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“No one’s getting out of here anytime soon, either,” Tucker said.
Barbara rubbed at her eyes. “And I’ve just shut down the only place in town to get a beer.”
“You sure know how to win friends and influence people.”
She gave him a look. “You think Carly and Hal were telling the truth about not knowing about the heads?”
“Nope. In fact, I think if we request copies of their bank statements, we’ll probably find some interesting payments going in from Doc Dalton.”
“I’ll put a warrant for bank statements on my list.” She scribbled it down.
“What about our mystery tattooist? Could they be the Doc’s accomplice?” Tucker said.
He had told her about his chat with Jess Garrett. Seemed Jess was more forthcoming with Tucker than with Barbara, which made her wonder if there was some history there.
“It’s a possibility,” she said. “The question is, who is it?”
“Nathan has tattoos,” Tucker said. “Plus, Jacob was running blood for the Doc.”
There was definitely something going on with Nathan Bell, but Barbara wasn’t sure that was it.
“I keep coming back to Kurt Mowlam,” she said. “He was arguing with Dalton the night the Doc was killed, and we still haven’t checked his house out.” She tapped her pen against her chin. “We’ll talk to both of them again.” She made another note then glanced at Tucker. “What do you think about the attack on the church?”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t make any sense to me. Why would Athelinda want to provoke the town when emotions are running so high? She’s smarter than that.”
He was right. It didn’t make sense. Unless provoking the town was the point.
“Perhaps she wants to push folk into going after the Colony.”
“Why?”
“Because if the Colony are attacked, they have a legal right to defend themselves. There was a case in Maine a couple of years back. Half a dozen men tried to set fire to a colony settlement. Two were killed. Authorization for a cull got turned down because the men had entered a protected settlement illegally with intent to harm.”
Tucker looked at her. “And right now the town can’t call for back-up. If anyone went in there…it would be a goddamn slaughter.”
Barbara’s phone buzzed on the desk. She picked it up and glanced at the caller. Nicholls.
“I’d better take this.” She pressed answer. “Hello, sir.”
“Atkins. How’s it going?”
She was struck by the difference between his clipped, efficient tones and Tucker’s slow drawl.
“We’re making progress, sir. How are you?”
“Bored. I hear you shut down the Grill.”
Carly must have been on the phone pretty fast.
“That’s right, sir. I found vampyr artifacts being stored in the freezer. It’s a crime scene.”
A heavy sigh. “Can’t you find somewhere else to keep the evidence?”
“Well, that’s my intention.”
“Good. And maybe use the meeting this morning to try and make some peace with people. With the attack on the church, they’re going to be scared and angry.”
He knew about the attack, and the meeting too. Rita, she thought.
