Fear

17-Yale

Mira walked along the corridor and stopped outside a large imposing door with the name Professor A Collins emblazoned on a brass name plaque. The whole thing looked intimidating. She exhaled then knocked on the door.

It was the intern who opened. Mira must have looked confused as she tried in vain to recall the young woman's name.

"It's Freya" the student smiled. "Detective Miller, Professor Collins, is just finishing up a seminar at the moment. Would you like to come in and wait?"

"Thanks. I'll remember it next time." The detective smiled. As she entered. The room was reasonably large. There was a meeting table strewn with papers and one of the seats pulled away. A small desk, with a PC set up in the corner, there were two doors set opposite each other on the adjacent walls and a small window which was open despite the rain.

She watched as the student started clearing away paperwork. "Sorry. Please take a seat"  the redhead indicated to the table and chairs. "I was just working on my thesis."

"What are you studying?"

"Social anthropology with a minor in gender studies."

"Wow. That sounds intense." Mira tried not to sound patronizing. She failed.

The intern nodded and looked at her, "did you go to college."

"Just the university of life." The detective tried to laugh it off. Although she felt judged by the younger woman.  "I did two tours in Afghanistan. I was a marine." Miller felt like she had to justify herself.

"Right." Freya nodded. "Annabelle shouldn't be long. Can I get you a coffee or something?" She asked as she moved the last of the papers into her bag.

"No thanks. I'm good."

The conversation ended there as the student logged onto the PC and started to work on something else.  Mira was left to look around the room. It was pretty old fashioned, half wood panelling then a coat of magnolia on the upper part of the wall. There were a few  signs like fire escapes pinned on the back of the door and a hearth and safety poster on the wall. That was it. It was dull. Not really what she'd expected at all.

"Freya!"

She heard the professor's voice before she saw her as she struggled through the door with a box. The student jolted across the room to take the box from Annabelle.

Mira Miller stood up.

Annabelle smiled momentarily, "Detective."

"Professor."

"Well this is a surprise. Come on through." The academic nodded towards the door she was opening.

Mira followed. She noted a very tidy office. The bookshelf was all very ordered. The professors' certificates displayed on the wall. Some photographs of Annabelle with different people. "You met Obama?"

"Yeah." The professor set her bag down and came to join Mira who was looking at the picture wall. "I was working on a project with Michelle on the promotion of women's health and the barriers for black and minority ethnic women accessing some basic health services like gynecology. I got a tour of the west wing and he just happened to be there."

Mira was impressed. Her smile showed it.

Annabelle noticed the detective's defenses lower. "So what brings you here again?" The professor moved around and sat behind her desk indicating for the law woman to take a seat.

"We've got some of the basic information back from Sharon's phone and it shows her being present at the women's center quite a bit, but you were said that you only knew her as a student."