Gilded Cage

Chapter Thirteen

Inspector Xander Woolf was, as far as I could tell, a shark. The first time I had seen him, he was talking to Carla and the Dean in the courtyard. I was coming back from the flat after having lunch with Alexi and I stopped in my tracks to watch the three of them. Woolf was a tall, muscular man in his forties; he dressed casually, with jeans and a brown, leather jacket over a hoodie. He didn't look like someone who worked in law enforcement. His dark hair was short, curly and wild, but his eyes... From where I was standing, I could see his eyes, and they were a light shade of brown, deep and intimidating. His whole face was hard and menacing, so much I felt the hair on my arms standing up.

Before they could spot me, I had run to the library, where there was a computer students could use to log into the internet if they needed research material that wasn't available in the books on the shelves. No one ever used it — no one actually knew how — but I managed to find some useful information on Inspector Woolf. He had worked on three of the most important murder cases in Scotland of the last five years, earning the title of 'killers' catcher' given to him by the press. He was a respectable policeman, very highly regarded by his colleagues and superiors. He had an impeccable sense of duty and everyone trusted his instinct.

Translated: we were in deep shit.

It took Woolf half a day at the castle to conclude that Selene's disappearance could be considered a missing person case. After that, he immediately called his station for backup. The next day, the castle was crammed with police officers. I didn't dare to leave my room. Christian stayed with me, bent over his drawings the whole time. We hadn't dared to talk about our feelings about what happened between us. I wasn't sure I had the right words for it anyway. It had been so surreal. Most importantly, Christian was my friend and right now, he needed me to be just that. A friend.

Paola had even stopped by to warn us. "Be ready," she had said. Apparently, we should expect to be called in and interrogated very soon. It wasn't a matter of if; it was a matter of when. Between the fact that I knew Selene personally, there was the little incident with Byron that could lead them straight to us.

I was on my way to see Alexi when it happened. Halfway through the courtyard, I heard my name being called. When I turned around, I saw two men walking towards me. They were both in uniform. I almost expected one of them to take out the cuffs and arrest me right there. Instead, the shorter one said, "You're Benjamin Knight, aren't you?"

"I am."

"Inspector Woolf would like to have a chat with you."

"Unofficially?"

The other one groaned. "It's just a chat, lad. You don't have to worry. Unless you have something to hide, of course."

What is this? Good cop, bad cop?

I sighed. "Of course."

The officer — who apparently thought he was in some kind of mediocre American film — grinned like a maniac. I followed them to an empty class. There, Woolf was waiting for me in front of a desk. He greeted me with a smile and pointed at the chair behind the desk. I sat down, trying to look as composed as possible. In reality, my heart was beating so hard I worried I was going to have a heart attack. If this chat, as they called it, was nothing more than a talk between the two of us, it meant that they didn't have anything concrete against me. All I had to do was answer any question he might have had and clear any doubt without being suspicious. I could do it. I knew how to lie.

After the two policemen left, Woolf leaned against the professor's desk and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked at ease and I didn't know if it was just an act to get me comfortable enough to spill the truth, or he really was that laidback. Anyhow, I didn't trust him.