“Definitely. He’s been weird since he joined our class. He was a transfer from somewhere,” said Samantha.
“Arkansas,” said Ara.
“Right. Arkansas. He doesn’t say much and from what I can tell he’s not a great student. I mean, he passes but just barely. Not exactly someone I want working on me.”
“Has he ever approached either of you for a date or to ask to study with you?” asked Hoot. The two women smiled at him.
“You can study virtually now, you know, through chat groups and stuff,” said Ara. Hoot nodded realizing that the world was spinning by him. “But to answer your question, no. He’s never asked for anything like that. The other day was just odd all the way around. We were going as a group. It wasn’t like he asked Willa on a date.”
“But she said he seemed almost angry when she spoke about her fiancé,” said Irish.
“He did seem surprised by it, for sure,” said Ara. “But honestly, we all were. Willa’s never mentioned having a boyfriend.”
“In fairness,” said Samantha, “she never spoke much about her family or private life. It’s one of the things I love about her. She’s very private and I respect that.”
“Has Morris ever lost his temper with any of you? Maybe with the professors?” asked Hoot.
“I don’t remember anything like that,” said Ara. “Listen, he was weird and I’m sorry it spooked Willa but I think he’s harmless. Weird but harmless.”
“Thanks for your time,” said Gator standing to leave.
“No problem,” said Ara. Gator stopped and turned toward the girls.
“You said Willa is very private. What about this guy? Is Morris private? Does he ever share any details of his own life or past?” he asked. The sisters looked at one another and nodded. Samantha spoke up.
“I’d say he’s more private than Willa. We know absolutely nothing about him.”
CHAPTER SIX
It was another twenty-four hours before Irish, Hoot, and Gator were able to speak to the other students.
They found Jeannie in a coffee shop near her apartment. Her table was covered with books, papers, and her open laptop. She had a messy bun twisted on the top of her head, held firmly together with a pencil.
“Excuse me, are you Jeannie?” asked Gator. She looked up and smiled at him, then frowned.
“I might be,” she said hesitantly.
“We’re friends of Willa’s,” he said holding up his hands. “We just want to talk to you.”
“Oh, is this about Morris? Samantha and Ara said you might want to talk to all of us.”
“Yes. I’m surprised they reached out to you,” said Hoot.
“Why? We’re friends. They just said you wanted to know about Morris’ usual behavior, that kind of thing. I’m not sure what they told you but I don’t know much about the guy. I’ve only known him a few months and he’s usually really quiet and sticks to himself.”
“So, the lunch the other day was unusual?” asked Irish.
“I wouldn’t say unusual. Honestly, we just usually don’t have the time to meet up and have lunch. If we do lunch, or sometimes we’ll do breakfast, then he comes along but he’s always quiet.
“The other day was his natural behavior. He’s very short and direct; to the point if you know what I mean.”
“We know what you mean,” said Gator. “So, him acting the way he did when Willa announced her engagement was normal?”
“I don’t know,” she grinned. “No one ever announced their engagement in front of him before.”
“Fair enough,” nodded Gator. “Did he ever seem unusually preoccupied with Willa or any woman in the class?”
“Not that I noticed. His attitude the other day was kind of a surprise for all of us. If you didn’t know, he’s a bit older than the rest of us. I think most in the class are between twenty-three and twenty-seven. I think Morris is like thirty-three.”
