Serial Bride by Ann Voss Peterson Read Free Book Online Page B

looking at Sylvie, after this little chat, his obsession might just include her, too.

Chapter Six
    Fortunately, parking on the university campus was easy to come by on a Saturday night. But amidst the university-wide construction, finding the psych building was another matter. As uneasy as Sylvie felt about Bryce accompanying her, she couldn’t help but be grateful; at least he knew Madison. Had she been trying to negotiate the campus alone, she probably would have been walking aimlessly all night. Instead Bryce led her through the maze of buildings with confidence, finally locating the temporary offices serving the psychology department while it appeared the psychology building itself was being torn down and rebuilt utterly from scratch.
    It was so quiet in the building, she was surprised to find the door unlocked. A glance at the directory inside the door told them which professors were being housed here and how to find them.
    â€œNo Risa Madsen. She must not be at the university anymore.”
    Bryce tapped the glass covering the directory board. “But Vincent Bertram is here.”
    They climbed the stairs to the second floor and wound through a narrow hall until they found his office.
    The door was closed.
    Bryce knocked.
    No answer.
    Sylvie blew out a frustrated breath. “We must have missed him.” She couldn’t wait until tomorrow. Since Diana had disappeared this afternoon, alarm had been blaring in Sylvie’s ears nonstop. The pinch of it seized the back of her neck. She had to find her sister now.
    â€œAre you looking for someone?”
    Sylvie whirled toward the quiet voice.
    A man only a few inches taller than her, but with the wide shoulders of a bodybuilder, strode down the long hall toward them. His blond hair was liberally sprinkled with white and tapered into almost fully white sideburns that matched his goatee. But the most striking thing about the man was his brown eyes. The dark irises were almost completely surrounded by white, making his gaze very intense. He stared at Sylvie. “Diana?”
    She fought the urge to squirm. “I’m her sister, Sylvie.”
    He strode closer. “Oh, yes, her sister. I didn’t know Diana had a twin.” He stuck out his hand. “Vincent Bertram.”
    Sylvie barely contained a relieved sigh. Thank God she didn’t have to wait. She shook his hand. His palm engulfed hers, enveloping her hand in a sort of fatherly warmth that contradicted the intensity of his eyes. “I need your help. It’s about Diana.”
    â€œOf course. Come in.” He slipped a key into the lock and pushed the door wide. He gestured Sylvie and Bryce into a small, book-lined room barely bigger than Diana’s walk-in closet. The only thing that kept the room from inspiring claustrophobia was the single small window overlooking the lights dotting Bascom Hill. Thankfully, he left the door open.
    â€œI’m sorry for the cramped office. These are our construction digs. They tell me the new psychology building will be beautiful.”
    Sylvie returned his smile and nodded at the window. “Your view is beautiful.”
    â€œThat, I’m afraid, won’t be quite so nice in the new building. Have a seat, would you?”
    Sylvie and Bryce lowered themselves into chairs.
    The professor leaned a hip on the edge of his desk and peered down at them. “Now, what can I help you with?”
    Sylvie again found herself fighting the need tosquirm. She’d hate to have Bertram as a professor. Sitting under those eyes made her feel as if he could see right through her. “I need to know why my sister’s involved in your research.”
    â€œThe research on Dryden Kane, yes.” Seemingly, Professor Bertram had no qualms about saying the killer’s name out loud. But then, that kind of comfort probably came with poring over what the man did and said on a regular basis. One grew desensitized.
    Sylvie thought of the photo