Page 161 of Vacancy

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DAMIEN

Icursed the whole time I hauled ass toward the English building.

I couldn’t believe Oaklynn had agreed to meet withanyprofessor alone in their office today.

When I saw her again, I was going to—

Well, I was probably going to kiss the fuck out of her in relief.

But then I’d give her a proper lecture for scaring the shit out of me.

She wasn’t waiting at the entrance when I arrived, so I went inside and found the faculty offices on the third floor.

The secretary there asked if she could help me, so I motioned toward the closed door marked with Thornburg’s name, saying I was only waiting, and I sat on the couch right outside his office so Oaklynn would see me first thing when she exited.

I sat there for nearly fifteen minutes before the door reopened and a man in his mid to late thirties exited, looking as if he was going to lunch or something.

Standing expectantly, I peered past him, searching for my girlfriend, but I didn’t spot anyone else in the office.

“Hi,” he greeted, pausing in front of me since it was more than obvious that I’d been waiting forhisdoor to open. “Can I help you?”

“Uh…yes, sir.” I squinted at theDr. J.T. Thornburgnameplate on his door before looking at him and needlessly asking, “Are you Dr. Thornburg?”

“I am. What’s up?”

“Well, I… I just…” Motioning toward his office, I said, “Sorry, I thought you were meeting with Oaklynn Vargas right now.”

His eyes lit up, recognizing the name. “I was,” he confirmed. “But she left quite abruptly. I was actually a little worried about her. She looked…terrified.”

I caught my breath, going on immediate alert as I glanced around for danger. “And you don’t know what scared her off?”

Taking in the initial J in his name and the tenth anniversary sign on his door, I swerved back to him just as he winced as if guilty, and I noticed a slight bruise around his eye.

“She asked me about—”

Cutting himself off from his own statement, he tipped his head and squinted at me. “Say… Are you Damien Archer?”

“I…Yes, sir. Why?”

He stepped eagerly forward. “I’ve actually been hoping I could talk to you some time. I wanted to get all my ducks in a row and gather as much research as I could first, but…”

“Talk about what?” I asked suspiciously.

With a slight wince as if he didn’t know how I’d take his answer, he said, “I’m interested in writing a story about Westport’s only unsolved murder case.”

I took a step back, jolted by the idea. “You want to write about my sister.”

He nodded eagerly, only to pause. “Though maybe you’re already aware of my intentions. It took me off guard when Miss Vargas asked if I knew her, but learning that she’syourfriend…”

“Oaklynn asked if you knew Thalia?” I demanded. “And how did you answer?”

“Well…” He blinked in confusion before admitting, “I never really got to. She ran off before I could. But no… I never actually met her, even though I know we must’ve been on campus at the same time. She died the first year I came to Haverick.”

I nodded, squinting at his door plate. “What does the J stand for in your name?” I asked, not caring how random the question must seem.

“Er…Jason. Why?”

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