Rebecca’s heart resumes its flapping. It feels like it’s going in four directions at once inside her chest. “No, I don’t.”

She thought Madeline was dead. Everybody did, and that was freaky enough.

But then what if Madeline was alive? And back?

Isn’t that even freakier?

“I’m sorry you seem upset about this,” he says. “It’s hard when there aren’t answers about someone. Maybe it’s best to just chalk this up to a misunderstanding. And for you to concentrate on your own work.”

Rebecca gets the message he’s trying to send. And it’s what she feared someone in a position of authority would think or say. Just forget about it. It isn’t your concern. These aren’t the ’droids you’re looking for.

That’s what they always say. . . .

“You’re probably right,” she says. “And I have to be getting to my class.”

“Is there something else I can do to help with this?”

“No. That’s okay.”

“Good.” Nye leans back. He looks more like his usual self. Chill. Easygoing. The cool uncle again. “And I’ll get to the thesis soon. I promise.”

“Thank you.”

Rebecca exits his office and pushes through the double doors, back out into the cold. The wind blows stronger, and the flurries swirl faster.

She tries to take in what Nye said, tries to see it his way. After all, chances are Madeline is dead. And if she’s alive, she doesn’t want to come back.

But damn, Rebecca thinks.

The way she pulled on her eyebrows . . .

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CONNOR

PRESENT

I always enjoy talking to Rebecca. She’s a good kid—a diligent student. A little shy but a hard worker. If every class had twenty Rebecca Knoxes in it, my job would be a walk in the park. But I can’t wait for her to leave because I want to open my laptop and get back to what I was reading. I’d just found the article when she knocked on the door. And now it’s cutting it too close. I have to get to class, or I’ll be late.

And truth be told, I need the distraction. Rebecca’s visit and her recognizing Madeline shake me more than anything else from this morning. But if Madeline’s in town, even disguised, the possibility of her running into friends, students, professors, increases exponentially. It’s a small community, with a limited number of places to go. The walls of my office look closer, like they’ve moved several feet forward during the course of the morning.