handcuffs to
control that temper of hers.” Grant and
the two security guards snickered when I growled under my breath. Men are
such pigs!
I ran a hand over my
wild hair. Damn! Why didn’t I grab a hair
tie before leaving the apartment? Stepping away from Grant slightly, I raised my chin and met the
detective’s eyes. “Detective Morgan, I
apologize for...poking you. It won’t
happen again. I hope you’ll chalk it up
the stress of seeing my library trashed.” I raised one eyebrow and looked expectantly at him. Strangely, the tips of his ears reddened
slightly. Is the big bad cop embarrassed about being picked on by a girl? Clearing his throat, he recovered
quickly. “We have one person in custody
but, from the looks of things, it appears there were others involved in the
destruction. I’m hoping that you or the Ms.
MacDonagh here can identify the one perp campus security caught.”
Next to me, Grant nodded. “We’ll do our best.” “Come with me.” The detective led us down the hall to the
small staff break room. Inside, a young
uniformed cop was standing watch. He
looked young enough to be one of the frat boys I see in the library so
often. Seated at the small table in
handcuffs was a young girl with long dark hair. She looked up, tears streaming down her face, as we walk in. Beside me, Grant gasped in shock. “Cynthia?” Now there’s a surprise. Wide-eyed, I couldn’t help but stare at the
tearful young girl in front of me. I
fully expected the blonde psycho from the grocery store but instead got her
seemingly normal friend. Well,
as normal as any hormonal eighteen-year-old girl can be.
“You know this
girl? She’s not this Brittany Snow?” the
detective asked gruffly. Grant shook his
head in disbelief. “Yes...no. I mean, I know her. Cynthia’s another student of mine. I think she and Brittany are roommates. I have to say, I am completely stunned. I would never have pictured Cynthia
vandalizing the library. She’s always
come across as a little bit shy but polite and friendly.” He glanced at Cynthia again before turning to
Detective Morgan. “Do you mind if I
speak to her?” Morgan nodded. “Maybe you can get her to tell us who helped
her tonight.”
Grant and I sat
across from Cynthia. Tears running down
her face, she looked completely devastated. “Cynthia? Are you alright?” Grant spoke softly, like he would to a
wounded, scared child. Cynthia raised
her cuffed hands to her face, scrubbing at her tears. Sniffing, she finally spoke. “Ms. Mac, I’m so…so sorry. I never…I never should have done such a horrible thing.” I was speechless. I never would have expected this girl…or
anyone…to do such a terrible thing to my library. Grant asked quietly, “Can you tell us why you did it, Cynthia?” “I…I don’t
know why !” she practically wailed and burst into tears again.
We sat quietly and gave
her time to compose herself. After a few minutes, Cynthia’s tears
slowed. “I’m…I’m in big trouble, aren’t I, Professor
Thomas?” “I’m afraid so,” my big softy says gently. “But,
I’ll… we’ll …help you get through this
any way we can if you help us out here. We need to know whose idea
it was to vandalize the library and who else was involved
tonight.” “You and Ms. Mac will really help me?” she asked in a
little girl voice. I reached out and touched her cuffed
hands. “Cynthia, we will help you as much as we can but you will
still have to make amends for what you’ve done. You understand that,
don’t you?” She sniffed and nodded. “I want to do
whatever I can to make up for the mess I caused. Even…even if it
means going to jail.” She gave us a watery smile. “I’ll
tell you everything.”
Grant motioned for
Detective Morgan to join us at the
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