Beyond the Veil: The Hudson Valley University

Situated well outside the urban zone of Manhattan, with sweeping views of the distant Hudson River, the Hudson Valley University is a prestigious institution that serves as the starting point for the search for Elizabeth Van den Berg in Beyond the Veil. The mayor's daughter mysteriously disappeared while on a university research expedition in the Adirondacks. Well hidden from prying eyes behind high walls, this place of learning has a distinct sense of being removed from the outside world, and is an enclave reserved only for the academic elite, and privileged few.

With Halloween night approaching, major celebrations are planned on campus, as it coincides with the university marking its 200th year since it was founded. Not everything is picture perfect on campus though. An unsettling electricity hangs in the air, as students clamor to attend their classes, despite some of the lecture halls remaining out of bounds due to recent disturbing events. Are they just the result of a Halloween prank by the students, or is there something sinister inside this walled Garden of Eden?

Within the labyrinthine corridors of the humanities faculty, is Professor Ward's humble office, strewn with academic papers and piles of student dissertations. The professor is one of the few leads that Detective Ryan has to kickstart the investigation. Professor Ward is deeply troubled by the disappearance of the mayor's daughter, and it weighs heavily on his slender academic shoulders. However, he is anxious that Detective Ryan should have all the available information in order to be able to track down his missing student, and holds out a glimmer of hope that the detective will prove successful, and they can have the whole sorry, and rather embarrassing saga behind them.

The Hudson Valley University is the initial focal point for Detective Ryan in Beyond the Veil, before heading upstate into the unfamiliar terrain of the Adirondack region in their search to bring the missing student home. Detective Ryan has a disquieting feeling that the tranquility within this green oasis is the calm before the storm, and is nagged by growing doubt that this might prove to be a case file that he will not be able to resolve, at least not in the way he would want to . . .