CHAPTER ONE
Ida returned from the copy room carrying a stack of paper. "I?ve finished copying the tests, Professor Wyatt." She shoved an errant strand of curly, auburn hair out of her face where it had broken from the confines of her ponytail. Her soft gray eyes met his.
As he accepted the pile of copies, he remarked casually, "You?ve worked hard." He placed the papers in his drawer. When he smiled at her, she blushed, lowering her eyes as she did so. "I?ll walk you home."
"No, that?s okay. I don?t mind."
He was firm. "It?s the least I can do. Ida, you walk when the sun is out. It isn?t safe for a young woman to be on the streets at this time of night. You do so much for the school; let the school do something for you." Suddenly, he stopped as if listening to something.
"What is it?" Ida asked
Wyatt looked at her, his voice calm. "It was just the wind."
She glanced toward the window. "It?s stopped raining though, about an hour ago."
Wyatt came from his side of his desk. "Please? It?s late, past ten."
"I don?t mind walking alone," she said, "honest I don?t. I do it all the time."
"Ida, you walk when the sun is out. It isn?t safe for a young woman to be on the streets at this time of night. You know that. You do so much for the school. Let the school do something for you."
She did so love him. She wanted to be with him, although gossip might begin if anyone saw them together, but if she continued to argue, she would look foolish. Sighing, she said, "All right."
Wyatt walked her into the outer office. He took her coat from the coat rack and helped her on with it, picking up her hair so she could slip it on all the way.
Ida buttoned her coat, picked up her purse before he covered his full head of white hair with a black hat. Wyatt grabbed his umbrella. She liked that hair, those sleepy eyes of his. She often wondered why he always wore dark clothes, but had never asked.
She glanced at the hat he picked up. "I?ve never seen you wear a hat before."
"It?s the showers. I?ll melt, you see." He grinned at her.
"Oh, Professor!" She tried not to laugh.
"Ready?"
"Yes."
He opened the door and they went out into the night. Wyatt locked it behind them. It had stopped raining,, but the streets glistened from the previous downpour. Puddles lay everywhere. The traffic lights changed from red to green. The reflections from the lights in the college buildings shimmered in the moisture-laden streets. None of the four moons of Sieged 3 shone through the thick clouds, leaving the streets darker than usual. They left the college zone and entered the middle of the town of Gillian.
Sieged 3 was a planet with a colony society, two and a half sectors away from old Earth. With the onset of man-made jump points, it was only three days, at the most, from any other world. Though it had not remained as such, it was colonized as a farming planet over two hundred years ago.
Without looking at her, the professor said, "It?s a beautiful night, isn?t it? The air smells so clean."
"Yes, it does."
A car passed by, moving ahead of them as the traffic light changed. His body tightened. He seemed to go on alert, just for the moment. The car vanished in the darkness and he relaxed. Ida wondered, but did not ask. The light changed again and they crossed the street.
They approached an open diner.
"How about coffee and a piece of pie?" he asked.
"I...It?s okay. If you want to go in, I can go on alone."
"Nonsense. Come on. I bet you?re hungry. Want a hamburger?"
"Really, it?s okay..."
He pressed her. "You can pay me back, okay? I don?t know about you, but I?m starved."
"Ah...I guess...sure, all right."
Wyatt chose a table at the back of the caf? stood while she sat and then he took the seat facing the door. The waitress came over as he removed his hat.
"How?s it going, Professor?" the waitress asked, then popped her gum. Her dark hair had green spikes. Though she wore no make-up, a small gold and diamond ring sparked at the corner of her right eye.
"It?s kind of windy out there, isn?t it?"
Nodding, the waitress said, "Yep."
"I?ll have a hamburger and fries and a huge, and I mean huge, cup of the strongest, blackest coffee you have."
"You?ll be up all night, Professor." Ida?s cheeks grew warm when he looked at her with searching eyes. She quickly lowered her head and focused on the menu.
"What?ll you have, sweetie?" the waitress asked her.
"The same I guess. Well, no coffee. I?ll take a glass of milk."
The waitress, popping her gum, walked away.
"I was thinking about repainting my office a soft green," Wyatt said. "What do you think?"
"Green is nice."
"Do you think blue would be better?"
"Blue is respectable.."
He looked at her, gravely. She flushed. "What color would you paint it?"
She shrugged. "I've never really thought about it. The color it is, is nice."
He laughed. "Yes, it is."
She admitted in a small, apologetic voice, "I'm not very good at making small talk. I'm sorry."
"That's all right," he said gently. He rose. "I need to use the facilities. Will you excuse me?"
"Yes."
When he had disappeared into the men?s room, and the waitress went to the back room, Ida rose and left the diner, going back into the night, traveling down the street with rapid movements. She could no longer sit there, pretending. She loved him, had for years, but had kept it a secret for fear he would turn away from her. His friendliness was better than nothing.
Two blocks away from the diner, Ida heard footsteps. She stopped...and they stopped. She pivoted in fear. Her eyes looked everywhere in the direction she had come, but saw no one.
It?s my imagination, she told herself.
She started out on her way home again...so did the extra pair of footsteps. She began to...so did the other feet. Alarm came suddenly. She was alone. Someone was following her. There was no one else close enough to help.
Oh, why had she left the professor? Why? No, she had to leave him in the caføOr both their sakes, for there was too much of a chance for people to gossip.
She increased her speed...so did the other pair of footsteps. Her alarm turned to terror.
She misjudged the intersection and ran the wrong way. It was a dead end alley. The only thing at the end was the back of an abandoned warehouse.
Her breathing became irregular and labored. Panicking, she turned to leave the alley and saw the man standing at the entry, a short, husky man. He moved toward her with a purposeful stride.
Her breathing all but stopped.
God! Please! she prayed, over and over. She felt herself grow cold. She shivered uncontrollably.
And then the professor was there. He grabbed the husky man, struggled with him only for a moment. He twisted the stranger?s head and broke his neck. The man fell unhindered to the pavement. The professor turned toward her. His stance, his features were He was stiff, cold, a hunter of prey. He took a step toward her. Ida felt the blood leave her head, making her feel faint. She wanted to whimper, but no sound came out. She wanted to move, but could not do that either.
He reached her.
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