Finding Lisa Garver turned out to be harder than expected.

She wasn't in any recent faculty records, and a quick Google search only pulled up an ancient publication listing her as a former researcher. There was no social media, no current job listings—just a dead end.

That should've been the first warning sign.

Drista, however, was relentless. She spent the better part of the morning searching through online archives, digging through old directories, and sending emails that were probably way too nosy for a group of random students.

And then, somehow, she found it.

A landline number.

"Wait, how did you get that?" Karl asked, staring at her laptop screen.

Drista grinned. "I have my ways."

Nick groaned. "That's not an answer, and I don't want to know."

Karl swallowed hard as he looked at the number. "Are we... calling her?"

Drista was already picking up her phone.

Nick's eyes widened. "Oh my god, you're calling her?"

"Duh." Drista hit the call button without hesitation.

Karl held his breath as the phone rang once... twice...

Then, a click.

A voice—low, slightly rough, like someone who didn't speak often—answered.

"...Who is this?"

Drista hesitated for the first time.

"Uh, hi! Is this Lisa Garver?"

A long pause.

"Who's asking?"

Karl exchanged a glance with Nick. He could feel the distrust radiating through the phone.

Drista, to her credit, kept her voice casual. "We're students at Roclev University. We're researching old faculty projects, and your name came up! We were wondering if we could ask you a few questions."

Another silence.

Then, Lisa sighed. "...I'm not interested."

Drista sat forward. "Please, it won't take long. We're just trying to learn more about Professor Halloway's work."

That got a reaction.

A sharp inhale. A brief static crackle, like she'd shifted in her seat.

Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, Lisa said:

"Stay away from this."

Karl's stomach flipped.

Drista blinked. "Wait, what?"

Click.

The line went dead.

---

For a long moment, none of them spoke.

Drista slowly lowered her phone, staring at the screen. "Well. That wasn't suspicious at all."

Karl felt cold. The way Lisa's voice had dropped, the sheer weight behind those words—Stay away from this.

It was a warning.

Nick leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "Great. So even the people who actually know what happened don't want to talk about it."

Drista exhaled sharply. "We can't just drop it."

Karl hesitated. "Maybe we should."

Nick turned to look at him, surprised. "You want to back out now?"

Karl didn't know how to explain it. It wasn't just fear—it was the feeling that they were touching something they weren't supposed to.

But before he could answer, Drista's phone buzzed.

She frowned. "Huh."

Karl tensed. "What?"

Drista turned the screen toward them.

A new message. Unknown Number.

I shouldn't have answered that call. Forget about Halloway. You don't want to end up like him.

Karl felt the blood drain from his face.

Nick shot up from his chair. "Oh, hell no."

Drista, however, just grinned. "So, she does know something."

Karl groaned, rubbing his temples. "Drista, did you not read that? 'You don't want to end up like him'? That's not a casual warning. That's a threat."

"Yeah, to back off," Drista said. "Which means we're close to something."

Nick threw up his hands. "Or it means we're being stalked by a literal crime cover-up!"

Karl didn't know what scared him more—the idea that Lisa Garver was trying to protect them, or the idea that she was right.

Then Drista's phone buzzed again.

Another message.

Meet me tonight. Midnight. If you really want the truth.

---

Karl hated how fast Drista agreed.

Nick stormed off, fully convinced they were walking into a trap. Karl had half a mind to follow him—but some twisted part of him needed to know what Lisa knew.

That was how, hours later, they found themselves in an empty parking lot on the far edge of campus, waiting for a woman who clearly didn't want to be found.

The air was thick with tension. Karl's heart pounded in his chest as he stood between Nick (who looked absolutely done with all of this) and Drista (who was practically thrumming with excitement).

Then, a car pulled up.

A woman—mid-forties, dark hair pulled into a messy bun—stepped out. She didn't look at them right away. Instead, she scanned the parking lot like she was making sure no one had followed her.

Then her eyes landed on them.

And Karl swore he saw fear in them.

Lisa didn't waste time. She walked right up, crossed her arms, and said:

"You shouldn't have come."

Karl swallowed. "Then why tell us to?"

Lisa exhaled, then lowered her voice. "Because you wouldn't stop looking. And the last time someone wouldn't stop looking..."

She trailed off, glancing toward the empty lot like she was expecting to see something lurking in the shadows.

Then she looked back at them.

And said:

"Professor Halloway wasn't the first to disappear."