Gates of Paradise (Blue Bloods 7)

“Her sister.”

“Is there some sort of family emergency?”

Schuyler debated whether to lie, then opted against it. “No, I was just hoping to find her. Is there any chance you could tell me where she is? What classroom she’s in? I’m not looking for her home address or anything like that.” Though I’d take it if you gave it to me, she thought.

“Can’t do that,” the receptionist said. “FERPA violation.”

“FERPA?”

“Privacy. I know your generation doesn’t have much use for it anymore, but it’s still the law.”

“Well, thank you for your help.” Schuyler couldn’t help but let the sarcasm creep into her voice.

The woman gave her a look and then returned to filing her nails.

Schuyler walked out of the office, dejected.

“What about the glom?” Oliver asked. “Just make her tell you.”

“I thought about it, but it seemed wrong somehow,” she said. “We’ll figure something out.”

“Excuse me?” a voice said.

They turned around to see a petite girl with dark curly hair standing behind them. “Sorry to be nosy, but I couldn’t help overhearing you in there. You’re looking for Finn Chase?”

“We are,” Schuyler said eagerly.

“You’re her sister? She’s a pretty good friend of mine, and I don’t remember her having any siblings.”

“She doesn’t know about me,” Schuyler admitted. “Actually, I only just found out about her.”

The girl’s dark eyes sparkled. “How exciting and mysterious!” She held out her hand. “I’m Ivy. I totally know her schedule. Can I introduce you guys? Please?”

Is she kidding? Of course she can! “I’m Schuyler, and this is my friend Oliver. We’d love it if you’d help us out.”

“Awesome,” Ivy said. “Are you two, like, a thing? Are you a potential brother-in-law or something?”

Was she asking out of curiosity, or because she thought Oliver was cute? It didn’t matter, Schuyler figured, as long as she’d help them. And if Oliver needed to flirt to get what they needed, then he’d better get cracking.

“I’m quite single,” he said. “Schuyler’s like a sister to me.”

Schuyler breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps not quite accurate, but it would do the job.

“Class is almost over,” Ivy said. “She’s taking a grad class on Kandinsky. Such an overachiever.” She rolled her eyes.

Well, they had Kandinsky in common, Schuyler thought. Finn’s taste must have been influenced by Decca. And Ben, of course. She remembered that he’d been some sort of artist.

“We’ll catch her on the way out. Come on.”

Oliver and Schuyler followed Ivy down a long corridor to a seminar room. Through a window in the door, Schuyler could see a group of students sitting around a table. They were arguing animatedly, and she felt a pang of jealousy at the thought of Finn as a normal college student, passionate about art, oblivious to the fact that the world might be a horrible and dangerous place, where your love could be ripped away from you.

“Sky? You with us?” Oliver asked.

“Just watching,” she said.

The students began packing up their books and heading toward the door. Schuyler jumped back and wondered why she felt as if she needed to hide. Nervous about meeting her sister, she supposed.

A tall blond girl with her hair in a ponytail, her face framed by a pair of severe black eyeglasses, left the room. Schuyler had expected Finn to look sporty, somehow, from the photos of her on the ski slopes and the tennis courts; and while the girl certainly had an athletic gracefulness about her, she carried herself with a serious mien. Finn Chase, Schuyler realized, was a bit of a nerd. A cool nerd, of course—a hipster with her vintage glasses and the polyester blouse and the bell-bottom jeans—but a nerd nonetheless.