15. Nora

15

NORA

What I was doing was wrong.

I knew that, and yet, I couldn’t untangle myself from Alec Briar’s web. My mind was still reeling from the events of the last twenty four hours and as I sat down before the very inebriated Dean, I felt the weight of the world on my chest as I lied to him.

“Before we start interviewing the others, I just need to know your whereabouts through the night,” he said.

He sat in his chair behind his desk, his face ruddy. The bottle of whisky between us was half gone, and there was a scatter of ashes on his desk and papers from him smoking constantly. Seeing him so unravelled was uncomfortable.

“I was with Alec Briar,” I said calmly.

His brows shot up. “Professor Briar?”

“Yes.”

“But he hates everyone,” he said.

I had to lean into this to convince him this was true. “Oh, I’m aware. But, we have mutual interests intellectually and decided to have dinner together. After I left my classroom yesterday, I went to his greenhouse. We discussed psychology and medicine until it was late, and I’m afraid I fell asleep, hence my physical state today. I’m much too old to be sleeping on a chaise.”

He studied me intently. “I do hope there is nothing untoward between the two of you. As that would be a violation of your contract.”

I narrowed my eyes on him. “I don’t recall there being anything of the sort in my contract. But there was nothing of that nature between us.”

“I don’t recall his greenhouse having much inside. Let alone a chaise.”

“He has a chaise,” I said.

“Bizarre.”

“I’m sure we’ll use his townhouse next time,” I said.

The Dean’s eyes darkened and he stiffened. “Hmm.”

“What is it?” I asked, unable to keep my question at bay.

“He doesn’t use that, from my understanding. Don’t think it’s been checked on in years.”

“Really? Do you not check townhouses at the end of each semester?”

“Only if they are vacated,” he said. “And I’m sure you’ve noticed how Professor Briar prefers his own privacy. I am shocked he is even speaking to you.”

“As I said before. Mutual interests.”

He nodded as he made notes. My gaze roamed over the shelves behind him, pausing on a leather bound book. The Hunt.

My fingertips buzzed. If I could get a hold of it, I could find more information on the society. Perhaps it would provide me with more answers.

A silent tear rolled down his flushed cheek. He wiped it away.

“Allow me to pour you more whisky,” I said, standing up before he could protest. I went around his desk and glanced at him. “I’m so sorry for your loss. John was a bright student.”

“He was,” he whispered. “He would have been just like me. Strong, smart.”

Disgusting. He was making a few more notes and rifling through papers. I uncorked the bottle and poured the amber liquid into a shot glass, reaching for the book on the shelf as I did so. I plucked it free as I put the bottle down and corked it, holding the book out of sight.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” I asked him sympathetically, keeping my voice pleasant and soothing. I grabbed the whisky glass and put it on his desk. I held the book behind my back, stepping awkwardly around the desk and taking a seat.

As I sat, he leaned to the side. The sound of a drawer opening gave me enough time to lean down and slide the book into the bag at my feet. My throat felt dry as we both sat up within the same moment.

He spread out a red cloth. My vision blurred as I watched him unfold the velvet, expecting to see the knife his son had attempted to kill me with lying inside.

Instead, it was just the sheath.

“This has been in my family for generations, but the blade is missing. Have you seen anything like it?”

I leaned forward and pretended to inspect the sigil. It was a circle with an interwoven knot and a line. “No, sir, I haven’t.”

He nodded dejectedly and tucked it away.

“I’m…” My throat felt as though I were being choked. Memories of John flashed through my mind. “I’m sorry about your son.”

He nodded. “I am too. This was never supposed to happen. ”

I was silent, unsure of what else to say.

“It’s all falling apart. But with your help, we’ll find out if the killer was within our own walls.”

The tremble in his voice sent a flash of guilt through me, but it faded as a very cold thought crossed my mind. He hadn’t cared this much about the three professors murdered on his own campus. And based on the information The Hunt had given me about student deaths and the lore of this godsforsaken place, he certainly didn’t care about anyone else.

If it was any student other than his son who’d assaulted me, I doubted I would be sitting here.

All of my sympathy went up in vapour.

“I’ll do my best,” I said. “Having a psychologist be part of questioning is wise.”

The Dean offered me a strained smile. “Indeed. Aside from everything that has happened… are you settling in okay?”

