Page 209 of The Professor's Wife

He sounded shocked, and he was a good actor, but Oliver never cared for anyone but himself. The only reason he would care so much about this was if he could somehow make it about him.

He could do it, too. He would find a way to make people pity him for being the professor of a missing student.

But my stomach twisted. I had a feeling there was more to this, and it had nothing to do with my conversation with Louise.

“I’m so sorry,” I forced out. “You must be in a state of shock.”

“I am,” he agreed. “The town has come together to search for her. I think I’m going to join the search party this evening.”

“They would really like that.”

“I invited a detective over to the house this afternoon. I want to help out any way I can.”

“A detective?” Now I really was shocked. “Do you know the student well enough that you can help with the case?”

“I knew her well in the academic sense, and at this point, any information would be useful.”

“I agree.”

I didn’t agree at all.

“I’ll give you space with the detective when he comes around.”

He cleared his throat. “I was hoping you’d be by my side, sweetheart. I might really need your support.”

My brows came together. What the fuck was up with this man? “Really? I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”

“He’ll ask routine questions.” He let out a chuckle. “He might even wonder where I was five days ago.”

The realization struck, and the knife slipped into my finger.

I hissed, dropping it onto the board. I quickly spun around. “Paper towel!”

Drops of blood fell to the floor, and Oliver, not knowing where the paper towels were, spun around and grabbed the tea towel hanging from the oven handle. He pressed it against my finger, cursing. “Are you all right?”

“I don’t think it’s deep.”

I couldn’t even feel it yet. I was shaking, but it wasn’t from the cut. I couldn’t look at Oliver. Couldn’t look him in the eye because I understood perfectly what he wanted from me.

An alibi.

Oh, my God. Why was I so surprised?

He’d come home filthy. At two in the damn morning.

Where had he gone?

I was shaking uncontrollably. I felt sick. I felt…discombobulated. I felt relief that I could show my distress for once and pretend it had something to do with the cut on my finger.

Oliver fussed over me, finding a bandage and pressing kisses to my head that made my skin crawl. There was nothing more miserable than pretending to accept tenderness from a monster.

I knew what he was capable of. I had accepted that he might kill me if I ran. I had even suspected I wasn’t the first woman the cabin had watched.

Eyes everywhere.

But I hadn’t thought he would do something to one of his students.

As I stood there, feeling numb, I wondered quietly, “What’s the student’s name?”