Hidden in the Wall

Steff shook her head and hung back. “That’s okay. I’ll wait here.”

“Suit yourself.” He pushed through the door and descended the staircase a lot faster than she had.

She stood in the open doorway and called down, “Do you see anything?”

“Not yet.”

Trevor began to systematically search the stacks. It wasn’t until he came to the farthest overhead window that he began to think Steff may have actually sensed something amiss. The hinged pane wasn’t all the way open but it wasn’t latched, either. There was a remote possibility that someone athletic enough to pull himself up and wriggle through could have left by that route. Of course, the basement denizen could just as easily have been one of the pet campus cats. That was a much more likely scenario.

Trevor closed and secured the window, then returned to Steff. “There’s nobody down there now, but I did find one window half open. I closed and latched it for you. Whoever or whatever it was can’t get back in now, so the problem is solved.” He hesitated, unsure about her steadiness. “You okay?”

“I told you, I’m fine.”

“Then you might want to stop shaking.” For the first time he took notice of the armload of material she was carrying. “What have you got there?”

“Blueprints,” Steff said. “I’m sure you’ve heard that we’re going to add on to the Kessler Library. I wanted to see the original plans.”

“No, I hadn’t heard. When were you going to tell me about it? After the contract was done and it was too late for Whittaker Construction to bid?”

“Of course not. The job will be advertised, as always,” Steff said firmly. “As a privately funded college we don’t have to do that, you know, but we always try to be fair.”

“Oh, sure. You hand me the crumbs so Alicia will think you’re on our side, then award the really plum job to somebody else. Which company has the inside track, Steff? Is it Fowler Brothers? I know they’re tight with your father.”

She bristled in response to his accusatory tone. “Nobody has any inside tracks, Mr. Whittaker.”

“We’ll see about that. I’ll be finished in your office in a few more days, but I’ll be watching the newspapers for the official the announcement. When the bids come in, Whittaker Construction’s will be included.”

“I know the board of trustees will look forward to considering it,” she said formally. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

He stepped aside and watched her walk stiffly away, her heels clicking on the inlaid hardwood floor. Disgusted with himself for snapping at her, he stomped over to the board he’d dropped and picked it up. The way he was feeling right now, Trevor figured he could gnaw that board to size about as fast as he could saw it with his power tools.

He hadn’t meant to antagonize Steff. On the contrary, he was deeply concerned about her, which may have been why he’d reacted as strongly as he had. He knew she was hiding something and he didn’t appreciate being kept in the dark.

Like it or not, Steff and he were emotionally connected. His dilemma was not whether to acknowledge his newfound empathy. It was figuring out how to deal with it.

FOUR

Steff’s cell phone rang later in the day. To her chagrin the caller was her father, J. T. Kessler.

“Stephanie,” he said, sounding as blunt as always.

“Hello, Dad.”

Instead of pleasantries, J.T. launched into a tirade. “I heard you hired that Whittaker firm. What were you thinking?”

“They’re building a bookcase in my office. I hardly think that’s earth-shattering. Besides, I have discretion about small jobs. You said so yourself.”

“That was when I thought you were halfway intelligent.”

Steff could hear her mother’s voice in the background, wheedling as if she were trying to calm him down.

“Well, what do you have to say for yourself, young lady?” J.T. insisted.

Rather than waste her breath arguing, Steff simply gripped the phone tighter and said, “I’m thirty-two years old, I have a degree in business administration, seven years experience in my job and almost perfect yearly evaluations. What do you expect me to say, Dad?”

“You might try a little penitence.”

“Not when it’s not warranted,” she said flatly. “Alicia has moved back to Magnolia Falls and Trevor is helping his father run Whittaker Construction. I see no reason not to give him a chance to prove his skill.”

She was relieved when her father finally said, “Very well,” though not comforted when he hung up without bidding her a polite goodbye.

She sighed. So much for impressing her parents. Thank goodness she hadn’t involved the local police in her silly worries about the initial she’d found hidden in the wall! She could just imagine what a ranting she’d have had to listen to from her father if she’d done that.

She couldn’t really understand why she seemed to never measure up to her parents’ impossible ideals the way her late brother Adam once had. She was the one supporting the college and carrying on the Kessler tradition at Magnolia, yet her surviving brother, Luke, got all the praise. Why couldn’t her parents see how hard she was trying to please them?

When she turned around, Trevor was standing in the doorway behind her.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“For what? For accusing me of favoritism?”

“Yes. And no. I’m sorry I didn’t realize you’d stuck your neck out to offer me this job in the first place.”

“It’s no big deal.”

“It is to me,” he said quietly. “I’m taking a break and I’m thirsty. Do you have any sweet tea around here?”

“If Brenda didn’t drink it all, I do.” She stood and started toward him. “About-face. It’s in the break room.”

“After you, Miss Stephanie.”

She smiled as she passed him. “When you call me that you make me feel like somebody’s grandmother. I prefer to reserve that kind of polite endearment for elderly ladies.”

Trevor chuckled. “Okay. No more Miss Stephanie. I like Steff better anyway. It’s less formal.”

“That’s probably why my parents refuse to use it,” she said over her shoulder. “Just one more reason to scold me.”

“I gathered J.T. was reading you the riot act about hiring me.”

