Chapter Three

Charlie, at first, was taken aback by that but when he thought about it, the more it made sense, as he remembered that student, Allison Sykes, being the granddaughter.

"You know her well?" Colby asked out both curiosity and concern

"Somewhat, though not personally, though Larkin did stop by once, though it wasn't a very pleasant visit." Charlie said with a grimace at the unpleasant memory.

"What happened?" Colby asked, now more concerned

"Well, he and Allison were having an argument that I heard only a little on the way to the class that she was taking, something about finances and someone that she was dating but I couldn't make most of it out." Charlie answered, as he thought about how strange it was before continuing.

"I asked her about it after class, if everything was okay, but she just told me it wasn't anything serious, just some things that she and her grandfather disagreed on and it was getting resolved soon and not to worry about it."

"Have you heard about, or from, her since she had finished the course?" Colby asked, wondering if the granddaughter might know something.

"Actually, yeah, she called me last week, saying that she wanted to meet with me for a research project she was working on, asking what was the best time to do so." Charlie said

"Really?" This also made Colby perk up, though it may be unrelated, every little bit of information helps.

"Yeah," Charlie said, "I told her that next week would be the best, which she agreed to and she said she would keep in touch but I haven't heard anything since." Charlie said with a little guilt in his voice.

"It's okay, Charlie, you had your own things to do with, so you weren't able to look into it but don't worry, I'll look into it when I am able to, but I'm sure it's nothing." Colby assured his friend

"Thanks, Colby, you're right about having a lot on my mind and right now, it's telling me to start working on this case, so I will get to it." Charlie said with a smile, as he was feeling more like himself again.

That made Colby smile, as some things never change and he left the room to check on some leads, leaving the determined professor to his work.