“I am,” I lied. “You needn’t to worry about me.”

“Have you seen or heard anything?”

“How do you mean?” I asked sharply.

He stared at me for a moment and then shrugged. “Nevermind me, Dr. Woulfe. My mind is elsewhere today.”

Of course.

I dug my fingertips into my thigh, forcing myself to nod. A moment of silence settled between us and I wondered what he wasn’t telling me.

Was he aware of the monster? Did he know what crept in the woods outside his campus? I thought about the book in my satchel. All I could do was hope that it would provide more information.

“Do you need anything else?” I asked tightly. “Should I send Professor Briar in?”

“No,” he said. “The two of you can get started. We’ll begin with the staff. I trust the two of you and with your expertise, I hope you’ll be able to look for signs of dishonesty.”

“I should be able to. But dishonesty about what exactly?”

“Alec will fill you in.”

I nodded, although I couldn’t help but wonder how much the Dean really believed Alec was on his side. If I knew anything about the dark obelisk of a man, it was that he was in this for himself and no one else.

I couldn’t infer things from his tone, but if I had to guess, the Dean was aware monsters existed too.

My entire world was being shredded apart. I was logical and scientific and didn’t have room in my mind for the mythical. But last night was real. The monster’s touch, the vines brushing over me, the way I’d wanted to kiss him, the lust and panic… None of it was a dream.

My heartbeat quickened at the thought of his touch. He was dangerous. I needed to stay away from him, and yet I wanted to find him again.

Then there was Alec. I’d made him into my confidant. I’d told him that I murdered John and he’d taken the news gleefully.

I wasn't entirely sure I regretted going to him yet. There was some relief in confessing my sins to the devil.

“Did you need anything else, Professor Woulfe?”

I blinked, realising that Dean Andrews was staring at me. I shook my head and stood slowly, trying to keep my expression normal. But what was normal anymore? Certainly nothing had been since I had come here.

“Let me know if you need something else. I’ll go to Ale —Briar,” I said, correcting myself to use his last name.

Surely telling him I murdered someone meant we were on a first name basis.

I picked up my bag, feeling the weight of the book within, and stepped out of the Dean's office into the lobby area. The receptionist glanced up at me and then over at Alec, who leaned against the door frame opposite of me. His dark hair fell in soft waves to his shoulders, his gaze piercing me. Cold, wintry steel that somehow made me feel like I was melting. I knew he was calculating my demise, and part of me secretly begged for it.

There was no way out of this.

I’d tied my soul to Alec’s, and now we were both damned.

October was already upon us. Soon, it would be time for the holidays. I couldn't help but wonder if I would make it that long. Everything that had happened, that kept happening—there was no break from it. I felt like I was trapped, a lamb being led to slaughter and the man in front of me held the sharpest knife.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

I nodded and forced my limbs to move. I slid my satchel around my body as I glided past the receptionist. Alec held out his hand, but I shook my head and pushed past him.

I didn’t want to touch him.

Something had awakened inside of me, lust that was unquenchable. If I touched him, I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to stop. And that would surely get me fired.

He let out the softest chuckle as he followed me down the steps, a pace behind me but looming like a monster.

“The Dean said you would fill me in,” I whispered, knowing he could hear me. I kept my head held high as we passed another person. “So fill me in, Professor Briar.”

The hall emptied until the two of us were alone. His hand grabbed mine and he pulled me back, shoving me against the stone wall.

“Alec,” I rasped. “What are you doing?”

“What did you tell him?” he asked.

His fingertips pressed against the vein in my neck, his lips close to mine. My mouth felt dry, his breath warm.

“Let me go,” I whispered.

“No. What did he say?”

“As expected, he’s a mess. Alec, if someone walks up?—”

“They’d stare and wonder. Who cares?”

“I do. Take a step back.”

He was entirely too close. The way having him this close made me feel was entirely unreasonable.

“Step back,” I rasped.

His lips twisted into a smile and he lingered a moment more before releasing me. “The games you like to play. I think you’re a little psychotic for a psychologist, you know?”

“Me?” I scoffed. “You are. And I told him what we agreed upon and he accepted it. He trusts you.”

“I know he does.” That smile became much crueller. “Fine. We will start interrogations. I already have the first professor waiting in a room. Do you need anything before we go?”

