“Gordie…?”

“Lyle. He’s a junior, but this is his first year at PSU. He transferred in from Cornish. He’d had some trouble there.”

Elliot reached for his cup again. “What kind of trouble?”

“Brawling with other students.” Charlotte hesitated. “He threatened an instructor. We haven’t had any problems with him so far, and to be honest, if his aunt hadn’t gone to the authorities, I would have preferred to let Gordie return to us in his own time.”

“Are you aware of any connection between Terry and Gordie?”

“No. It seems unlikely. They appear to be very different types of young men. They were in completely different fields of study.”

“You don’t think their disappearances are related?”

“I don’t, no. Well, to be strictly honest, I don’t know. But it could very easily be a coincidence, don’t you think?”

“Like you, I don’t know.” Elliot finished his coffee and put the cup on the silver tray covering half the coffee table.

“But it is possible?”

“Are you asking my professional opinion? I don’t want to offer it when I don’t know the circumstances of Lyle’s disappearance.”

Charlotte grimaced. “Since Ms. Lyle has seen fit to drag the police into this, it’s only a matter of time before the media gets wind. Once the news breaks that we’ve had two boys reported missing within a month, it’s going to be all but impossible to keep the university out of it.”

“I’m afraid you’re right about that.” Elliot recognized her position, but he couldn’t fault concerned family members for going to the police.

“Given your previous experience with the FBI, I was hoping that you might be able to…shed some insight into what we can expect.”

“Well…” Elliot’s smile was rueful. “It depends on how seriously the police take the aunt’s story. And whether the FBI concludes the cases are connected.”

Charlotte physically recoiled. “The FBI?”

It was time to come clean. “This is one of those weird coincidences you have in law enforcement,” Elliot told her. “It turns out the Bakers are friends of my dad’s. He recommended they talk to me, and the upshot is, I’ve already agreed to look into Terry’s disappearance. I haven’t done much beyond talk to the special agent in charge of their case at the Bureau, but I can put you in contact with him. In fact, I’d strongly recommend communicating this new information.”

Charlotte said urgently, “But we don’t want the FBI involved.”

“They’re already involved.”

“Oh my God.” Charlotte gazed unhappily out the window at the sunlit rose garden. “I had no idea the Bakers went to the FBI. We’ve heard nothing.”

Not good. Another indication that Tucker had basically written Terry off as a runaway. Well, he always had been one for snap judgments.

Yet, ironically, he heard himself defending the lack of progress. “The Bureau is investigating, but there are contradictory indications. Terry might have left school voluntarily.”

“Of course he did. Why would anyone assume there has been a crime? There are so many other possibilities.”

Elliot recognized the inevitable signs of wanting to bargain with bad news. “It’s possible this second boy’s disappearance is a coincidence. I don’t know the circumstances obviously, but instinct tells me a second runaway in such a short time span is kind of unlikely. Still, I’ve seen weirder things. Either way, you can best control the spin by taking the initiative and going to the Bureau rather than waiting for them to come to you.”

Charlotte reached absently for a ladyfinger cookie. As she nibbled, she brooded. “Did you say you know the agent in charge of Terry Baker’s case?”

“Special Agent Lance? I’ve worked with him before.”

“And is he…discreet?”

Discreet. Not the first word that came to mind with Tucker. Not that Tucker was indiscreet. He wouldn’t have lasted long at the Bureau if that were the case. Elliot hedged, “He understands why publicity would not be in the best interests of the college and the students.”

Charlotte said quickly, “It’s not as though we were trying to cover anything up. The university policy is to disseminate information regarding security issues to students as quickly as they arise. We all understand that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Elliot nodded, recognizing an official spiel when he heard one. And, in fairness to the university, there was an excellent information network in place with security issues addressed weekly via the campus newspaper. The Safety Committee and the Director of Security met regularly, and emergency alert/warning information could be communicated campus-wide instantly via an outdoor wide-area broadcast loud speaker system, cell phones, text messaging and email notifications. Horrific things happened and sometimes it was no one’s fault.

No one but the perpetrator.

Charlotte brightened. “Perhaps you could act as a liaison between the university and the, er, Bureau?”

Elliot instantly opened his mouth to decline, but he hesitated. Really why not? He was already involved and it strengthened his position with Tucker and the Bureau just that bit more. Plus it gave him authority to question Gordie Lyle’s aunt. He said neutrally, “I can do that, if you feel it’ll help. It would probably simplify things.”

Charlotte’s relief was tempered. “Obviously we want to keep the university out of the spotlight as much as possible. We’re very proud of our safety and security initiatives at PSU. Our crime rate is historically low compared to the rest of the city.”

“Right,” Elliot soothed. “I realize that. The truth is, violence can happen anywhere.”

“Exactly!” Charlotte exclaimed. She sounded quite pleased about it.

Chapter Six

On his walk back to the Administration offices, Elliot phoned Tucker.

“Lance,” Tucker answered crisply following the second ring.

Like that, it was as though he stood in front of Elliot, all aggressive masculinity, and Elliot’s heart started to pound hard in that fight or flight reflex. It irritated the hell out of him, but there was no denying his physical response to Tucker.

“It’s Elliot.”

A pause. “Elliot.” Tucker’s tone was neutral. “What do you want?”

“I have new information for you. Another student, a kid named Gordie Lyle, has apparently disappeared.”

“Apparently?”

“I haven’t had a chance to look into it, but his aunt reported him missing to Tacoma PD.”

“What makes you think there’s a connection?”

“Gut feeling mostly. It’s one hell of a coincidence.”

Silence. Tucker said, “I don’t put a lot of stock in gut feelings.”

“Do you put a lot of stock in coincidence? Because this is a big one.”

Elliot’s daring to contradict him seemed to be the signal Tucker was waiting for. He said flatly, “Give me a break. It’s a college campus, for God’s sake. Don’t tell me you’re doing bed checks every night. I know better.”

“The Lyle kid has been missing four days. According to his aunt, that’s not typical. And, as we both know, Terry Baker has yet to turn up after three weeks.”

“That’s it? That’s your connection? Two boys from the same college campus don’t show up to class for a few days?”

Elliot understood what Tucker was saying. And fair enough. Boys will be boys. Had Lyle been female, then sexist or not, the rules were different. Even so, given the lack of progress in the Baker case, was there a valid reason not to acknowledge a possible link?

Elliot lowered his voice to avoid the attention of students sitting nearby on the grass, engrossed in their laptops. “Are you telling me you won’t even consider a connection?”

“I didn’t say that. I said it was too soon to draw that kind of conclusion. I’ll follow it up. What’s the contact info on the Lyle kid?”