Page 32 of Fraud
Unless it was on purpose.
What else is she hiding?
It wasn’t just the pretty campus I’d come for this morning; although that did help lift my sour mood after the phone call I’d had with my brother. No, today was much more than a friendly stroll through the trees.
I had work to do.
After giving myself a thorough tour of the campus, I made note of where Kate’s office was and selected a building close by. A nondescript gray building looked promising.
My hope was that the proximity would provide useful information without the risk of running into my intended target.
It worked out perfectly.
As I walked through the double doors of the Harrison building that housed Human Resources and a few other departments, I immediately put my seventh grade acting skills to work. Putting on a face of confusion and a bit of charm, I zeroed in on finding someone to assist me.
It didn’t take long.
A long hallway and a turn to the left, and I found myself at Human Resources.
The woman behind the small desk was attractive and young—around the same age as Kate, I assumed. I couldn’t be sure of her title or role, but based on her surroundings, I guessed she must be some sort of administrative assistant.
“Hi, can you help me?” I asked after waiting for what seemed like an eternity for her to glance up at me.
“One second,” she replied without bothering to take her eyes off the report she was invested in.
As I patiently stood there, she finished filing away the few papers left on her desk.
Finally, her gaze wandered upward, and a look of surprise washed over her face.
“Oh! I’m sorry! I thought you were a student. Sometimes, freshmen wander in here and end up lost. Please, how can I help you?” she gushed, motioning to the chair by her desk.
“Thank you,” I said, accentuating my exhaustion. I took a seat, drawing in a deep breath, as my fingers worked through my hair. “I’ve been all over this place, looking for a friend of mine, and I can’t seem to find her. Do you think you could help me?”
Locking in on those milky-blue eyes of hers worked like a charm, as she suddenly leaned forward, completely ensnared by the trap I had set.
“Of course. Anything for you—I mean, what is her name?”
The corner of my mouth curved upward. “Katelyn O’Malley.”
Her eyes flashed with recognition. “Oh, Kate! Sure. She’s great. She’s in the Student Services building. It’s not far. Let me get you a map.”
“Thank you.” I smiled, watching as she flipped through papers and dug around in her desk for the campus map.
“Have you known Kate long?” I asked.
“Oh, um, not that long. Maybe a year. She’s really sweet though. On my first day, she brought over a little welcoming gift for me. It was so thoughtful, made me feel right at home.”
“That sounds like her,” I replied. “Are you close? Maybe she’s mentioned you to me?”
“Oh, no,” she answered. “We’ve never hung out or anything. I get the feeling that she doesn’t do much outside of work.”
I didn’t disagree with her, but I still pressed on. “Oh, why is that?”
“Well, I tried to thank her for the basket on several occasions. But, whenever I tried to invite her to something, she always turned me down.” She shrugged, obviously not that upset over the loss, and finally handed over a slightly tattered map from her desk. “For a while, I thought maybe she had a boyfriend or something because I would see her sneaking off for lunch all the time. But who knows? Everyone has their secrets, right?”
She didn’t know how right she was.
“I’m sure she’s just busy,” I replied in an effort to soothe her nerves. “After all, who wouldn’t want to spend time with you?”