“Hey, if it wasn’t that, it would be something else. I never have been able to please Dad. That’s just how it is. Unfortunately, I’m not perfect.”

“You don’t have to be perfect, Steff. Not for your friends.” He closed the distance between them as they entered the break room. “And especially not for God. If He required that His children be perfect to be acceptable to Him, none of us would make it. Which reminds me.”

“Uh-oh. You sound serious. Should I run?”

Trevor laughed. “No. I just remembered that Alicia needs help several evenings next week for VBS. Maybe you could volunteer.”

“For what?”

“Vacation Bible School. She made the mistake of offering her services and they put her in charge of snacks.”

“I never bake cookies,” Steff replied.

“You wouldn’t have to. All you’d have to do is pour punch and hand out the cookies. You can handle that, can’t you?” He grinned. “It would really help Alicia. I know she needs more willing workers.”

“Willing? Well, that lets me out,” Steff quipped. She raised her eyebrows and looked at him askance. “Are you going to be there, too?”

“Yes, but only as a temporary teacher. They roped me into taking the class of six-year-olds because I’m used to watching my sister’s kids. I’ll be lucky if I survive.”

His candor made her laugh lightly. “I’ll think about it, okay? I’m not much for churchgoing.”

“Why not?”

She shrugged, feeling a little ill at ease. “I don’t know. Probably because I never saw the need. My parents went to church regularly, though. Dad spent his time looking for business prospects and Mom went to show off her jewelry and fancy clothes. As soon as I was brave enough to speak for myself, I stopped going with them.”

“That’s not what it’s all about,” Trevor said. There was a warmth, a gentleness, in his gaze that made her tremble.

All she added before purposely changing the subject was “If you say so.”

Steff was glad for the diversion of the monthly potluck supper she and some of her college friends had started again after the reunion. Although she was so emotionally frazzled from being near Trevor and from all the strange goings-on at work, she wished it wasn’t her turn to host it.

Looking around her pristine condo, she was thankful the cleaning staff had done such a good job, not that her home was ever messy. Unlike the grandeur and almost-Victorian decor of her parents’ mansion, her condo was simply furnished in mostly off-white and pale shades of mauve, and displayed the reserved elegance she preferred.

If Trevor ever saw the place he’d probably tell her it was too neat, she mused, although Alicia hadn’t said anything derogatory when she’d stopped by a week or so ago.

The doorbell chimed. Steff smoothed her bejeweled T-shirt over the hips of her designer jeans and went to answer.

“Cassie! Jennifer!” she said with a grin. “Come in, come in. You’re the first ones here.”

Cassie headed straight for the kitchen. “I made a soufflé but it fell, so I stopped to get a pizza. Hope you don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” Steff said. “Actually, I picked up a quiche from the Mossy Oak Inn on my way home.”

“That’s our Steff,” Jennifer teased. “Always first-class. You’ll have us spoiled yet.”

“Yeah,” Cassie added with a giggle.

Steff made a silly face. “Knock it off, you two. I only went to the inn because it’s so close to my office.”

“All I brought was a salad, and it’s a good thing,” Jennifer said. “I had car trouble and Cassie had to give me a ride over. Is Kate coming?”

“Far as I know. I invited Alicia, too. I hope y’all don’t mind.”

“Not us,” Cassie said with a sly smile. “You have to keep Trevor’s baby sister happy, right?”

Steff took a playful swipe at her outspoken friend. “I asked Alicia because she’s been too busy to connect very well since she moved back to Magnolia Falls.”

“Right. And her handsome brother has nothing to do with it.”

“That’s right.” Steff did her best to stifle a silly grin that kept trying to lift the corners of her mouth. “Besides, I see plenty of Trevor at work. I told you I’d hired him to remodel my office, didn’t I?”

“You certainly did. Several times,” Cassie teased. “How’s that going, anyway?”

“Just fine.” Remembering the initial and dabs of what had looked like blood that she and Trevor had found hidden in the office wall, Steff grew solemn and added, “For the most part.”

“Uh-oh.”

She waved her hands in dismissal. “No, no. It was nothing, really. We just…” She hesitated. “Never mind.”

Both her friends leaned closer, eager to hear more. “No way,” Jennifer said. “You can’t start a story and stop in the middle like that. What happened? Did he make a pass at you or something?”

“Of course not! We found a funny thing inside the wall, that’s all.”

“Like what?”

“Yeah, like what?”

Steff took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “It was an initial. Somebody drew the letter P or R on the inside of the wallboard. It looked as if it was written by a finger dipped in something. And there were drops of what looked like blood splattered around near the outer edge of the piece, too.”

“Eeew.” Cassie made a face. “As my students would say, that’s totally gross.”

“I agree. But Trevor wasn’t at all concerned, so we threw it away. I really wish we hadn’t.”

“What? You didn’t give it to the police? Why not?”

“It’s a long story.”

The doorbell sounded again before Steff could elaborate and she hurried to answer. “Alicia! Come in. I was just telling Cassie and Jennifer that I’d invited you.” Steff guided her through the living room to the kitchen. “You can put your casserole on top of the stove. I want to give Kate a few more minutes to get here before we eat.”

“Fine.” Alicia smiled at the others. “So, what’s new with y’all?”

Cassie answered. “Actually, Steff was just telling us about something weird she found in her office wall.”

“You mean, the initial?”

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