Under Lock and Key

Malcolm

The university was a maze of corridors, rooms, and secrets. I wasn’t sure what I would discover here on campus. I was hoping he would tell me. "I'll ask you again. Where is she?" I growled through gritted teeth. Holding someone hostage wasn't on my list of things to do today, but here I was in a secret nook of the university because I had followed a man I had come to know as Professor Belford. A man I suspected had the key to these secrets Rockrimmon had under lock and key. On Halloween night, one of his students went missing. Strangely, everyone here had gone about their lives as if she never existed, which raised a lot of red flags in my book. I was going to get to the bottom of this, even if it was the last thing I did because even the police weren't in a hurry to find this girl. You didn't need to be Joe Kenda to know something was amiss here. So, my other problem, unfortunately, would have to wait. Maybe. I was still trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "I told you I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I know you were the last one to see Ella before she mysteriously disappeared." Just like my amulet. Was it a coincidence, or were they somehow connected?

He looked like a moth that just got zapped before his stone-cold facade returned. "Look here, Interim, you're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Let the police handle this." Although he was trying to act calm, sweat was beading down his forehead. He had to know something, and he wasn't leaving this room until he told me what it was.

"You're only making this harder on yourself, old-timer." I pulled a letter I had typed up earlier out of my briefcase and brought it down to his eye level. "As far as everyone knows, you're going on a sabbatical. Nobody will be looking for you here. You could slowly rot away. Is that what you want?" Saliva spattered over my eye. "Fine, I'll rot, because I'm not telling you shit." Professor Belford's hard stare bore into me like two heat-seeking missiles. Asshole. I wiped his spit away with my sleeve. "We’ll see about that." A sudden cramp in my abdomen reminded me what time it was. I glanced down at my watch. "Luckily for you, breakfast is almost ready. A man on a mission has to eat. But in the meantime, I want you to think real hard about what you're going to tell me when I get back. And it better be good."

"Fuck you."

"Wrong answer." I stuffed the ball gag back into his filthy mouth, swiftly gathered my belongings, and pushed the button next to the bookcase that hid the secret alcove.

Solving Ella's disappearance was going to be an uphill battle. I was no detective. I didn't know the first thing about conducting an investigation, but if I managed to save a life, it would be worth every second. Every sleepless night. Ella deserved to have someone looking out for her, and that someone would be me. I just hoped I would find her before it was too late. Or was I already too late? God, I hope not. Before I walked to the dining hall, I stopped by the Dean's office and placed the letter on her desk. And left the room with a smile. Today might be a good day.