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Per the attorney general and the director of the bureau, Nelson and MacIlwraith had been given carte blanche to investigate anything connected to the murder and the abductions. There was enough evidence to tie ol’ Colin MacCrory to what the press had dubbed the “Moon Murders,” but his health and sanity had suddenly and conveniently deteriorated. For the moment, they couldn’t prove Ma MacCrory's involvement and she was holed up in the compound outside of New Castle. She had claimed she was too afraid and too ignorant to understand what her men were up to.
None of that sat well with Nelson or Nox, but they had yet to find anything that tied her or anyone else to the cult. Julian Sherwood had recently come to his senses and had requested an interview, but Nelson was on his way to brief Felton and possibly stall for a little more time.
Julian was ready to cooperate, stipulating that he would only speak to authorities if Nox was present. Nelson hadn’t told Nox yet. He didn’t like how dogged Nox had become in regard to the MacCrorys and seeking out the other members of the new cult. After analyzing every word of the victims’ statements and all the evidence from Julian’s house, the occult shop’s van, the MacCrorys’ property, and the crime scenes in the forest outside of New Castle, Nox was convinced there were closer to half a dozen people involved. If not more.
He was also convinced that neither Brian nor Colin was the leader Julian had hinted at in their last meeting. Much of Nox’s focus was on seeking the puppet master out when he wasn’t with his students, but so far their efforts had yielded few new leads. Even with Merlin’s help.
Nelson’s gut twinged, he didn’t like the thought of Nox facing Julian again. Nox changed—in startling ways at times—when the topic of Julian and Elsa Hansen came up. Not that Nelson didn’t share his desire to see Julian atone and cooperate, but Nox was bent on their next confrontation.
The case had ways of bringing out strange moods in Nox and taking him to Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, to interview Julian, felt just as risky as going back to New Castle. Their last trip to the isolated Appalachian town nearly ended with Ma blowing them off the front porch with a shotgun. After that, Nelson vowed they would not return to New Castle unless it was absolutely necessary.
Nelson suspected that Felton had gotten wind of Julian’s request and wanted them to act. Felton hadn’t accepted his superiors’ directive with complete grace, but he was happy to take credit whenever he could. And he was never short on opinions about how Nelson was handling the investigation.
“Get in here,” Felton growled when he heard his assistant greet Nelson. “You didn’t bring him,” he observed, glaring behind Nelson before swinging the door shut.
“Professor MacIlwraith is in lectures all morning,” Nelson said as he unbuttoned his coat and took a seat.
“What happened to him taking leave? I told you to make this his priority. He’s got more important things to do than grade papers and give bullshit lectures.”
Make this his priority?
Nelson boggled at the thought of making Nox do anything as he opened his coat and pulled his notepad from the chest pocket. He snapped it open and was prepared to write.
“Certainly. If you could just give me an idea of how long you expect this investigation to last and what date the professor can tell the school and his students to expect his return,” he said, then cocked a brow expectantly. “His assistants grade most of the papers as far as I can tell, but I can assure you that this investigation is the professor’s first priority,” Nelson continued, holding Felton’s withering gaze. “And we’ve had no trouble balancing the professor’s responsibilities to the university with the many demands this investigation has already put on him.”
They stared each other down for several moments. Felton’s tongue drilled into the side of his cheek before he let out a dubious snort. “Why haven’t the two of you taken another shot at Sherwood? He’s ready to talk and he’s asking for the sketchy professor.”
“Don’t call him that,” Nelson warned flatly, earning a wheezing laugh.
“Calm down, lover boy.”
There wasn’t a word for the connection and commitment Nelson shared with Nox. They had skipped past dating and had agreed that a typical, heteronormative marriage in a church or at a courthouse was both inadequate and unnecessary. It didn’t matter to Nelson. All he knew was that he belonged with and to Nox—forever—and he didn’t need Felton’s opinion or input.
“That’s none of your business and isn’t against bureau regulations unless I’m misinformed.”
“Why hasn’t he talked to Sherwood?” Felton repeated.
Nelson shrugged nonchalantly. “We’re going to. The professor doesn’t want Sherwood to think he’s calling the shots and I have an obligation to do what’s in the best interest of the professor’s safety,” he added. The first part was a lie because Nox didn’t know that Julian had changed his tune. “Sherwood has made threats against the professor in the past, so I have to question his intentions now. I think it’s prudent to proceed cautiously there.”
“You have an obligation to solve this fucking case before it turns into a quagmire, Nelson,” Felton yelled, rising out of his seat. He swiped a report off his desk and flung it at Nelson, the stapled sheets flapping and spinning toward him. Nelson caught it against his chest, frowning cluelessly at Felton and earning a hard laugh. “You’ve got a dead witness down in New Castle to take a look at.”
“A dead witness?” Nelson flipped to find the first page and a name.
“A sheriff’s deputy went by to do a wellness check and found Lonnie MacCrory early this morning.”
“Ma MacCrory’s dead?” Nelson scanned the report but there were few details. The pastor had called it in because she had missed church on Sunday and wasn’t answering her phone.
“Just talked to the ME out of Roanoke. He’s on his way to New Castle and is hoping you and the professor will grace them with your presence,” Felton said, as sweetly as his rasping tone would allow and batted his eyelashes at Nelson. “Perhaps you’ll be able to convince MacIlwraith to swing by Perkins and talk to Sherwood afterward, seeing as he’s your only real lead at the moment. Unless the two of you want to break the bad news to Colin MacCrory and see if he feels like talking? He’s a big fan of yours,” he added, slapping his desk as he howled with laughter.
For a moment, Nelson considered handing over his weapon and his badge. Every instinct he possessed screamed that going back to New Castle was a terrible idea and just wasn’t good for Nox. And Nelson never wanted to lay eyes on the godforsaken place again. Then, Nelson remembered his promise to Elsa Hansen’s sister, Heidi. And he’d made promises to Sharon and Mila Cleary, and the other missing girls.
“We’ll get down to New Castle and then we’ll talk to Sherwood.”
“I thought so. The honeymoon’s over, Nelson. Time for the two of you to get back to work.”
Two
“Can anyone guess the purpose behind this footprint?” Nox asked as he stood back, giving his students time to study the picture of a paving stone on a street in Pompeii. He looked around, receiving only vacant, curious stares. Nox grinned as he clicked the button on the projector’s remote and advanced to the next slide, revealing another footprint just at the threshold of a door. “Right this way! Meet the loveliest ladies in the quarter,” he said, then clicked through to his favorite fresco from the brothel.
