Page 36 of Second Chance

Tony takes a shaky breath, switching on his turn signal and making a left onto Campus Road. “Please.”

It’s so quiet in the car he hears the click of Daniel’s throat as he swallows.

“We have to resume classes. After last year, we can’t afford to have a big gap in education going on. But administration wants a police presence on campus while the culprit is still on the loose.”

“Can’t see that going over well.”

Daniel is by no means alone in his deep skepticism toward the police as an institution, not at a liberal arts college in upstate New York.

“What about Campus Security?” Tony asks.

“You mean the three middle-aged guys whose job is to stop college kids from smoking pot in public?”

Tony winces. “They all do that anyway.” He’s walked across campus often enough, waiting for Daniel to be finished with a class or a meeting. The times he doesn’t catch a whiff of weed are rare.

“Oh, yeah. Clint’s been known to take a hit in exchange for his silence.”

“Right. So. Police presence.”

“Yeah. We’ve got parents wanting to pull their kids out of class and get a refund on tuition since campus ‘isn’t safe.’” Daniel even does the air quotes; Tony spots it out of the corner of his eye.

“It’s not.” Tony wasn’t expecting his voice to sound so harsh. He clenches his fingers on the steering wheel.

Daniel doesn’t answer.

“Aren’t you scared?” Tony carefully keeps looking straight ahead at the road. His contacts itch.

It’s a long moment before Daniel says anything. When he does, he sounds defeated. “No.”

Tony glances over at him incredulously.

“You know,” Daniel says, “last year, I was so scared the first night after it happened?”

It’s rhetorical, but Tony didn’t know. For someone who tends to overthink himself into anxiety attacks, Daniel always seems ridiculously sanguine about everything related to crime—except for the part where he thought Gianna might be a murderer.

“Couldn’t leave my apartment at night all week,” Daniel continues, “in case the killer was out there waiting for a second try. But then…”

“Then the killer was out there and shot you.”

“Yeah. The worst already happened, so how bad could it get this time?”

It takes Tony significant effort to keep his voice level. “That is insane. If the letter is genuine, the killer is threatening you, personally.”

“Believe me, I know.” Daniel scrubs a hand through his messy hair. “I’m sure I’ll get scared eventually. It will hit me, and I’ll be a mess, but I…haven’t gotten there yet. Objectively, that could be a good thing because—don’t take this the wrong way—it kind of seems like you’re the one who’s freaking out this time.”

Tony bangs the heel of his hand against the steering wheel. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Pull over.”

“What?”

“Pull over.”

Tony does, gravel spraying out behind the wheels as he comes to a rough stop on the shoulder.

“Look at me.”

Tony swallows heavily and does.

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