“He’s a smart man.”

“More than smart. He has a heart for God, and he walks the talk. He kind of took me under his wing, says the sort of stuff a dad would. I mean, my dad’s fine, and he works hard, but he doesn’t talk much, you know? Anyway, I decided if Reverend Wilson could do all the good he’s done in spite of all the bad stuff that’s happened to him, I should listen to what he had to say.”

“What kind of bad stuff?”

“His son was in the Marines, and he got killed in the Middle East. Then his wife was shot in a grocery store by a robber who was high on heroin. Instead of getting bitter, Reverend Wilson kept following his dream to build a rehab center downtown for folks who want to clean up their act but can’t afford those fancy, expensive places.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.” Kayla tipped her chin up and drained the can. “So see? There are good guys out there.” She sighed. “Too bad Mr. Martinez isn’t younger. I have a feeling he’s the hero type too.”

Cate gave a dismissive wave. “Only because you saw him carrying me from the woods.”

“No. It’s more than that. He just comes across as brave and trustworthy and sort of . . . noble. You know?”

Once upon a time, yes.

Now, not so much.

“I think you’re getting carried away.”

“And I think you have blinders on. Are you still mad at him about that extra homework?”

That was as handy an excuse as any to use, short of telling her roommate the real reason she wasn’t enthralled with their Spanish teacher.

“I’m not happy with him about it.”

“At least he’s trying to help you improve your grades. Not many teachers offer to do one-on-one tutoring.”

“I guess. But like you said, he’s too old for us anyway.”

“Maybe we’ll find a younger version of him someday.”

“I’m not holding my breath.” She rummaged around in her pocket for the perfect excuse to change the subject. “By the way, I found this out in the woods. I remember your old roommate had a French-sounding name. Do you think it could have been hers?” She held out the earring.

Kayla leaned over to examine it. “Yeah. I recognize it. She wore those a lot. I think they were a birthday gift from—”

Another knock, and one of the admin staff members poked her head in. “I have two gentlemen from the police department who would like to talk to Cate.”

“That would be me.” She tucked her hair behind her ear.

Kayla rose. “I’ll wait for you in the lobby—with Mr. Tucker.” She slipped out the door, giving the two coat-and-tie-wearing detectives behind the woman a wide berth.