Free Her Dear and Loving Husband by Meredith Allard Page A

smile the man ever had was forced across his lips. When James didn’t see any clues there he wished he could read the man’s mind. He pushed his glasses against his nose as he considered his reply.
    “Vampires aren’t real,” he said. “They’re legends, figments of people’s dark imaginations.”
    “But you’re wrong, Professor. Vampires are fact, not fiction. I’m sure of it.” 
    “In that case you might want to try the Supernatural Tour here in Salem. I haven’t taken it myself, too scary for me, but it’s supposed to go around the creepy corners of town searching for ghosts and talking about vampire folklore, explaining how early New England settlers tried to stop the undead from haunting them. They say people run screaming from it because they’re so scared. Seems to be just what you’re looking for. Maybe you’ll see a real vampire.”
    “Maybe I will. So you’re new to Salem?”
    James heard the rattling of the wheels as Sarah pushed the book cart to the shelf directly behind him. She didn’t seem to be listening, busy as she was, but he wasn’t sure. He had to fight the urge to grab Hempel by the neck with his teeth and dump him out the window. Instead, he answered the reporter’s questions as quickly as he could, hoping that the nuisance would then leave him alone. Forever would be nice.  
    “You could say that,” James said. 
    “Where were you before you came here?”
    “Washington State.”
    “Were you with family?”
    “I have friends there.”
    “How long were you there?”
    “A few years.”
    “And you went to Harvard, is that correct?” 
    “Yes.”  
    Hempel nodded as he took a pen from his briefcase, pulled out a yellow legal pad, and jotted some notes. “When did you graduate? You look rather young to be such a distinguished professor.”
    James looked at Sarah, who had stopped working and was now watching them through the open slot on the shelf. How much she had heard, he couldn’t guess from her blank expression. From the corner of his eye he saw Hempel watching him watch Sarah, and the reporter jotted something on his notepad.
    “I don’t know how distinguished I am,” James said. “I teach at a small state college.”
    “But you also have a degree from Cambridge. Didn’t you teach there as well?” 
    “I’m hardly the only person to ever have the name James Wentworth.” It wasn’t the greatest comeback, but James was at a loss, concerned about what this man knew.  
    “But you do have a degree from Cambridge, and you have taught there.” 
    James let out a frustrated sigh. “I’ve never been to England, so I’ve never been to Cambridge. I’m sorry, but is your article about vampires or about me?”
    Hempel stood up and extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Professor. We’ll talk again.” 
    James shook his head. “I have a cold. I don’t want to get you sick.”
    “It’s all right,” Hempel said, keeping his hand out. “I have a cold too.”
    James didn’t want to be more conspicuous, so he shook the reporter’s hand as quickly as he could. But the man wouldn’t let go. Hempel pulled James’s fingers close to his face and inspected them as if he had never seen another man’s hand before.
    “You should put some gloves on, Professor. You’re cold as the dead.”
    Kenneth Hempel smiled as he left. 
    When the reporter disappeared past the metal detectors, Sarah walked to James. He braced himself, concerned about what she might have overheard.
    “Who was that?” she asked.   
    “Someone from the newspaper. He wanted some information for an article he’s writing, but I wasn’t able to help him.”
    Sarah looked in the direction Hempel had gone. “He seemed kind of creepy.” 
    James laughed. “I thought so too.”
    He said good night to Sarah and went up to his office, giving Hempel time to leave campus. He didn’t want to run into the reporter on his way home. As he sat at his desk he worried about what the reporter would