CHAPTER FOUR

NICK WALKER ©

“Can you handle any information I might send to you to drop on your class bulletin board?“ Professor Grayson asked and walked to the chair to sit.

“Especially the attendance,” he added, straightening a stack of papers on his desk.

I blinked at him. “Wait,what do you mean? Is that all you called me here for?”

He looked up and gave a calm nod. “Why else should I call you?”

I scoffed. “You really have nothing else to say?”

He didn’t answer. He just kept sorting through his papers.

“The man who died,” I blurted, “I'm sure he probably had a family waiting for him at home. Things like that have never happened in Mr. Kyle’s bar before.”

His eyes flicked toward me. “Mr. Walker, I’d rather you not talk about that within the college premises.”

My fists tightened. “Why? Are you scared?”

He sighed and looked me straight in the eyes. “No. But aren’t you?”

That calm, mocking tone made something twist inside me.

“You are trembling and you challenged me here, alone,” he stated and continued what he was doing.

I hadn’t realized how visible my shaking was until he said it. My breath caught in my throat.

“Don’t bring that matter up again,” he stated.

I scoffed and stepped forward. “You should be in jail for murder. I have no idea how you ended up here, pretending to be a professor.”

“Mr. Walker…”

“It’s Nick,” I cut in.

“I’d prefer Mr. Walker,” he replied sharply. “And the police already caught the killer. Stay out of the case.”

“I have no idea why Mr. Kyle is covering for you,” I muttered.

“Why would they even catch the killer when he’s sitting right in front of me?”

He opened his mouth to respond, but I didn’t let him. “I hope you pay for that man’s life someday.”

I stormed out of the office before my shaking legs gave out.

What the hell did I just do?

What was wrong with me?

By the time I reached the hallway, my heart was pounding so fast. I turned back, half-expecting him to be following me but he wasn’t.

“Hey, what’s with that face?” Avery asked as she sighted me. She jogged up to meet my walk pace. “Did something happen?”

I kept walking, eyes straight ahead.

“Nick, did something happen between you and Professor Grayson?” she pressed, trying to keep pace beside me.

I stopped, running my hand through my hair in frustration. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Okay, that’s not an answer.“

Who in their right mind picks a fight with a killer? I just handed myself a death sentence.

∆∆

~ FIVE STAR CLUB AND BAR ~

“A glass of whiskey, please?”

“Sure.” I said automatically. I polished a glass, poured the amber liquid, and slid it across the counter to the customer.

The club was quieter than usual.

“Hey, Nick.”

I turned to see Shawn, one of my coworkers, leaning in close. “Yeah, what's up?”

“Did you hear the latest about that man who died two nights ago?“ He questioned.

My throat went dry. “No… what about it?”

He lowered his voice. “Mr Kyle didn't hand the CCTV footage to the police when they came. We watched the CCTV footage earlier before the manager handed it to the cops today. Guess what we found?”

I swallowed hard, pretending to focus on cleaning a glass.

“The police already caught the killer,” he continued. “But I don’t think I’ve ever seen that man here before.”

My stomach dropped.

He continued. “The customer in the VIP room was attacked by the man who died but the customer fought back. He was fast and he's really skilled. It looked like I was watching an action scene. The customer defended himself, pinned the attacker down, and even held a knife to his throat.

I froze. My mind flashed back to that same moment;the man holding the knife. Professor Grayson.

“Then,” Shawn said, “the VIP smashed a bottle on the attacker's head and left. The guy went down. But that’s not even the wildest part.”

Before he could continue, a woman leaned across the counter. “Can I get seven shots of tequila?”

“Of course,” I said, forcing a smile. I quickly poured the shots, slid them over, and waited until she walked off before turning back to Shawn.

“What happened after?” I whispered.

He looked around, then leaned in again. “You won’t believe this. The man, the police caught, came in later and stabbed the man who was already passed out. Over and over. It was brutal, Nick. He didn’t even bother hiding from the camera. He looked right at it and just… walked away.”

I froze completely. The room spinned as his words echoed in my head alongside Grayson’s from earlier that day.

“The police already caught the killer. Stay out of the case.”

And my own stupid words came right after.

“Why would they catch the killer when he’s standing in front of me?”

My stomach sank. So Grayson wasn’t the murderer. He was somehow the victim or close to it.

“Shit,” I whispered, rubbing my temple.

“What’s wrong?” Shawn asked, frowning.

“Nothing. Just tired.”

I felt like I was going to throw up as I felt the room still spinning. I’d accused a man to his face. Worse, that man was my professor.

Shawn kept talking, unaware of the condition I was in. “I didn’t even get to apologize to you. I made you answer the order of that room. I saw the footage where you delivered the drinks to that room. You looked terrified when you ran out. Man, I’d have done the same.”

“It's fine. I’m fine,” I muttered.

He nodded, still clueless. “Alright, I’ll leave you to your shift.“ He said, sighting the manager heading our way.

As soon as he walked off, I leaned on the counter, trying to calm down.

What had I done?

I attended to customers and felt someone’s eyes on me. I looked slowly.

He was there.

Professor Grayson sat at one of the corner tables, staring right at me. His eyes were flat and bored, like he was studying an insect under glass.

My breathing stopped for a moment.

He tilted his head slightly, then calmly looked away.

My hands trembled so bad that I nearly dropped the glass I was holding.

If he really was innocent, how was I supposed to face him again?