Chapter 21

XoXoXoX

Viv sipped her cup of tea as she stared out of her office window. She didn't have much of a view. Her office was directly across from the building next door so the only thing she could gaze upon was the small shaft of sunlight that streamed down from the sky above and the window of another faculty office across the alley. She didn't know the name of the professor who occupied that office but after several years of staring into his window she did know that he ate a peanut butter sandwich and apple for lunch everyday, had office hours in the late afternoon, drank copious amounts of diet soda, and was a nose picker.

However, on this particular day his office was dark and unoccupied.

She shifted her gaze to the patch of sunlight that managed to make its way through her window to the small table in her office. On the tabletop sat one of her three bonsai trees. The other two were in her bedroom at home. They were her secret passion, a hobby she started cultivating during her recovery from the heart transplant. She found it soothing to trim the small trees limbs, monitor its watering and misting, and whether or not it was receiving enough sunlight. It relaxed her to focus intently on something other than her health and other life stresses. And lately she had been putting a lot of focus on her trees.

XoX

She sat on the small stool at the table in her bedroom grooming her bonsais. She pressed the pad of her finger on the top of the soil, testing its moisture level. It felt a little dry so she decided to give it a bit of water, making certain it was just enough so that it would drain properly and not leave the wretched "wet feet" that killed bonsai trees. She picked up the water pitcher and leaned in close to her tree, carefully watering the soil.

"You pay more attention to those trees than you do me," Marcus teased as he walked into the bedroom. He sat on the chair in the corner and started removing his shoes.

"I assume you know when you need water and sunlight," she replied without even bothering to look up at him. Satisfied that it had been adequately watered she decided that they needed a trim as well. She glanced around for her trimmers and noticed that she had left them on the dresser. She stood up to retrieve them and immediately felt dizzy. She swayed a bit and stumbled backwards. She felt the back of her knees hit the bed and she sat down.

"Babe? Babe, you alright?" Marcus asked, rushing towards her.

"I'm okay," she breathed. "I think I just stood up too fast."

"Are you sure? Maybe I should call Dr. Allen." He started his own version of an examination. Checking her eyes and pulse, pressing the palm of his hand on her forehead to see if she had a fever.

"I'm fine," she lied. The truth was ever since the accusations began against Reggie she hadn't been feeling very well. She knew that her health had been suffering due to the stress but she worried that if she told Marcus about it he would force her to stop the investigation into the rapes. And right now, that was the only thing that gave her any hope of giving her son his life back. As it was he had been forced to sublet his apartment and move back home because he wasn't working at his firm anymore; his temporary leave was now permanent. He had several interviews at other architecture firms but the rumors always seemed to precede him.

No, she needed to stay strong and continue to work unobstructed to try and help get her son his life back.

As soon as her breathing steadied out she said, "I'm really fine, don't worry."

He ran his eyes over her face, not quite believing her. "You're really okay?"

She smiled at him and gave him a kiss, running her hand over his cheek. "Really."

She slowly stood up and picked up her trimmers. She moved back over to her table and began snipping off a few pieces of leaves that dared grow disproportionately. She could feel Marcus' eyes on her but she refused to meet his gaze. Too afraid that if she did he would look into her eyes and know the truth.

XoX

She polished off her tea and set the mug down. She checked her watch. It was almost noon; which meant that Randi was an hour late for their meeting. This wasn't like her. She was always punctual, almost obsessively so. Her not showing up and not calling caused a nervous feeling to spin in Viv's gut. She picked up her phone and tried Randi's cell number again.

"Hi, you've reached Randi. Leave me a message at the beep. Ciao!"

"Hi Randi. It's Vivian again. I know I've already left you several messages but I'm really starting to get worried. Please call me back as soon as you get this so I know that you are alright."

She put the phone back on the cradle and stared at it uneasily. She and Randi had been meeting at this time almost every day for the last month to review notes and share ideas on the campus rapes. In the months since Kate's rape there were no other reported attacks on this campus or any others so they knew that the publicity surrounding Kate's rape might have scared the rapist into hiding. But Viv knew that the compulsion to hurt women could not be suppressed forever. He was escalating at the time of Kate's attack and to suddenly stop would just cause his urges to build and build until they reached an explosive point.

She started pulling out drawers, searching for the slip of paper that Randi had given her a few months ago. She fished out the yellow sticky note. Written in Randi's precise upper case print were her cell phone and home numbers. She had never called the home number before. Randi was always on the go and insisted that the best way to reach her was the cell and up until now she had always answered her mobile number and never missed a single appointment.

The home phone rang just once when a young woman that was not Randi answered. "Hello?"

It did not escape Viv's attention that the woman's tone was nervous. "Hello, my name is Vivian Johnson. I'm a professor at NYU…"

"I know who you are," the woman replied anxiously. "Randi told me all about helping with your son's case. I'm Angie, her roommate. Have you talked to her?"

"No, actually that is why I was calling," she replied. "She was supposed to meet me at eleven but didn't show up."

"Damn, I was hoping she was with you." Angie sighed audibly. "She didn't come home last night and I can't reach her on her cell." Viv tried to suppress the pang in her gut. "This isn't like her. She always comes home or at least calls and lets me know if she is working late at the library. I'm really worried."

"When was the last time you talked to her?"

"Last night," the young woman replied, sounding slightly more calm to have something to focus on. "She told me that she thought she found a new lead in your investigation and wanted to go to the library to check it out before seeing you today."

Viv's pulse quickened. "Did she say what that was?"

"No," she shakily replied. "She just said that it was huge and she needed to make sure that it checked out before telling you."

With her mind racing a mile a minute Viv said, "Angie, do me a favor and stay put. I'm on my way."

"Okay," she answered before they said goodbye and hung up.

Viv picked up her coat and purse, rushing to her door. She reached into her purse and dug out her cell phone. She knew that if she wanted to find Randi as soon as possible she wasn't going to be able to do it alone.

The phone rang twice when a familiar voice answered. "Fitzgerald."

"Hey Martin, it's Viv." She opened her office door and stepped outside. "I need your help."