was this time...” Susan reddened, and both of them could understand completely her embarrassment.
“It’s okay, Susan. I think I’m starting to understand how you felt about Jill.” Taylor handed the girl a tissue. She accepted it gratefully and hid behind it for a moment.
“Yeah, well, she wasn’t into me like that, but I didn’t mind. I think she knew, but she was good enough never to mention it, you know. Like she didn’t hold it against me or anything.” Susan’s voice had gotten bitter, but she smiled and went back to her story.
“I don’t really know how to explain it. She was so intense, so interested, that sometimes it was a little creepy, you know? Like she wanted to turn my mind inside out. She just looks right into you. And I told her things I’d never admit to anyone. Dreams, feelings. Not about how I felt for her, but about dealing with life feeling different. And she understood so much. I know she’d never felt like she didn’t fit in, but she made me feel like she understood it completely. So I poured out my deepest darkest secrets, my biggest fears, like about my parents finding out I’m not their perfect little girl. And she understood, you know, she really understood. I know she really cared about me in her own way.”
Baldwin was starting to get the picture. “Susan, think carefully. Was she like that with anyone else?”
“Well, she was like that with a lot of people. I guess I’d like to think that she was special friends with me alone, but she was, you know, kinda intense with a lot of people.”
“Was she intense with Shelby Kincaid or Jordan Blake?”
“No, not Shelby. That girl was a little mouse. But she did hang out with Jordan, partied with her some. They went their own way after a while. Jordan got picked up by Tri-Delt, and Jill just wasn’t into the sorority scene. Me neither.”
Taylor gave the girl’s hand a quick squeeze. “Susan, you’ve been a huge help. Thank you so much for your time and for being so honest with us.” They stood to leave. Susan looked back.
“Will you let me know if you find Jill? I just want to make sure she’s okay, you know?”
Baldwin gave her a long look. “We’ll do our best.”
She smiled sadly and hoisted her backpack on her shoulder, half waved good-bye, and wandered off toward the food court.
Taylor and Baldwin sat back down.
Taylor spoke first. “What do you think?”
Baldwin was running his hands through his hair. “I don’t know. There’s definitely a link with all the girls through this Gabriel Lucas character. Mary Margaret audited the same classics class Susan was talking about. But Lucas isn’t on our list, right?”
Taylor was already dialing Fitz’s cell. He picked up quickly.
“Hey, it’s me. I need you to check a name for me. Gabriel Lucas.” She was quiet for a moment, listening. “Okay. Find him. We’ll check it out.”
She hung up and pulled out a cigarette. Baldwin gave her a look that she waved off. She lit it and stared off into space, coughing a little.
Baldwin was getting impatient. “Well?”
“Gabriel Lucas wasn’t on their list because he’s taking a sabbatical this semester. He’s taken some time off to write a book of his experiences with the Greco-Roman culture.”
“You’re kidding.”
Taylor took another drag, then squashed the butt under her shoe. She raised an eyebrow at him.
“An expertise in Greco-Roman culture fits our profile about a person intimately familiar with the ancient customs,” he said.
“It sure does. The way Susan talked about him, and the connection he had with Jill...we need to find this guy and have a nice long talk with him. Fitz is tracking him down. Also, Sam called in to tell us there was aconite in the teacups found at the church. Definitely the same killer, Baldwin.”
Baldwin’s mind was spinning. Shelby, date-raped. Jordan, pregnant with another man’s child. Jill, at least seven months gone and having a secret affair. So where did Mary Margaret, the priest, and Tammy/Mona Lisa fit into all of this? He didn’t know the answer, only knew they had to find Jill.
66
Their interviews with Professor Lear and Professor James yielded nothing. Professor Lear was physically incapable of committing the crimes. A paraplegic since birth, his wheelchair would have made it difficult to manage the stairs at the Parthenon, at the very least. Though he did remember all of the students, he couldn’t say he knew anything about them outside of his classes.