“I do not,” I snapped.

Inside my satchel, I also had my notebook and a pen. That would be plenty. This questioning simply didn’t matter, but I had to keep up pretences.

In the last few hours under Alec’s influence, I decided that I would not confess. Maybe it was the monster making me promise not to last night, or maybe it was the way Alec has been so flippant about death, but I wouldn’t tell another soul.

Perhaps it was even how infuriating the Dean was. He didn't care who died. He didn't care if it was a student or a professor or anyone else so long as it wasn't his own blood. And for that, I hated him. I could understand where John Andrews had learned his behaviour. It had been from his own father, and I had no doubt that the Dean had been in similar situations as his son before .

Nausea gripped my stomach.

“I think you need water. Have you eaten this morning?”

“No. I feel nauseous.”

He sighed. “Stay here, belladonna.”

“Don’t call me that,” I hissed, but he was already stomping away down the hall.

He returned a few moments later with a glass of water and a sandwich. “You're needier than a plant, even if you are deadly.”

I glanced around nervously, but we were still alone. The hall felt like a library, silent except for our words.

“Bring it with you,” he said. “We have a whole campus to interrogate.”

“You keep saying interrogate . We're merely questioning them. There will be no violence.”

He grinned. “Of course not. Unless you want to bring psychological violence to the table. That would be interesting. I would enjoy watching that perhaps a little too much.”

His words shocked me.

“Oh, don’t look so surprised. Now that I know you’re a killer, I have no pretences to keep up. You can know all my deepest darkest secrets and I can know yours.”

I shook my head at him. “You are so bloody egotistical.”

“You and me both, little?—”

“Don’t you dare fucking say it.”

“Would killer be better?”

I scoffed at him. What was I going to do? He was already hard enough to handle, and now he had something on me. I took a sip of the water as I followed him down the hall. We went through a doorway to the left, and then we came to a large oak door with an officer next to it.

Alec opened it and I followed him inside, pressing my lips together. Louis sat behind a simple table where there were two other chairs waiting.

It was painfully clear that he hated Alec. The philosopher glowered at him in a way I hadn’t seen from him before, and it dawned on me that perhaps his niceness had been a mask. The night I’d first met him and the rest of The Hunt? They’d clearly been trying to accomplish something. What, though, I still wasn’t sure.

Louis finally looked at me. His expression softened, but only a fraction. “What are you doing here, Nora?”

“It’s Dr. Woulfe. Dean Andrews has asked me to help with the situation. We have a few questions for you,” I said, keeping my tone as professional as possible. “We’ll try to keep this brief.”

His cheeks reddened. “The Dean really put you two in charge of this situation?”

Alec ignored him and chose a chair in the corner of the room. He dragged it forward, the wood scraping obnoxiously over stone until he stopped and sat down, studying Louis.

The room was small and smelled of dust. I felt claustrophobic. I didn’t want to take a seat, but I chose one of the chairs that had been put at the table anyway. At least I wasn’t right next to Alec. I pulled out my notebook and pen from my satchel, careful to keep the book inside obscured, and crossed my legs. I spread my items out on the table top in front of me.

“Tell me, Professor Brown. Do you often go around threatening other professors?” Alec was baiting him.

His spine straightened, his sneer vicious. “No. I do not.”

“I see. I'm just thinking about our encounter the other day. It seemed very odd, especially after the murders that took place on our campus. And now here we are, in the aftermath of a tragic student death. The Dean’s son, no less.”

I bit into my lower lip. The air in the room became deeply discomforting. I looked up at the two of them, watching as they volleyed glares back and forth.

Alec had this ability to get under people’s skin. I was witnessing first hand what that skill looked like when he used it on someone else. He sat casually, his expression unreadable, and if one weren’t observant they’d maybe think he didn’t care. But he was enjoying himself. He was enjoying the way Louis’ face grew redder and redder like a tomato under the hot sun.

Louis shook his head. “I can't believe that the Dean is having you question us. You're nothing but a botanist. At least Professor Woulfe makes sense, she's a psychologist. But you being here it's just a clear sign of favouritism.”

“I have to say jealousy doesn't look good on you.”

Louis let out a dark growl and threw his hands up, looking at me. “Are you hearing him?”

