Once past the tall columns, she ran to the edge of the live oaks skirting the brick wall and stopped short. Breathing hard, she scanned the tree-lined walkways and grassy spaces between the buildings, the very pathway she’d just raced across. Jay slowed to a stop beside her, breathing deeply, his eyes scanning the area. Lamps illuminated the pathways, but shadows and shrubbery flanked the old halls and newer buildings. The mist had begun to rise again and there were many murky hiding places. Groups of students as well as those walking alone were heading through the quad, scattered about the walkways and hurrying up the steps into the wide entrances. Kristi looked from the library to the student union but saw no one fleeing into the darkness.

“On your right!” a woman’s voice yelled over the sound of changing gears as a bike whizzed past, the rider hunched over her handlebars.

Bruno let out a low growl.

Kristi’s heart sank as she studied the grounds.

No one seemed out of place. She didn’t see a dark figure darting through the trees or dashing up the steps of one of the tall, vine-clad buildings that comprised the small campus of All Saints. “Damn…damn…damn!” Lurking in the distance, at the far end of the quad and tucked behind some willow trees was the massive dark structure of Wagner House. Lamplight from the lower floor was barely visible.

“Did you see him?” Jay asked tensely. “What did he look like?”

She was glad for his presence as he stood near her, his gaze scraping every visible inch of this section of the quad. “No…he was just a shadow in the window and the blur of a dark figure when I was closer.” She motioned toward Jay’s dog. “Can Bruno find him?” The dog, hearing his name, turned his eyes to Jay, waiting for direction. “Isn’t he part bloodhound?”

“And part blind. But he has a great nose. Maybe if the guy left something at the scene, in your apartment, or something he might have dropped along the way, but Bruno’s not trained.” Jay eyed one knot of students then the next, studying anyone walking alone.

It was useless.

Kristi knew it.

The intruder had vanished.

At least for the moment.

She let out a long sigh and tried to tamp down her anger; her frustration. “I guess we lost him.”

“Looks like.” Eyebrows slammed together as he squinted at a trio of girls walking through the library doors. Jay asked, “So what happened? How’d he get in?”

Kristi shook her head.

He gave her a long look and said, “Okay. Let’s go see what he took.”