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“Well, maybe this will help. ” He brought Newton up to speed on everything, emphasizing their belief that the whole thing was pretty much over except for Boyd’s missing body.
“Doesn’t feel over,” Newton said.
“That’s ’cause we stepped in it in the last inning. ”
“Still doesn’t feel over. ”
Crow said, “Whether it is or isn’t, we need to know more than we do right now. I hate like hell fumbling around in the dark. Which brings me to my next question. Are you in any condition to help me out with what’s going on?”
“If that means tramping around through graveyards with a Gladstone bag filled with stakes and holy water, then…no, I’m not. On the other hand, if you want me to help with research and that sort of thing, then I’m way ahead of you. Since I left the hospital I’ve been doing nothing but surfing the Net and sending e-mails. I’ve tracked down about twenty people, just in this end of the country, who are considered top experts on…these subjects. ”
“Anything we can use?”
“The one person who seems to be the absolute golden boy of this particular kind of folklore is a guy from U of P, Professor Jonathan Corbiel. Do you remember me telling you yesterday about a website I was at that mentioned you-know-who down in Dark Hollow?”
“Sure. Something about a werewolf trial a couple hundred years ago. ”
“We agreed it was either an ancestor of our boy, or he took the name symbolically. In any case, Corbiel is a real expert on that case. The Peeter Stubbe case. ” He spelled the name. “The more of the case I read the stranger it gets. I’ve forwarded a lot of it to your Yahoo account. ”
“Can we talk to this Corbiel guy?”
“I already sent him an e-mail. Carefully worded. I’m pretending that I’m writing a pop-culture book on the haunted history of Pine Deep and want a folklore expert I can footnote. Haven’t heard back yet, but maybe we can get him to meet us for dinner somewhere. ” He paused. “Somewhere that’s not Pine Deep. ”
“Works for me,” Crow said, “but before you go, there’s more stuff happening around here. ” He told him about the morgue and the missing bodies.
Newton’s voice was a whisper. “Are you sure that Boyd didn’t just get up and walk off?”
“I’m pretty sure. ”
“Pretty sure?” Newton said. “Oh, man…”
He hung up.
Crow made a few more calls, then walked back to Val’s room. She was only dozing and woke as soon as he entered. She turned toward him and offered him a tight smile.
“Get any sleep?” he asked, parking a haunch on the side of the bed.
“In and out. ”
“I’m heading home for a bit. I got to get cleaned up, but I’ll be back here in an hour or two. Will you be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Just…be careful,” she said, glancing at the window. “It’s dark out. ”
“I will. Be back soon. ” He kissed her, and left.
He met Weinstock by the elevator; he was heading home, too. Crow told him about his call to Newton.
“That sounds promising,” Weinstock said.
“It may be past time for getting proactive, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. ”
“No kidding. ” The elevator was nearly to the bottom floor when Weinstock opened his coat and turned his hip so Crow could see the handle of a big pistol snugged into a belt clip. Crow cocked an eyebrow, then the elevator chimed and Weinstock dropped the coat flap.
As they crossed the nearly empty lobby, Crow asked, “You any good with it?”
“I fired a couple of rounds off when I bought it. ”
“Swell. ” They exited the lobby and stepped out into the parking lot. There were still dozens of cars parked in neat rows, their colors muted by the darkness except where sodium vapor lamps spilled down swatches of light.
