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He reached down to the backpack on the floor by his chair. He unzipped it and pulled something out, which he laid on the desk. Barbara felt her heart jolt. A gray jacket. North Face. Russet stains all around the neck and front.
“Where did you get that?” she asked.
“I found it hanging on a tree outside my cabin this morning.”
She met Nicholls’s eyes. Now he was paying attention.
“Marcus’s jacket,” he said.
Tucker nodded. “That’s what I thought.”
“How d’you know about Marcus?” Nicholls asked.
“I keep my ear to the ground.”
Nicholls rolled his eyes. “Rita.”
“We exchange the odd message.”
“Any idea who left the jacket?” Barbara asked, eager to keep Tucker on track.
He hesitated. “I didn’t see.”
That wasn’t what Barbara had asked, but she let it slide.
“Any idea why they left it for you?” Nicholls asked.
“I think it’s a message.”
“What sort of message?”
A hesitation, and then Tucker said, “I found something else, inside the pocket.”
He reached into the coat pocket and drew out a small metallic object. He placed it on the desk.
A ring. Silver, inscribed with symbols that Barbara recognized. Vampyric.
She picked the ring up and turned it over in the light. “This is a ‘becoming’ ring.”
“A what?” Nicholls asked.
“It’s given to colony children when they reach puberty. That’s when the aging process begins to slow. The ring is to signify the transition to becoming ‘immortal.’ It’s engraved with their name and the date.”
“And?” Nicholls questioned.
“You read the file on Todd Danes’s murder?” Tucker said.
“Yes.” Gruffly. Defensively.
Tucker glanced at Barbara. She held his gaze. “Todd Danes was having a relationship with a young Colony member, Aaron Berkoff,” she said. “According to Aaron, Todd wanted to be turned so they could be together. They agreed to meet in the woods to perform the turning. But something went wrong, and Todd bled out.”
Tucker nodded. “Aaron made one of these rings to give to Todd, on his turning.” He paused. “We never found it.”
“How can we be sure it’s the same ring?” Nicholls asked.
Barbara showed him the ring, running her finger over the crude engraving.
“See here. This is the name ‘Todd’ in vampyric…and this is the date.” She glanced at Tucker. “You said you thought it was a message?”
