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“Really?” she asked with excitement.
“Yeah,” he said. “By the way, I printed these up to get us in the door.”
He handed her two business cards. They both had the logo of Mary Washington University. One had the name Laura Smith, the other Anthony Garza. The titles were both Admissions Counselor. They looked official.
“So, we’re going to impersonate university employees?” she asked.
“Can you think of any other way to have these conversations we need to? My DEA creds don’t make sense in this situation.”
That would explain the business casual attire. At least they looked the part of Admissions Counselors. By the time they landed in Roanoke, Laura Lee felt more at ease with Garcia. She realized she really had not spent that much time with him before now. Her perceptions of him were based on his intensity, his reputation, and his gravelly voice. Because of the pitch of his voice, he always came off sounding harsh. But evaluating solely his words and not how they were delivered, she saw a different side of him.
Approaching the front door to Michelle Keslar’s parent’s house, Laura Lee’s anxiety returned. Garcia had tracked Michelle Keslar’s phone, so they knew she was home. As far as they could tell, she was not enrolled at any other school, not even a Community College. Her Social Security number showed no current employment. Laura Lee felt bad for how their visit could affect this girl. All indications pointed to the fact that she could be in a bad emotional place. Plus, Laura Lee knew she only had one shot to get it right. This girl was their best chance to get West, the best chance to make charges stick.
A middle-aged woman answered the door. “Hello, ma’am,” Garcia greeted. “Is Michelle Keslar home?”
“Who are you and why do you want to see Michelle?” she replied.
“I’m sorry,” Garcia apologized, pulling one of the business cards from his shirt pocket. “Anthony Garza and Laura Smith from Mary Washington University admissions. We’re following up on Michelle’s sudden departure from the university last semester. We care about our students and want to be sure there were no avoidable circumstances that led to their withdrawal from the university.”
“Avoidable circumstances?” the woman demanded with outrage. “How about criminal conduct of university personnel?”
Bingo, thought Laura Lee. “Missus Keslar, we’re actually here because of just that. There have been other allegations and Michelle’s name flagged my review of other possible victims because of her mid-semester withdrawal. We’re trying to build a case,” she said, not a complete lie. “May we please come in and speak with Michelle?”
“No, you can go right back to wherever you came from. I’m not stupid. I know your primary job is to protect the university. My daughter’s been hurt enough!”
“Missus Keslar, I assure you, that’s not the case. The problem is, though, we need people willing to go on the record if we’re going to stop what’s happening.” She was very careful not to give any specifics.
“No, now get off my property!”
“Mom, hold on,” a meek voice came from within the house.
Missus Keslar’s head turned into the house. “Are you sure, sweetie?”
Laura Lee was surprised when they were invited in. Michelle Keslar was a ghost of her former self. She barely resembled her student ID and driver’s license photos. All of her pictures on her social media sites, that hadn’t had a single post since she left the college, showed a lively and happy girl, which was not who stood in front of them today. Her skin was pale white, and she had to have lost at least ten pounds, which she’d been thin to begin with, so losing that much weight made her look emaciated.
“Thank you for agreeing to speak with us,” Laura Lee said.
Michelle pointed to the formal living room just within the front door. They followed her into the room and took a seat on the couch facing the other one that Michelle and her mother sat themselves on. Laura was sure they would get the information they came for, as long as she gained this girl’s trust.
“So, what exactly are you investigating?” Michelle asked.
“It’s not what. It’swhowe’re investigating,” Laura Lee said. “Tell me if this sounds familiar. A professor sets up a student to make it look like they’re cheating and then uses it to blackmail the student into not reporting a serious crime.”
A panicked expression etched itself over Michelle Keslar’s face. Her gaze slid to her mother, but she remained silent.
“This professor must be stopped,” Laura Lee said, her voice impassioned. “I’ve identified ten possible victims.”
“Then why do you need me?”
“Well, first off, to corroborate this is happening. Secondly, if no one goes on the record, we can’t do anything to stop it.”
“How did this come to your attention in the first place?” Michelle’s mom asked. “And why is it admissions counselors are investigating this and not law enforcement?”
“An allegation was made from a student who says this happened to her ten years ago. It’s past the statute of limitations for law enforcement to handle the case. However, I took it upon myself to look into the records to see if I could identify any other possible victims based on specific indicators.” Laura Lee wasn’t exactly lying.
“Abusers don’t stop abusing,” Garcia said. “The longer their criminal behavior goes unchecked, the more emboldened they become.”
Michelle’s gaze flew to Garcia. Laura Lee saw a new panic in her expression.
