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“That’s really sad, Nelson.”
“That’s just my life. But not last night. Last night, I was in a crime scene and I was looking at a corpse and you were there. You were there and…it was weird. And when I woke up, you had a big ram’s skull like the one over our victim’s head tattooed on your stomach and there are antlers on your back.” He snorted hard and shook his head. “I’m not feeling like myself at all, Nox. I don’t know what the hell is going on but I need this case.” Nelson’s knuckles turned white as he rocked back and forth tightly, frustration and impatience swelling from him. “I need it just as much as I need to find those girls.”
“I know!” Nox said quickly, resting his hand on Nelson’s arm. There was a flare of warmth again where they touched and they both paused. “I need to find them, too, and I think we can do it.”
Nelson swallowed hard and nodded. “I believe you, Nox, and I believe you want to find them, but I can’t make sense of you,” he admitted hoarsely. “My gut is screaming that something isn’t right and I can’t help but feel like…” His nostrils flared and his lips tightened into a hard line as he hesitated. “You said that I was asking scary questions.”
“But you’re not!” Nox insisted. “This is the most extraordinary thing I’ve ever encountered in the field as an anthropologist or as a consultant with the FBI.”
Nelson shook his head. “You were nothing like this in the dream.”
Nox gasped. “What was I like?”
“Um…” Nelson winced hard. “You were different.”
An amused chuckle wafted from Nox. “So I gather. In what way?” He prompted.
“Um…” A bright rash crept up from under Nelson’s collar and quickly spread to his face. “You were…naked.” His voice broke and he coughed. “You were wearing a robe but it was open and you were…happy there.”
“Like, I was…” Nox extended his finger and made a suggestive boing! sound, but Nelson shook his head.
“Not at first. It was like everything had been made for you. That’s why it was so weird when I saw all your tattoos. I saw them after I woke up but I recognized them from the dream.”
“No way! How—?” Nox laughed in disbelief. Despite a quick cold shower in a cramped, rust-stained stall, Nox was still turned on. He was mortified and afraid of offending Nelson so he dashed from the bathroom to the bed in the dark and pulled the covers up to his chin.
“I don’t know…” Nelson said as he watched the road, growing distant.
Nox chewed on his lip, waiting for Nelson’s rash to recede so he could test something. He tipped toward Nelson once his complexion had settled. “What did you mean by ‘Not at first’? When did I get randy and how accurate do you think that part of your dream was?”
Nelson shook his head quickly. “No. That part definitely makes me uncomfortable and it’s not relevant to the case.”
“If you say so,” Nox said, smiling as he sat back and opened his file on Elsa Hansen. “Looks like I made a good impression.”
“You were fine.”
“I was better than fine and you know it.” Nox didn’t need all the dirty details. He had a vivid imagination and would have fun with that later. “Elsa Hansen was taken nine days ago. She lives with her sister, Heidi, in Adelphi and they have two cats named Elizabeth and Jane.”
“Austen fans,” Nelson murmured to himself.
“That’s correct. I consider myself one as well.”
“I read Pride and Prejudice.”
“Did you? And did you like it?” Nox didn’t hide his surprise, causing Nelson to frown.
“Yes… It was fine. Most people enjoy it. It’s one of the most popular works of literature of all time.”
Nox contained his swooning sigh and nodded. “It is. I just forget that other men enjoy romance novels as well and that’s on me.”
“They’re fine. I don’t read them often but they’re fine. Where did you say Elsa worked?”
A grim smile curved Nox’s lips. “At an occult bookstore named Bippity Boppity Books.”
“That’s interesting.”
Seven
Nox hadn’t explained the tattoos. He had been more curious as to how Nelson had seen them and what else had occurred in the dream. But Nelson couldn’t help but wonder if some deflection hadn’t been employed as well. As much as Nox acted like he was an open book, it still felt like he was withholding certain chapters and skipping over parts he didn’t want Nelson to read.
