Majoring in Murder

Chapter 2

Our bags were packed and sitting on our beds. There was a knock on the door around 4:30 that afternoon. Daniel opened it and hugged the man who was standing there. "Uncle Carlo!"

Daniel stepped aside and motioned for him to come in. "Uncle Carlo, this is my roommate, Jason Mashburn. Jason, my Uncle Carlo."

Carlo stepped into the room and regarded me with warm brown eyes. He wasn't grossly overweight, but pudgy, and wore a casual cream-colored suit with brown sandals that reminded me of a Panama Jack advertisement without the hat. He was a couple of inches shorter than me, probably five-nine or ten, so I could see he was balding on top. His graying mustache matched his salt-and-pepper hair. When he extended his hand to me, I noticed the shiny gold rings he wore on three of his fingers.

"Hello, Jason. Daniel tells me nice things about you."

I shook his hand. It was dry and soft, but his grip was firm. "Thanks," I said. "I've heard a lot of nice things about you too."

"Daniel's a good boy." Carlo said, looking back at his nephew with a smile. "I trust you keep him out of trouble?"

I returned the smile. "Yes, sir. We watch each other's backs. You know how much trouble there is on a college campus."

Carlo laughed at that. "All right," he said, looking at our packed bags. "Are you ready to go?"

"Are you kidding?" Daniel said. "We've been looking forward to this all week!"

We took up our bags and followed Carlo out of the building. A black and chrome Cadillac Escalade waited in front of our dorm, sparkling in the late afternoon sun. It looked brand new.

"Is that yours?" I asked.

Carlo approached it and a tall thin man wearing a black suit walked around from the rear to open the door. Carlo stopped, half turned, and looked at me over the rim of his sunglasses, his head tilted down slightly. "Yes. Is it all right?"

"Heck yeah," I said. "This is what I call going in style."

Carlo climbed inside. Daniel handed his bag to the man in black and followed his uncle.

"I'll take your bag," the driver said.

I handed it to him and climbed in after Daniel. The driver opened the rear doors, stowed the bags inside, then walked around and got behind the wheel. The engine quietly purred and the Escalade seemed to glide away from the sidewalk as we drove off.

I've never been inside of a limousine, but I've seen them on TV and while this wasn't exactly that extravagant, it was probably a close second. The seats were soft leather. Three small dome lights and the dark tinted windows lent the interior an atmosphere similar to that of a cozy den.

"I hope my smoking won't bother you," Carlo said, pulling a fat cigar from his shirt pocket. He clipped the end off and moistened it in his mouth.

I shook my head and watched the scenery pass outside my window. Carlo pressed a lever and his window silently lowered a few inches, pulling the smoke from out of the cabin.

As we left campus and drove toward the highway, Carlo made small talk. You know, the typical get-to-know-you chatter. There wasn't much to tell. Mine was the same story you'd hear from most suburban kids. I told him that I was from Rome and was the oldest of two sisters. He asked me how I was doing in school and whether I liked the college. I told him I really enjoyed college life and the school was great and then there seemed to be a moment of awkward silence.

Daniel rescued me. "You wanna watch a movie?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

Daniel opened a console, rummaged around inside, and removed a few DVD cases.