Free The Spire by Richard North Patterson Page A

safety'' Durbin cut in. 'I should hire more security guards.'
    'Agreed,' Farr responded with quiet force. 'But by itself that suggests that this place is dangerous. Have your VP for student affairs gather the statistics on previous campus crime rates'I've been here almost twenty years now, and I can assure you that it's pretty low. At tonight's meeting, tell the students that.'
    Durbin shook his head. 'That would sound like I'm saying there's nothing to worry about. Plainly, there is.'
    'Then why not announce a new campus safety program'tonight. A buddy system where students are encouraged to walk together. A ride system for women walking back to their dorms or sorority houses at night. Telephones every fifty yards or so, connecting students to the campus police. A new lighting system to illuminate the campus after dark.' Farr paused for emphasis. 'Let them know that you won't rest until you're certain'and
they're
certain'that this will never happen again.'
    As Mark listened, it struck him that Farr's professorial persona was falling away, exposing the military officer he once had been, quick-thinking and decisive under stress. Durbin scribbled a few more notes, then looked up at Mark. 'I can't imagine how you must feel, Mark. Still, I'd appreciate any thoughts you have.'
    For a moment, Mark studied a patch of sunlight on Durbin's tan carpet. 'Okay,' he said finally. 'Don't just have this meeting. You should also go where we live'you, or the deans, or maybe some professors. Give every student you can find someone they can talk to. A lot of the guys I know won't relate to some psychologist they've never met.'
    Slowly, Durbin nodded. 'Good advice.'
    'Also,' Farr added, 'you should announce another student forum in one week's time, to tell them what you've learned and whatever else you're doing. It's no good that you're in charge unless the students, board, faculty, alumni, and community know that. For the sake of us all, it's imperative that you emerge from this tragedy as the leader Caldwell needs.'
    To Mark, Farr's implicit warning was unmistakable. Whatever else Durbin did in the future no longer mattered'his presidency would be judged, favorably or not, based on how he handled Angela's murder. 'I need to get our board chair on campus,' Durbin said to Farr. 'Also Ernie Sims'it might be good to remind everyone that our thirty-person board actually includes an African-American. As soon as possible, the three of us should visit Angela's family.'
    'If you like,' Farr offered, 'I'll go with you. I'm the head of the committee that gave Angela her scholarship. More than that, I'm the only one of us who actually knew her.' A look of sadness crossed Farr's face. 'Consoling her family is the hardest job we'll have, and one of the most critical. For the sake of Angela's mother, we can't seem distant from her dead daughter. And to be brutally practical, we don't want her suing the school.'
    Once again, Mark absorbed Farr's ability to anticipate potential consequences. 'We'll need more outreach to the black community as a whole,' Durbin said. 'The town seems pretty segregated, and we can't let the blacks in Wayne fester in their own resentment and isolation.'
    Durbin was right, Mark knew. Blacks seldom went downtown; even at the high school, black and white kids rarely socialized. Racial attitudes, even if unspoken, were often adversarial. Uncomfortably, Mark thought of Steve Tillman and his casual, if infrequent disparagement of black classmates. 'True enough,' Farr was saying. 'Then there's our alumni. As you well know, their donations help fund this place. You've got to reassure them quickly.' Farr's tone became grim. 'A big problem with
that
is the media. A white-on-black murder, if that's what we have, will be catnip for them.'
    Durbin frowned at this. 'I'll get our public relations people on this right away.'
    'It's over their heads, Clark. Hire an outside PR firm with experience in crisis management. We need to bombard the media