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“Okay, I’m going to look up ideas for the centerpieces for my reception on Pinterest while I’m waiting down there, pretending I don’t know you.” She pointed toward the end of the hall, raising her phone. “Hallelujah for smartphones.”
“I’ll find you when I’m done.”
She walked past the door and peeked inside before glancing over her shoulder at me with an amused grin.
What didthatmean?
Just as I was about to knock on the door, a girl shot out of the room, tears streaming down her face. My heart kick-started as I watched her rush toward the stairs.
“Are you going to just bloody stand there or are you coming in?” a gruff voice asked from inside the office. The door was now gaping open.
My head whipped around to face the speaker, and I tried to hide my surprise. Dr. David Preston didn’t even begin to resemble the fusty old professor I’d imagined. The man standing at his desk had to be in his thirties, with dark brown hair and a handsome face. He was tall and even though he had on a long-sleeve dress shirt, it was obvious he didn’t have a beer belly. And his accent suggested he was British.
“Well…?” he asked, looking exasperated as he stuffed several overflowing folders into a messenger bag.
Why couldn’t he be a freaking old fart?
“I need to ask you a few questions.”
He kept his eyes on his bag as he closed the flap. “Sorry, but my Introduction to Native American Cultures classes for the fall are full, and I’m not approving any additional students. You’ll just have to get on the waiting list like all the others, although last I heard, the list is quite lengthy.”
The English accent was throwing me. Talk about a contradiction. An Englishman who specialized in Native American history.
He was staring at me, waiting for an answer. “That’s not why I’m here.” But I understood why there was a waiting list. Dr. David Preston was like a real-life Indiana Jones. Only hotter. And British.
His eyebrows rose. “You don’t look familiar. Are you a history major?”
“No, actually, I’m not a student here at all.”
His shoulders relaxed. “Oh, then my apologies. Over the last two weeks, I’ve been barraged with requests from female undergrads begging to get into my classes. I’ve heard every excuse under the sun, so forgive me for assuming you were in the same position.” He slung his bag over his shoulder and moved around the side of his desk.
“That’s okay. Are you leaving? Your secretary said you had office hours until three.”
“Usually I do, but I’m going on a research trip tomorrow, and I’m leaving early today to take care of some personal business.”
Panic ate at my resolve. “I just drove four hours to see you, Dr. Preston. I really need to ask you a few questions about the Croatan Indians.”
He looked surprised. “I’m honored that you drove all that way, but I don’t have much time to spare at the moment. Perhaps you could make an appointment for when I return to the school in August.” Walking to the door, he waited for me to follow him into the hall so that he could lock his office.
“That will be too late.”
He chuckled as he put his keys into his pants pocket. “The Croatan tribe has been thought to be extinct for over two hundred years. I assure you that five weeks won’t be too late.”
“Please, this is important.”
He looked skeptical, but he tilted his head toward the stairs. “You can accompany me to the exit and ask any questions you can fit into the thirty-second walk.”
Thirty seconds? I had no idea where to start. I hurried to keep up with him as he headed for the staircase, his long legs making the trek even shorter. “Do you know anything about the Croatan gods and spirits?”
“Yes.” I waited for him to expand upon that, but he just gave me a slightly irritated look. “While I admit that my knowledge of their spiritual beliefs is scanty, it would certainly take more than thirty seconds to discuss it.”
When we reached the staircase doorway, I cast a quick glance at Claire. She looked up from her phone with raised eyebrows. I just shrugged and hurried down the stairs after the professor.
I decided to ask him about my most pressing concern first. “Do you know about a spirit that looks like a huge badger and attacks animals, ripping out their internal organs but not eating their meat?”
He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, narrowing his eyes. “Excuse me?”
“Do you know what it is?”
