Without Mercy (Mercy 1)

“You think she’s gettin’ much cleaning done?” Keesha asked, then snorted her own reply. “No way. I bet I have to go up there and scrub the damned toilets myself.” She let out another disgusted huff of air. “Don’t know why I was teamed up with her. I asked if BD and I could work together, but oh, no, Mr. Trent wasn’t about to have that. No, sir! No ‘coupling up’ I think he said.” Obviously agitated, she smacked the rag over the back of the sofa, as if snuffing out insects. “But we’re only here for a couple of nights, then, oh, joy, our entire pod gets cafeteria duty.”

“I take it you’re not big on working in the kitchen.”

“You got that right.” Keesha nodded emphatically. “It really sucks. Makes cleaning this place look like the damned garden of Eden.” She winced as she heard herself. “Sorry about that. It’s just that thinking about the cafeteria … yeck! All that gross food and dirty plates and spilled stuff on the floors? Dishes and trays piled to the ceiling? Who needs it?” As if suddenly re

alizing she was ranting to a staff member, she shut up, tossing her dusty rag into the empty pail. “Well, as my grandma always says, ‘there just ain’t no rest for the wicked.’” Keesha forced a smile, caught somewhere between amusement and deceit. “I say a big amen to that.” She reached for the handle of the vacuum. “I still think it would have been safer for me to be hangin’ out with BD, you know, rather than with Senorita Jewel up there.” She swept her gaze toward the stairs, where the plaintive notes echoed in the stairwell.

“Just be careful.”

“Oh, I will!”

“Good.” Jules pushed open the doors against a blast of icy, arctic air. In fierce gusts, the wind screamed through the night, rushing through the campus and rattling the chains on the flagpole.

Jules’s already ragged nerves tightened. Mentally she chastised herself for being an idiot. She’d be fired if she was found trying to break into Lynch’s office, but the thought of the files locked away in his credenza bothered her. Why a second set of information? Why not on the computer?

Face it, Jules, the reason you’re worried is that you saw your name and Trent’s picture. You’re thinking Lynch is putting two and two together.

No matter what, she was not about to second-guess herself now. She made a beeline toward the chapel, only pausing to double-check Lynch’s cabin with its windows glowing bright. “Stay there,” she muttered as the wind stole the breath from her lips and icy flakes of snow melted against her face.

Gaze skating over the frozen landscape, ears straining to hear even the slightest sound of a footstep behind her, she hurried to the main doors and reached for the handle.

“Ms. Farentino?” a male voice asked, and she literally jumped, spinning to face two large men, both dressed in ski jackets, hats, and masks. She clutched her chest, her heart exploding in fear.

“Julia?” One of the men peeled back his ski mask—Wade Taggert, one of the psychology instructors.

Damn!

Her gloved fingers tightened over her flashlight.

“Where’s your partner?” he asked as the second man, too, lifted his mask, and she recognized Tim Takasumi, a TA who, she’d learned, was studying computer engineering.

“Oh, Lord! You scared me!” she said, still nervous. “And, yes, I know I’m supposed to buddy up when I’m out, but I just thought I’d spend some time alone in the chapel.”

Taggert’s eyebrows drew together. “The rule is that no one crosses the campus after dark unaccompanied. It’s for your own good.”

“I know. I’ll just be a few minutes. It’s been a hard first week, and I needed some time alone. I thought I’d light a candle or two.” She offered a wavering smile but didn’t give up her death grip on the flashlight.

Who knew who you could trust?

Taggert, blinking against the storm, seemed to accept her explanation. “You want us to stay with you?” he yelled over the shriek of the wind.

“No, thanks. You have rounds.” She had to raise her voice to be heard, too. “I’ll be fine in here. I’ll just be a few minutes.”

She was afraid Taggert would say they would be willing to wait for her, but his eyes caught a movement by the gazebo. Jules saw it, too. Someone seated within the latticework decorated with hundreds of tiny lights. “What the—?” He glanced at Jules again. “You’re sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yes.”

Wade hit Takasumi on the arm. “Let’s go.”

They pulled their masks down and took off, half-jogging against the brutal, gusting wind.

Now that they knew she was here, she didn’t have much time. Quickly, heart hammering in her ears, she moved through the nave and to the hallway leading to Reverend Lynch’s office.

She tried the door.

Locked.

Of course.