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When we reached the second floor, I peered into his classroom, which was still full. Students furiously typed notes into their laptops while Steven stood at the front of the class.
“Good call,” I said. “He’s still lecturing.”
Collin shrugged with a smug grin. “So now we need a plan. We’ll catch him by surprise. Introduce me as a friend.”
“He knows that David’s living with me. He’s going to think it’s weird for me to be here with you.”
“Then tell him I’m a colleague of David’s.”
I looked him up and down, taking in his T-shirt and faded jeans, which hung on his hips in a very alluring way. I felt myself flush.
“Eyes up, Ellie. Focus.”
I cringed.
He chuckled. “You don’t think I look like a college professor?”
“Not just that, I’m sure Steven probably knows anyone who’s important enough to work on anything Roanoke related.”
“Then tell him I’m a family friend and don’t elaborate.”
“If he tells Myra, she’ll instantly know who you are.”
“I don’t care what he finds out about me after we leave. Right now we need the upper hand.”
“Okay.” This still felt wrong, but if there was the slightest chance he knew something that might help David, it was worth it, consequences be damned.
Collin put his hand on my arm and lowered his voice. “Don’t tell him anything about David being taken. Let’s see if he shows any signs of knowing it when we start asking questions. I’ll be able to tell if he feels guilty about something.”
I nodded. That sounded smart. “But he’s going to wonder why I’m not with David. And Myra knows I was in Chapel Hill with David this weekend. I had breakfast with her on Sunday.”
His head lowered closer to mine. “Was Steven there?”
“No, she wanted to talk to me alone. I was fine with it since I wanted to consult her about selling the inn.”
He froze. “You’re selling it?”
I sucked in a deep breath, the pain of my decision stabbing me with guilt once again. “Now’s not the time to discuss that.”
“Ellie,” his hand tightened on my arm. “You gave up everything for that place. You hawked the cup on multiple occasions to get money to keep it afloat. How can you just let it go?”
Now he sounded like Myra, making me once again question my decision. “Sometimes you have to know when to let something go. Just like this topic.” I heaved a sigh. I had enough to worry about without adding the inn to the mix. “I’ll tell Steven you’re a family friend; then what do we do?”
“Tell him you have a question about the colony. He’s an early American history buff, right?”
I couldn’t hold back a smart-ass grin. “If you want to call a master’s and a PhD in the topic abuff, then yes.”
He laughed. “Ask him if he found any weapons when he was there, particularly swords, and we’ll see how he reacts.”
“But we’re not interested in weapons at the colony.”
“Right, but it will provide a natural segue into the work of the Guardians. If he’s involved with them, he’s going to know about them collecting the artifacts. Once you get him talking about weapons, let me take over.”
“Okay.”
Five minutes later, the door to Steven’s classroom opened and students poured out of the room as Collin pulled me around the corner to another hall. We waited several minutes, and I was starting to worry that we’d missed him when I saw him round the corner, looking down at a stack of folders in his hand.
“That’s him.” I moved toward him, Collin following close behind me. My heart raced, and I forced myself to breathe normally. If Steven was involved or if he at least knew something, I needed to get as much information from him as possible. Freaking out wouldn’t help a thing.
