Run Girl: Ingrid Skyberg FBI Thrillers Prequel Novella by Eva Hudson Read Free Book Online Page B

said.
    “She also happens to be a US citizen, which is why the embassy is involved,” Ingrid explained. “This girl has gone missing and her parents are desperate to ensure she’s safe.”
    “‘Very close’ friend,” the rib-nudger repeated. “You mean like, girlfriend?” He managed to tear his gaze from the portrait of the young woman with the long brown tresses, hazel eyes and full pink lips, to glance briefly up at one of the female students. She glared back at him.
    “She may be his girlfriend,” Angelis said.
    “No way,” the third male student said, finally joining the discussion. “She’s far too fit for Adam. No way could he pull someone as gorgeous as that.”
    The female student continued to glare at him. The one who was trying to keep her distance stared down at the floor.
    “You really work for the FBI?” The third student turned to Ingrid, his face a mask of suspicion.
    “That’s right, sir.”
    “Then tell us why you’re really here,” the first student chimed in.
    “I’m sorry?”
    “You come here spinning us an unbelievable story about Adam, and expect us to just swallow it? What’s the real reason for your visit?”
    Good grief . A hundred and fifty students in that hall and they’d managed to hook themselves a real live conspiracy theorist.
    The glaring female student was craning her neck to get a glimpse of the photograph. Ingrid nudged Angelis’ arm. He grabbed the picture back and handed it to her.
    “She is beautiful,” the girl said. “I knew Adam had moved on after I dumped him, but I had no idea his little trans-Atlantic boffin friend was anything special.”
    Ingrid detected a definite hint of jealousy in the girl’s tone. “You used to date Adam?”
    “We split up during the summer vacation.”
    “And you know about her?” Ingrid pointed to the picture.
    “He’s been really secretive lately. At first I’d assumed he was seeing someone else on campus.”
    The girl sitting next to her shifted forward in her seat, like a woman poised to make a swift exit.
    “I’d seen details of her profile before, but never her picture,” the first girl continued. “I know Adam was quite smitten with her.”
    “Do you know how they met?”
    “Some online forum—for geniuses, Adam liked to pretend. You have to pass a test before you can make any posts—to prove your IQ is above 175.”
    “That’s high, is it?” Angelis asked, a little disingenuously, Ingrid suspected. He must have known it was damn high.
    “We think maybe they’ve taken off together. You know—a romantic few nights alone,” Angelis said.
    “Yeah, right,” the conspiracy theorist muttered. “In his dreams.”
    “For the sake of argument, let’s just assume Mr Oxley has managed to woo this attractive young lady. Where might he have taken her?” Angelis looked directly toward Oxley’s ex-girlfriend, who wriggled in her seat. “Is there any place you visited with Adam, any place he might have taken her?”
    The girl took a deep breath. “Last summer we went to his grandmother’s house—she wasn’t there, she’s dead. It’s in the middle of the country somewhere.”
    “Where?” Angelis asked. He grabbed his cell phone from a pocket and was poised to type the address into his GPS app.
    “For God’s sake, Sara! Don’t tell them anything else—we don’t even know if we can trust them,” the conspiracy theorist warned.
    “Oh grow up!” The girl thought for a moment. “Essex,” she said, emphatically.
    “Can you be a little more specific? It is rather a large county,” Angelis said.
    “His parents dropped us off there and picked us up again. I never really paid attention. I’m sorry, but I don’t know the address.”
    A second or two later the girl next to her slowly got to her feet. In barely more than a whisper, she said, “I know. I know where it is.”

11
    The ex-girlfriend stood up too, her face just inches away from the other girl’s. “How? How can you possibly