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"You and I are used to dealing with mysteries that live on the page."
"There are no bad guys. There are just complicated people who did bad things."
"I've got enough crime fact in my life. I don't need to read about it."
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When c...
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Seated comfortably in one of Tony's leather chairs, I glanced fondly about his office. The old bookshelves, filled to the brim with his favorite classics. The floor to ceiling windows that looked over the Life Science and Criminal Justice buildings. The beautiful oaken desk in the center of the room. I smiled at the familiarity of my old habitat. When I retired to focus on writing, Tony took over as the English department chairman despite being only a few years behind me. Rachel Jackson, a friend of ours, was seated beside me.
I repositioned my gaze to the man hunched over his desk. As if reading my thoughts, Tony stood, perching his reading glasses into his short, white curls. Rubbing his coal-dark hands together, he grabbed a manilla envelope and presented it to Rachel.
"What's this?" she implored.
"I got that twelve years ago when James asked me to become Chair of the English Department," he replied joyfully.
Rachel paused, cocking her head to the side. The lines in her forehead creased as she frowned slightly at the yellow package. Reaching out to take it, she opened the envelope to find an application for Tony's position. She laughed a dry laugh and smiled unsurely, glancing at us.
"What are you saying?" she asked. "Do you mean... you mean you want me to..." she trailed off into her own thoughts, presumably about the application.
Clearing my throat, Tony finished her sentence. "I called you two in because, well to be frank, I need to start thinking about who I want as my replacement. I wanted to see if you were interested?" he told her.
Rachel looked up at us, a small smile gracing her features. She nodded slightly. "What will I need to do?"
I stood up, glancing out the window to see leaves blowing about the campus. I guess that means no eating on the balcony tonight. "Tell you what, why don't you come to dinner at my place with Alex and Gil. I'll walk you through the process."
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I rubbed my eyes before looking down at the case file that Gil had brought me. The crime seemed too tidy, almost too perfect for my taste.
