Chapter 2 - THE MAN FROM KINGSLey HALL
Campus security arrived before anyone answered him.
Two officers came through the west walkway after someone called about the fight.
The man in the doorway did not disappear.
He stayed where he was while Officer Dana Ruiz separated Vanessa from me and another officer asked Brooke whether she had been involved physically.
“No.”
Brooke pointed between us.
“They did all that themselves.”
Fair.
Vanessa had a split lip.
My cheek was swelling.
I was soaked through.
There were at least twelve student videos already circulating before security finished taking our IDs.
The man finally stepped close enough for me to see him properly.
Early fifties.
Gray at the temples.
Dark suit without a university pin.
He handed Officer Ruiz a card.
“Dr. Adrian Vale.”
Ruiz read it.
“University employee?”
“Independent investigator retained by the Board Audit Committee.”
Vanessa looked up sharply.
“The board?”
Adrian glanced at her.
“Yes.”
Then at me.
“You're Rachel Carter?”
“Yes.”
“You received my email?”
“What email?”
That stopped him.
“I sent you an email this morning asking you to meet me here at noon.”
I pulled my phone out of my bag.
Screen wet but functioning.
My message was not an email.
It was a text.
NOON. KINGSLEY EAST COURTYARD. COME ALONE. WE NEED TO DISCUSS THE FELLOWSHIP REVIEW. — A.V.
Adrian stared at it.
“I didn't send that.”
My stomach tightened.
“You just said you called me.”
“I emailed you.”
He took out his phone.
Opened a sent message.
University address.
My Bellamy account.
Time:
9:06 a.m.
Ms. Carter, I am conducting a confidential review on behalf of the Board Audit Committee. I would like to speak with you today at noon regarding a student data matter. Kingsley Hall, Room 214. Please confirm if available. — Dr. Adrian Vale
I had not seen it.
Why?
Because at 9:13, I received the text.
The text looked urgent.
It mentioned my fellowship review.
I had assumed it replaced whatever formal contact was coming.
Adrian looked at Officer Ruiz.
“I need them to preserve those phones.”
Ruiz lifted one hand.
“You can ask. You're not taking anyone's property.”
“Agreed.”
Good.
Adrian looked at us.
“Do not delete the messages.”
Brooke already had hers open.
Her message came from an email-to-text relay.
No signature.
If you want the proof before Rachel destroys it, east courtyard. Noon. Come alone.
Vanessa's:
She told everyone you bought your position. If you're tired of hiding, meet me alone. East courtyard. Noon. — R
I stared at her.
“You thought I sent that?”
“You've said worse.”
“Not by text.”
“Congratulations.”
Officer Ruiz stepped between us again.
“Enough.”
Fair.
Adrian asked Brooke:
“When did yours arrive?”
“Eleven sixteen.”
Vanessa checked.
“Eleven fourteen.”
Mine had arrived at 9:13.
Adrian looked at all three screens.
Then something changed in his face.
“What?”
I asked.
He pointed toward the sender information on Vanessa’s message.
“That relay address.”
Brooke leaned closer.
“What about it?”
Adrian did not answer immediately.
He looked toward Kingsley Hall.
Then back at the phones.
“That service was shut down three years ago.”
Vanessa frowned.
“What service?”
Adrian said:
“Bellamy Pulse.”
The name meant nothing to me.
Brooke's expression changed.
She knew it.
“Wait.”
she said.
“The student engagement pilot?”
Adrian looked at her.
“Yes.”
Brooke stared at the message again.
“That thing was discontinued after freshman year.”
My stomach tightened.
Freshman year.
Vanessa looked at me.
I looked at her.
Adrian lowered his voice.
“Before any of you make another assumption about each other, I need you to understand something.”
He pointed at the three phones.
“These were not random invitations.”
“How do you know?”
I asked.
May you like
His answer came quietly.
“Because this is the second time Bellamy Pulse has been used to put the three of you in the same conflict.”
