The Beauty Queen's Makeover

“Did you always want to be an attorney?”

He nodded and relaxed a little more. Anyone who really knew him from college would remember that.

“Do you like what you’re doing?”

“Do you always ask so many questions?”

She smiled. “It’s a reporter thing.”

“Is your vendetta against Professor Harrison a reporter thing?” Nate asked.

“It’s a reporter’s responsibility to search out the truth.”

“No matter who gets hurt?”

She sighed. “I look at it like going to the doctor. Sometimes it hurts, but knowing what’s going on always brings you peace of mind in the long run.”

“I disagree.” He didn’t want anyone knowing what was really going on with him. Especially Katie. “So, what have you got against the professor?”

Frowning, Sandra leaned forward. “Are you asking specifically? Or just inquiring about my general motivation?”

“Either. Both.” Nate lifted one shoulder. “Whatever you want to tell me.”

“I’m simply trying to learn the truth.”

“Even if it costs him the career he loves? A way of life that’s all he has since his wife died?”

“There’s something strange going on with him, Nate.”

“Define ‘something.’”

“I’ve been digging—”

“From what I hear, you could be halfway to China.”

She smiled. “Very funny. The thing is, I’m finding some disturbing patterns in the professor’s behavior.”

The waiter appeared and set their plates of pasta in front of them. When they were alone again, Nate met her gaze. “What kind of patterns?”

“Let me start with David. He’s a gifted athlete, and a very intelligent man—”

“I can see you’re not prejudiced,” Nate commented, noting the glow of love that sparkled in her blue eyes. A hollow feeling opened wide in the center of his chest because a man like himself could never hope for what she had—love and a family.

She grinned. “Not me. I’m into the facts. The fact is, I love my husband.”

“I envy you.”

“Don’t sidetrack me.”

“Okay. So you were saying that David’s a rocket scientist,” he said, getting back on the subject.

She laughed. “Hardly. But in spite of above-average IQ, in high school he was more interested in sports than learning and no one was more surprised than David when he received a scholarship. There are supposed to be academic standards for those and his grades just weren’t high enough.”

“How did he get it?”

“Courtesy of a mysterious benefactor.”

The professor had mentioned that. “Do you know who this person is?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. I’ve come across more records and found some troubling irregularities.”

“So what does that have to do with the professor?”

She frowned. “I haven’t found a solid link, at least not on paper. But in every instance of an undeserved scholarship or pulling strings in some way, the person involved was mentored by Professor Harrison.”

“That’s not proof of anything. It’s coincidence. Circumstantial.”

“Tell me about it. But he’s the common denominator. The link to this mysterious patron.”

“I don’t get it, Sandra. Someone is doing good—like the Lone Ranger—and you’re looking to lynch him from the highest tree.”

“It’s never okay to do the wrong thing, even if it’s for the right reason. There are rules and they’re meant to be followed. As a lawyer, I’m surprised you’d even question something so basic.”

That’s because she didn’t know him. “As a lawyer I know everything isn’t always black and white. There’s a lot of gray areas, which is why we’ve got judges.”

She put down her fork and studied him closely. “Hmm.”

“What?” he asked sharply.

“You remind me of someone. I thought so the couple times I saw you on campus and I can’t shake the feeling now.”

Oh, for crying out loud. Did she mean the geek he used to be? Or the high-profile defense attorney he was now? If she remembered either one it was bad news.

“They say everyone has a double.”

“I’ve heard that.”

Time to change the subject and one of his favorites was Katie. “Do you remember Kathryn Price?”

Instantly she looked up and frowned. “Do I? College beauty queen. Model on her way to superstardom. Yeah, I remember her.”

“What’s wrong?”

“David and I decided to start a camp for disadvantaged children.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. He felt guilty about that scholarship he didn’t deserve, and then wasted. So together we came up with the camp idea to use his strengths and talents as sort of cosmic payback for the gift he once received.”