Page 66 of Silencing Stolen Whispers
Alex exited the vehicle, taking the time to study his surroundings. The sound of their car doors closing seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet neighborhood. A dog barked somewhere down the street, a brief protest against the disturbance.
The concrete path leading to the front door was lined with small solar lights that gave off a faint blue glow. The flower beds were neat, with what looked like tulips that had recently finished blooming. Not Reeves' work, though. Alex doubted the professor had the patience for such things as gardening.
Standing on the porch, Alex noticed a couple of hanging baskets of ferns and a welcome mat with a faded pattern of leaves. Given the circumstances, the domestic touches were probably nothing but a front for the neighbors.Alex pressed the doorbell, its chime echoing inside the house. Hendricks took a step back and to the left, as his training had taught him.
Footsteps approached from within before the curtain was pushed aside. Victor Reeves met Alex’s gaze through the window. His hesitation was obvious, but he eventually released the curtain and opened the door.
“Detective Lanen,” Victor greeted as he stood in the doorway. He had taken off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves to reveal forearms dusted with dark hair. In his left hand, he held a glass of milk that appeared almost comically innocent given what Alex had come to discuss. “It’s a little late for a house call, isn’t it?”
Alex monitored Reeves' expressions carefully, noting the slight tightening around his eyes and the way his free hand moved to the edge of the door, as if bracing himself.
Not quite guilt, but certainly wariness.
“I apologize for the late hour.” Alex kept his tone professional, neither accusatory nor overly friendly. “I need to ask you a few more questions regarding the Hannah Scriven case.”
“And it couldn’t wait until morning?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Alex responded, noting Reeves’ internal debate as he switched his focus to Hendricks. “May we come in?”
“Of course.” Victor stepped back, widening the opening for both men to walk through. “The living room is right through there.”
As Alex stepped across the threshold, he found that he had entered a home that immediately challenged his mental image of Victor Reeves. Where Alex had expected something austere and impersonal—a reflection of the man's academic demeanor—he found instead a space that was genuinely lived-in.
Cozy, even.
The open-concept first floor included a dining area and kitchen that flowed into a living room, all decorated in warm, earthy tones with accents of deep blues and forest greens. A plush sectional sofa faced a modest television, with bookshelveslining the wall behind it. A handmade quilt was draped over the back of the sofa, and a stack of magazines sat on the coffee table alongside a half-completed crossword puzzle.
Either Reeves was playing a long game of camouflage, or he had a wife who loved him more than he deserved.
“If this is about my abrupt departure from the vigil, I have assignments to grade. With everything that’s happened, I’m a bit behind,” Victor admitted as he set his glass of milk on the coffee table. After he straightened, he slipped his hands in his pockets. “I paid my respects and then drove straight home.”
“Dr. Reeves, I’m going to cut straight to the point,” Alex said as he stood in the middle of the living room. Hendricks remained near the island, positioning himself far enough away from Alex should Reeves try anything. The layout gave them several options, if needed. “It’s been brought to our attention that you had an intimate relationship with Hannah Scriven.”
Alex skipped the social niceties and the usual dance of easing into tough questions. Sometimes, in cases like these, the luxury of politeness was best left behind. However, the accusation didn’t hit as expected.
“Hannah Scriven was my student,” Victor replied evenly. “Nothing more.”
No hesitation.
Alex didn’t get the sense that Reeves was lying, either.
“We have a witness who observed you and Hannah in an intimate…position…in your lecture hall last semester,” Alex countered, keeping his voice just as level. “We'll be obtaining security footage of the date and time from the university. I can only imagine such footage will provide us with additional evidence.”
It was a calculated risk. There was no guarantee that the security camera had an unobstructed view of said lecture hall or that particular hallway. Still, Reeves’ gaze dropped to theglass of milk as he considered the direction that he wanted this conversation to take.
It wouldn’t surprise Alex if the professor invoked his right to counsel.
The silence became heavy with tension as each second passed, but something finally shifted in the man’s expression. He had clearly come to a decision. He glanced back up. Dead center, without even a flinch.
“Detective, there's been a misunderstanding. I did not have an inappropriate relationship with a student,” Victor reiterated calmly. “I had an affair with her sister.”
The revelation reshaped everything Alex understood about the case.
Twins.
Identical twins.
A witness glimpsing one sister through a door window could easily mistake her for the other.
