Lori told Eric about her efforts with the reptile skin and she relayed her friend's offer to run the DNA test. He thanked her and agreed that finding out the species of the reptile could help lead to the hacker. Then sat in awkward silence for another few minutes, while Eric wracked his brain trying to figure out what was wrong. They'd gotten along so well, connected so easily the night before and now it was like they were utter strangers. Had he done something to upset her? Was that why she seemed so rigid? He made another stab at conversation.
"So where are you from, originally?"
She accepted the gambit with a ghost of a smile. "I grew up in the Detroit area," she told him quietly. "About an hour and a half from here. I did my undergraduate work here at Southern, then I went to Michiga
