Many universities only had a section of a building devoted to neurology, but New Checkland had its own complex filled with classrooms, offices and labs. The first thing Chris noticed when she entered the building was the lobby looked modern and well kept. A common area for gathering and some study rooms lay off to one side, while classrooms were down another set of hallways. The lobby itself had some sparse seating and greenery, but the main draw was a plaque in the middle of the floor with the name of whoever had donated the money for the building. “Narcissist much?” Chris thought to herself.
She wasn’t due to meet Professor Linda Lime for another half hour, but arrived early to scope the place out. The hallways were mostly empty except for a few stragglers that were late for class and the lecture halls were lightly populated as well. Chris noted the lack of morning attendance. The only noise came from the approaching pitter patter of someone running through the hallway. A girl, presumably a student, turned the corner and ran past Chris and out the door only to immediately come back inside and run past her again. “What a busy girl…”
Continuing down the hallway, Chris found the entrance to the labs and research wing. She didn’t want to look around too deeply just yet, so she decided to go to the second floor where most of the offices were. Still being a bit early for her first day, there was time to review her mission. The description of the Professor’s Assistant role had both secretarial and clerical duties. It was ideal because she could be close to Linda and get access to the university network and neurology databases.
Apparently, the dean had pulled some strings to get her past all the interviews, but she would still have to gain the trust of the professor if she wanted to find out what was going on. That was the first step, the second would be to find a link to the mystery, whether it be suspected individuals or even getting access to the room in the report.
“Chris?” The young gumshoe looked up to see a slender well dressed woman, whom she recognized from the photo.
“Yes, that’s me! And you must be Dr. Lime” Chris responded, holding out her hand for a handshake.
“Also yes” the professor responded smiling and shaking her hand, “and just Linda is fine”
The two entered the office, where Linda gave a brief introduction of herself, the department, and what the job would entail. She spoke in an animated way using her hands to convey her thoughts. Chris’ impression of Linda Lime was that she had an informal air about her, but was ambitious and meticulous. She worked hard and expected the same from her colleagues. Her recent promotion to research director had left a few people feeling overlooked and slighted, a detail that might prove useful later.
They were about to get into Chris’ work history, when a frazzled young lady burst into the room. It was the same girl who ran by Chris earlier in the hallway.
“Professor Lime! I found…” She stopped when she noticed Chris was in the room. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were in a meeting.”
“It’s fine” Linda replied, “In fact, let me take this chance to introduce you two. Chris, meet Kaitlin Everett. Kaitlin is one of my PhD candidates and Chris here is my new assistant.” The two girls exchanged waves, before Kaitlin sheepishly excused herself.
“Right” the professor started “getting back to-”
“Linda, do you have some time to go over…” Another well dressed woman entered the office. She looked slightly older than Linda, another professor Chris presumed. “I’m sorry, the door was open so I-”
“No, it’s fine, it’s fine” Linda said with a slight exasperation. “Chris, this is Nancy Newman, one of the head researchers here.”
“And that must make you the new assistant,” Nancy said warmly to Chris.
“That’s right, I’m brand new and I’m looking forward to getting started,” Chris replied.
Nancy smiled. “Hope you have a great first day” and then turning to Linda “We’ll talk later” she continued as she left and closed the door behind her.
“I’m sorry about all the interruptions” Linda said, “Usually things aren’t this hectic. Just with all the” She paused. “Happenings around campus.”
The two of them chatted briefly for a few more minutes before ending the meeting. Chris got her first few sets of tasks, mostly setting up her university account and security badge, which she finished quickly giving her some time to do some digging. She didn’t have much access yet, so she figured she would start by investigating some of the people she had just met. She decided on...
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