“I would like to meet him,” Kelly said. The statement was a bold change from her plan. She had promised herself she was merely going to strengthen her case so that when she presented it to Slate, he acted quickly. But now she wanted another notch on her gun. Unknown to Banks, he had just described the Acid Man to the letter. She added, “When do you meet with him next?”

“Thursday afternoon. But I can call and bump up the appointment. I could make it for today. He wanted to see me as early as possible.”

“Why?”

“He said he had to go out of town on business.”

She closed her notepad. “Go ahead and make the appointment.”

The professor made his call to Michael Grander and the guy agreed to meet him in an hour at the professor’s home. Kelly had not planned on that wrinkle.

“Won’t your family be home?” she asked as Banks set down the phone.

“No. Our meeting place is an apartment I keep near campus. I see most of my graduate students there. My real home is thirty miles from here.” He stood and reached for his hat. The Midwest sky was in a foul mood. All she had was a flimsy leather coat. He offered her his down jacket and asked if she would have lunch with him. He assured her that they had time. She accepted both offers.

Her anxiety remained. She was playing with fire.

Lunch was at the student cafeteria where she had grabbed coffee, but the food was decent. Kelly ordered a turkey sandwich and Banks had a bowl of soup. While they ate, he asked what her all-time favorite book was. She answered without hesitation.

“The Lord of the Rings. I think it’s the greatest work in the last century.”

“I would have thought you would have chosen something more romantic.”

“There’s romance in the story. There’s the love between Aragorn and Arwen.”

“In the movies, yes. But in the novels, Arwen only comes in at the end, after all the excitement is over. Besides, I think you’re more intrigued with Eowen, who had the misfortune of falling in love with Aragorn before the great battle.” He added, “Did you know Tolkien only put her in the books because his daughters complained there were no girls in the story?”

“I didn’t know that.” She paused. “Why do you say I’m intrigued with Eowen?”

He studied her and she was struck then by how penetrating his eyes were. She suspected he was an excellent teacher and had the loyalty of his students.

“Because she was a maverick. She wanted to be a hero in a time when only men were heroes. She also had a broken heart, and wanted to cure it by dying in battle.” He added gently, “You look troubled, Kelly.”