“I…” He cleared his throat and loosened his tie. “I do think you are glossing over too many fields of study to reach your conclusions.”

To Erin, he appeared to be flushed. Throughout the presentation, he’d been restless, squirming in his seat. More than once, he’d relaxed, only to start suddenly. Concerned, Erin watched him closely. “Are you feeling well, Kenneth?”

“Fine. I’m fine,” he snapped. He readjusted his position and yelped in pain. When both Erin and Jessica stared at him, he demanded, “What are you looking at?”

“You were speaking, Dr. Bernard,” Jessica prompted.

Clearing his throat again, he said, “I was saying, you need to narrow your focus. You’d do well to pay more attention to sociolinguistic studies, if you intend to focus on criminal communications with society.”

“Sociolinguistics? Excuse my ignorance, Dr. Bernard, but what is that?” Though Jessica posed the question, Erin could feel her heart race.

Kenneth answered hastily, “It studies the interaction between language and the social life of a community. Criminals and words.” He coughed lightly. “It could be useful.”

“Absolutely, Dr. Bernard.” She jotted down the suggestion. Catching Erin’s eye, she asked, “Dr. Abbott, do you know anything about linguistics? Since Dr. Bernard is leaving town, I’d like to learn more before I make calls. Could you help?”

“I don’t know much about the field,” Erin lied evenly. “But I’m sure we’ll find someone.” Eager to be away where she could think, she stood, shook Jessica’s hand. “I’ll be in town all summer. Please be sure to check in with me twice a month, to alert me to your progress.”

Jessica thanked them both and left the room. Before Erin could stop him, Kenneth hurried out, muttering about a plane to catch.

“Kenneth, we need to talk about Jessica,” she called out after his retreating back.

He waved a dismissive hand, refusing to turn around. “I’m sure you’ll take care of it.”

Undeterred, Erin chased after him and caught him in the lobby. She scooted in front of him, blocking his path. “This is important, Kenneth, and we should have discussed it earlier. Jessica is a second-year Ph.D. candidate. I’m worried about her moving ahead on her dissertation topic before she’s completed her coursework. Don’t you think sociolinguistics is a tough subject to tackle so early?”

“She’s quite ready.” Kenneth shifted impatiently. Then he frowned. “I thought you weren’t familiar with the subject.”

Erin dipped her eyes. “I’ve done some reading, but not enough to guide her.” In the light of the lobby, she noticed something she hadn’t earlier. Kenneth’s normally crisp pants were creased and crumpled, as though he’d slept in them. Running her gaze over him, she noted that the shirt he wore had the same look of dishabille. “Kenneth, what’s going on?”