The sound of the telephone ringing jarred the silence of the office and caused Rupert’s pulse to quicken. He had become suspicious of the motives of the telephone and the sound of a knock on the door — they could only bring bad news. He wondered if he would always be like this. What had once been innocuous enough sounds seemed now to be loaded with ill-meaning.
Reluctantly, he picked up the receiver, “Hello.”
“Hello.” The woman’s voice at the other end of the telephone sounded cheery, and not the bearer of bad news. He relaxed a little.
“This is Rupert Brown.”
The caller introduced herself as Athena Nevis.
There was a pause that suggested to Rupert that he should know who she was. She must have heard his hesitation as she continued quickly.
“I’m researching my PhD at this university,
