Lily thought Eva had been her element when she’d shadowed her science club, but that was nothing compared to seeing her now, strutting around the Georgetown lab like she owned the place.
Lily supposed she might have, once upon a time. She must have spent many hours walking between groups of kids frowning in concentration as they used an automatic pipette for the first time.
Eva looked perfectly at ease, laughing at something the young researcher—Matthew—standing beside her was saying.
There was a familiarity there, an ease to the way they spoke that reminded Lily of the way Eva was with Carly. He must have meant something to her when she’d been a professor here.
It was weird, catching a glimpse into this side of Eva’s life. She’d thought she knew a lot about Eva, but Lily still felt like she’d barely scratched the surface. Lily wanted to dive deeper, wanted to understand, fully, what made Eva tick.
The three-hour lab flew by with Eva as her test subject, and when a group of undergrads turned up to give the kids a tour of the campus, it gave the teachers a much-needed reprieve.
“Want to come for a walk?” Paige said as they followed the kids out of the lab. “I know a few nice spots, and it’s a lovely day.”
It was, the sun beating through the windows in the hallway they found themselves in, but Lily had other ideas. “Maybe later? I want to have a look at the chemistry lab for this afternoon. Familiarize myself with it before I have forty kids staring at me.”
“Makes sense. I’ll catch up with you later, then?”
“Sure.” Lily waved her off before pulling out the map she’d been handed earlier that morning.
“Are you all right?” A voice asked, and Lily turned to see a redhead standing a few feet away. A lanyard hung around her neck with Staff printed on it in white letters. The badge dangling from the end of it read Dr. Acazee. “You look lost. Are you from the school trip?”
“Is it that obvious?” Lily tucked the map away and held out a hand. “Lily Cross. I’m supposed to be taking a chemistry lab this afternoon, and I wanted to make sure I don’t get lost.”
“Ah, I see.” Dr. Acazee’s grip was firm as she shook Lily’s hand. “You do know there’s a woman you work with who could tell you, right?” She glanced through the glass windows looking into the lab, toward where Eva stood talking to Matthew within. “Eva used to work here.”
“I know, but she, uhm, doesn’t like me.” Something of an understatement, but still more than this stranger needed to know.
“Don’t take it personally,” Dr. Acazee said cheerfully. “She feels that way about most people.”
Lily huffed out a laugh.
“Chem is upstairs. Come on, I’ll show you.”
“Thanks, but I wouldn’t want to put you out—”
“Nonsense. I need to go up there anyway.” She headed for the stairwell, and Lily fell into step beside her.
“Are you a professor here?”
“Oh, where are my manners?” Dr. Acazee turned to offer Lily her hand. “Kate. And yes, in virology. Have been for the past seven years.”
“So you know Eva?”
“I do.”
Lily glanced at Kate out of the corner of her eye, trying to figure out if it was a good or bad relationship as Kate pushed open a set of wide double doors. “What was she like? When she worked here?”
Lily knew she shouldn’t ask—that if it got back to Eva, she’d be furious—but she couldn’t help it. There she was, being presented with an opportunity to learn more about Eva from someone who had known her years ago, and Lily couldn’t let it slip through her fingertips.
Kate didn’t answer at first. She swiped her badge against a keypad beside a heavyset door. “This is the lab you’ll be in today,” she said, pushing open the door and ushering Lily inside.
The space could easily fit a hundred students, the benches glowing white in the sunlight and already filled with the equipment Lily had requested.
“And she was a lot of things,” Kate continued, her gaze settling on Lily’s face. “Haughty. Private. Quiet.” Nothing new. “But she’s got a brilliant mind. It’s a shame we lost her, though those kids at your school are lucky to have her.”
“Yeah,” Lily said, her voice soft as she looked around the space. “They are.”
“I don’t think I’m allowed to leave you in here unsupervised.” Kate looked apologetic. “But at least you won’t get lost trying to find it.”
