I added the statements showing the unauthorized transfers to Brandon’s accounts.

I placed them all inside a neat black leather folder, pressing the metal clasps shut.

By eight o’clock, I was walking across the wet campus.

The autumn wind bit through my thin coat, chilling me to the bone.

The red brick buildings of Ellison University looked imposing under the dark, heavy sky.

I entered the administration hall and took the stairs to the third floor.

My wet boots squeaked loudly on the polished marble.

Dean Vance’s office door was heavy oak, polished to a dull shine.

Her secretary, a quiet man in a gray sweater, looked up from his computer as I approached the desk.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“I need to see Dean Vance,” I said. “My name is Ava Parker.”

He checked his computer calendar and shook his head. “She has a very full morning, Miss Parker.”

“Please tell her I am Eleanor Parker’s granddaughter,” I said, leaning closer.

“It is about my enrollment, and it involves my grandmother’s estate.”

He hesitated, looking at the urgency in my eyes, then picked up his desk phone.