Every Breath You Take
Page 50
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Entering the building, they blew right past The Warden, who was busy typing away at her keyboard.
"Excuse me?.excuse me," the old woman said as she got up out her chair and hurried after them. Pepper rapped once on the professor's office door-hard-and then barged right in. He and Wallace stopped as they spotted Drummond sitting at one end of the leather couch in his office, a pretty young girl sitting partway down from him. Pepper expected Drummond to be somewhat taken aback by their presence, but he just looked up at them calmly.
"Ah, Detective Pepper, back again so soon. Well, this is a surprise." Drummond turned to the young girl. "We'll finish discussing your term paper later, Trina. If you would excuse us, please." He stood up, reaching forward and taking the girl's hand as he helped her to her feet.
"Okay, sure," the girl said, blushing as she picked up her knapsack and left the room.
Pepper was actually surprised to see that the girl had long black hair, half expecting to see the professor surrounded by a bevy of blondes, like some villain from a James Bond movie.
The professor casually strolled back behind his desk as he turned towards the two detectives. "I see you've brought another visitor. I was so looking forward to seeing Detective Chin again. Unfortunately, Detective Pepper, if you've come for another chat, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I do have to leave for a prior engagement in just a few minutes."
"I hope you've arranged for a ride," Pepper said, reaching into his pocket and tossing the warrant on the professor's desk.
"What's this?" Drummond asked, the usual smirk gone from his face.
"It's an authorized search warrant for your vehicle."
He picked up the papers and opened them, his hand trembling. "Carol, can you get me Philip Robertson please." His voice was tight with anger. "Right away," he called through the open door as he scanned the documents.
"I think you'll find everything in order, Professor. We'll need your keys." Pepper held out his hand, letting the professor know he wasn't going to wait for him to take his time.
The professor looked up at Pepper, just as the phone on his desk starting ringing. He picked it up and stared menacingly at Pepper as he spoke, "Philip, it's Robert Drummond. I've just been handed a warrant to search my car." There was a pause as the person on the other end spoke. "Detective Pepper?.Yes?Yes?" Drummond flipped through the pages to the end. "It's signed by a 'Justice of the Peace, Norman Edwards'." He set the papers down on his desk as his lawyer continued to talk. "You're absolutely sure?...Yes?Yes?All right. Okay, I'll call you right back." He set the phone down, his boyish face turning red as he reached into his jacket pocket. His lips were set in a straight hard line and he gave Pepper a look that could melt stone as he took his car key off the key ring. Pepper remained steadfast, the serious expression on his face not changing as he returned the professor's stare. Wallace stepped forward, the professor barely noticing his presence as he handed over the key, his eyes locked on Pepper's. Wallace touched his partner's shoulder and they turned to leave the office, Wallace leading the way.
"Detective Pepper," Drummond said, stopping Pepper midstride. He turned, meeting the professor's burning gaze. "You're going to regret this, trust me."
"Have a nice day, Professor," Pepper said, and giving him a wry smile, walked out, closing the door behind him.