Snipped in the Bud Read Online Free PDF Page B

each other for a long, tense moment, but ultimately the Dragon knew he was only so much hot air. More than that, he knew Reilly knew, along with everyone else in the room. For once in his life, Puffer wasn’t in charge.
    Muttering something unintelligible, he dropped his gaze. Reilly shook his head in distaste, then went back to his investigation, while I stood there with my hand over my mouth, trying not to chortle. Suddenly, Puffer caught sight of me peering at him through the doorway and his eyes narrowed in fury. Yikes. I’d witnessed his disgrace.
    Puffer disappeared from the doorway and I immediately started to sweat. He was in the back hallway and could easily cut through one of the other professors’ offices and come out the front. Since I didn’t feel like coping with another one of his verbal assaults, I decided a visit to the restroom would be a good idea. Quickly.

CHAPTER FOUR
    I turned and nearly collided with the student, who’d evidently been watching the scene over my shoulder. “Sorry,” he said.
    At the same time I heard Reilly call to one of his men, “Take the professor to a room so I can interview him.”
    My body shuddered in relief, allowing me to focus on the twentysomething guy in front of me. Some of his color had come back, but he still seemed pretty shaken. He was dressed in typical college student style—untucked short-sleeved shirt, cargo pants, and sneakers. He had dark brown wavy hair, thick eyebrows over a pair of hazel eyes, a long, wide nose with a bump in it, a full mouth, and a chin with a deep cleft in the center. He held out his hand and gave mine a brief shake. “Kenny Lipinski. Sorry I wasn’t more help earlier.”
    “Abby Knight. Don’t apologize. It’s not easy to see a dead body, especially when it’s someone you know.”
    “I can’t believe he’s dead,” Kenny said, pressing his palms against his head. “Professor Reed was my adviser. He’d just secured a clerkship for me with a federal appellate judge. I hadn’t even had a chance to thank him.”
    I gazed at Kenny in awe. A clerkship at the federal appellate level—an extraordinarily prestigious position—would open doors that would guarantee him a brilliant career wherever he chose to go—Chicago, New York, L.A. Obviously, he was a bright guy. His name was familiar, too. “Is your father Kent Lipinski of the Lipinski and Lipinski law firm?”
    He gave me a guarded look. “Yeah. Why?”
    I was about to ask him why he’d pass up going into his father’s lucrative law practice to get into the federal court system, but then I thought better of it. The infamous and wealthy Kent Lipinski was the kind of lawyer people joked about—a slick-dressing ambulance chaser who paid people to haunt the hospital corridors and drunk tanks, trolling for clients. He had been known to lie to judges and steal files from other attorneys. He was a shameless publicity hound who was ridiculed behind his back. No wonder Kenny was looking for other opportunities.
    “I was curious about something,” I said. “Who’s the other Lipinski? Your grandfather?”
    “No. My dad. He’s too important for one name.” Seeing the repulsion on Kenny’s face, I dropped the subject.
    The elevator dinged again, so I peered through the office and saw Jocelyn Puffer walk up to the doorway on the opposite side, where she was instantly met by the cop guarding the door. She wore a long, shapeless black knit skirt, plain black pumps, a pale pink short-sleeved sweater with a matching cardigan draped over her shoulders, and a surprisingly chic black straw hat on her shoulder-length brown hair. I couldn’t imagine how she’d gotten into the building—unless she’d rappelled down from a helicopter. But the fact that she was standing there meant she’d been on the first floor somewhere. I couldn’t imagine why.
    “I’m here to see my husband—Archibald Puffer,” I heard her explain to the cop at the door as she tried to peer around him.