“I hear him,” I said. “He does have a point of reasoning, though, with his questioning. Why did you ask him to stay away from me?”

“Nora,” Louis whispered.

There was some conviction there, it only irritated me.

“We are not on a first name basis,” I snapped.

“I am trying to help you,” he whispered, completely focusing on me. “Alec is not a good man. He is not your friend. He is not someone that you should trust.”

It was too late for that. I held his gaze, keeping my expression in check. It frustrated me that he felt like I needed saving.

I sighed and tried to relax my shoulders. “I don't trust him. I don't trust anyone here. Right now, I'm doing my job. So answer the questions please. Why did you approach him? It is suspicious that you would be aggressive towards another professor.”

“I’ve never been aggressive to anyone! I merely stopped him on the path to have a word with him. He is the one that punched me. He was the one that was violent to me. You cannot possibly be on his side.”

I sighed, tapping my pen on the paper in annoyance. “I’m on no one's side.”

A headache bloomed behind my eyes, and I had to remind myself that this interview wasn’t even real. The killer was in this room, but it wasn’t Louis or even Alec.

Alec let out a dark chuckle. I could imagine him killing Louis here and now, and laughing about it. It would've brought him joy.

Releasing a breath, I leaned forward. “Tell me about where you were yesterday. In detail. Let’s get through this, Louis.”

He scowled. “I was at the pub. It was a long day. Mondays have turned into nightmares, it seems. But Jacob and Harold can vouch for me. All three of us were at the pub until midnight and then I went home to my townhouse.”

“The two of them can vouch for you. Can anyone else vouch for you, Professor Brown?” Alec asked.

“Anyone else that was at the pub. There were other professors. But you weren't there, Nora, and neither was Alec. I find that peculiar.”

“I haven’t been coming to the pub since having dinner with three men who tried to convince me monsters exist,” I said nonchalantly.

He snorted. “They do.”

“The truth is, Nora was having dinner with me,” Alec said. “We were having wonderful logical conversations over mince and tatties.”

His eyes widened with horror. “You’re having dinner with him now?”

“My fucking god,” I growled. “Who cares, Louis? We are not friends. What I do and where I go is none of your business. I am a grown woman with a doctorate, I do not need your permission or any man’s permission to have dinner with Alec Briar.”

Louis was fuming. “Well, Nora?—”

“If you call her by her first name one more time, I’m going to cut off one of your fingers,” Alec said calmly. His forced smile was as warm as the loch in January.

The room fell silent.

Louis swallowed hard. “Well, I have my alibi. I was at the pub, and then I was in bed. And I certainly had no reason to kill John Andrews. Why would I kill the Dean son? He signs my paychecks. He's the last man I would want to upset. I suggest that you take your questions to someone else. I have a job to do, and I already have a headache thinking about how we're going to have to play catch-up with my students because of this questioning when all three of us in this room know that the killer was not even human.”

The three of them had tried to warn me. Looking back on that conversation felt different, knowing what I knew now. But, I was going to pretend that I didn't know what he was insinuating. Logically, I still couldn't make sense of the fact that monsters existed. If monsters existed, how much of my career studying psychology and hallucinations would I have to reconsider? How much had I been wrong about? It cast a concerning haze over everything I knew, and that unsettled me.

“Do I make you angry?” Alec stood up and leaned in, his face right in front of Louis’. “Do I frustrate you? Intimidate you?”

“You infuriate me.”

“I’m sure that I do.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Louis asked.

“Nothing. How about you go ask both of your friends to go ahead and come to this room? I would hate to keep them waiting. Have a good day. ”

Louis stood up abruptly, the chair screeching as he shoved it back. He gave me a harsh glare, and then stalked out, slamming the door behind him.

Well, that was a disaster. “You are going to piss every single person off if you continue acting like that.”

“I am here to piss everyone off,” Alec snorted. “It helps. If there is a monster here, then they will rear their ugly head. And I need another specimen.”

“What are you talking about?” I whispered harshly.

He looked at me pointedly and my stomach did a slow flip. “A specimen, Nora. To torture. To run tests on. I killed the last one a few weeks ago.”

My mouth fell open but I didn’t have a chance to ask anything else before the door opened again. Harold stepped inside, giving me a wary glance. “Dr. Woulfe,” he greeted.

I breathed out. The sooner we got through this questioning, the better.