“Then?”
“I got the address for the game. Put it in my GPS, did my best to memorize it. Read that screen like fifty times. Wasn’t far. Less than a mile. But I suck at directions. Like, real bad. I got lost. The text said that I had to arrive by midnight, so I had lots of time—at least I thought I did. But I just couldn’t find the damn place. Musta walked in circles for twenty minutes. Don’t have no watch, so I didn’t know the time. Got to the barn on time—well, I musta got there on time, ‘cause I didn’t get kicked out.”
“You just walked in? Then what?” Vaughn now.
“A voice from a speaker told me to shut the door—I did. Then he told me to sit at the desk. I was tired and sweating... just sat, then I got instructions. Didn’t have no time to think.”
“So you play the game?”
“Yeah. Then the voice said I won, just like that. After ten rounds. Told me to go, said I’d get paid. The door clicked open and I left. Started to walk back to my car. At least, I tried to. Like I said, I got lost. Walked around for hours... all friggin’ night. Then that cop... man, he was angry. Told me to get on the ground. Pulled his gun on me ‘n everything.”
Not surprising. Delaney had done the same thing with Ivy, her father, and the nurse.
“Josh, from my side of the table, all of this, everything you’re saying, sounds incredibly unbelievable.”
Josh wiggled his nose as if it itched.
“Honestly? I know. Too good to be true, right? Especially with my luck. But I thought what the fu—sorry, what the heck? Worth a shot. And it kinda looked legit. There was a camera, and the voice was, like, computerized or something? Am I... am I gonna get that Bitcoin?”
“No idea. Josh, did you see anyone else there? Anyone other than the cop who found you in the field?”
“Naw. Not a single person. Just that voice over the speaker.”?
?Chapter 44
“Dr.Reeves, Dr.Moorehead isin his office with a student right now. You can’t—”
To hell, I can’t.
Ivy yanked the door open.
“Dr.Moorehead, we need to—”
Ivy’s mouth snapped shut. The student was none other than Zeke Godfrey. He looked demure. Head down, hands folded in his lap.
“What the hell is he doing here?”
“Dr.Reeves, sit down.”
“Dr.Moorehead, Zeke—”
“Sit down.”
Ivy grabbed the chair next to Zeke, pulled it across the office, and sat.
“Dr.Reeves, there have been some serious allegations made against you. It has come to—”
“Me?Me?This is—” Ivy was aghast.
“You’ll get your chance to speak.”
Dr.Moorehead dared her to interrupt. When Ivy didn’t, he continued, “The allegations involve you at a bar, intoxicated, approaching a student.”
Ivy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Had to literally bite her tongue to stop from speaking out.
“At said bar, it’s alleged that you made inappropriate comments. These come on the back of previous innuendos made during class time, in reference to STIs.” Dr.Moorehead leaned forward. “Now, I’ve seen the little TikTok video that you posted, Dr.Reeves. Posting lectures on any social media without prior approval by the department is in direct violation of your contract.”
Dr.Moorehead, his lips a thin line, stopped speaking.
