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“Hair!” Nox announced, then cleared his throat as he recovered. “I mean, there you are. We were hoping to have a word,” he added with a wide smile.
Julian pushed his round-framed glasses up his nose, looking flustered but happy to see them as he held out his hand. “What can I do to help?” He asked Nox as they shook hands and Howard made the introductions.
“We have some follow-up questions. And we were hoping that the two of you might have noticed something or remembered something since you last talked to the police,” Nox said.
“Follow-up questions?” Julian asked, frowning and sweeping a hand through his locks. “It’s been over a week! Haven’t you found something?”
“I understand your frustration,” Nelson said as he stepped forward. “The professor and I weren’t given this case until yesterday afternoon and we’re doing our best to get caught up as quickly as we can.” He pulled out his wallet and showed Julian his badge, not wanting Nox to take the blame. “The scope and nature of this case has changed dramatically.” It was highly unusual to have so many abductions happening in such rapid succession and in most cases and even with databases like NamUs, it would have taken weeks for the various jurisdictions to connect them and coordinate.
“Okay…” Julian seemed reasonably frustrated as he hugged his chest. “I’ve told the police everything I could remember about the last day she was here. I think I’ve obsessed about every minute of that day but nothing stands out.”
Howard sighed heavily. “It was such a normal day,” he murmured. “I still can’t understand how something so terrible could happen right out of the blue in the midst of such a normal day.”
“What about the days before or after,” Nelson said as he turned and scanned the shop around them.
The walls and the shelves were painted black and the light fixtures were wrought iron, but it wasn’t a gloomy space. Even with the skulls and spiders. The lovingly displayed books, crystals, candles, and jars were well-lit and there were opened books on the end tables. The plump pillows on the sofa and a small chalkboard on an easel next to an urn of cucumber water invited patrons to sit for a spell and a rack of incense sticks added an earthy, mysterious scent.
“Was there anyone Elsa was worried about?” Nox asked Howard and Julian. “Anyone you caught a weird vibe from?”
“No…” Howard said and Julian shook his head.
“We don’t get as many men in here and if we do, they’re either older or they’re pretty dedicated and don’t like to browse. They know exactly what they’re looking for or they’re picking up an order.”
Nelson tapped his notepad thoughtfully. “What about online? Anyone bothering her on social media?”
“Not Elsa,” Howard said with a firm shake of his head. “She was a smart, lovely, outgoing girl and she had lots of friends online. But she was a good girl. She didn’t do drugs and she volunteered for several causes. I’ve known her since she was a child and she’s always been so responsible and loving. She wouldn’t do this to Heidi.”
“We know,” Nox said sincerely, then turned to Julian. “You watched her walk to her car?”
“We always do,” Howard offered before Julian could answer.
“Dad’s always made sure one of us watched her get to her car,” Julian confirmed as he grimaced at his feet. “I should have watched until she drove off, though.”
“The kidnapper probably would have followed her and taken her at home,” Nelson said while mentally inventorying the number of streetlights in the area and the position of her car on the street. “Does she always park that far up the street and by the alley?”
“I told her not to park there!” Julian said, groaning and fidgeting with a tassel of hair. “She went to grab us lunch and when she got back, all the spots close to the store had been taken. They always are. We meant to move it once things slowed down, but the weather was so gross and we had a new shipment of tarot decks come in the night before. We got a little too excited about them and lost track of the time setting that up.” He pointed at the table with the tarot display.
“It’s my only complaint about my employees,” Howard said with a fond chuckle. “They get a little too carried away, but they have turned this place into a witchy paradise.”
“I love it,” Nox stated and raised a brow at Nelson.
“It’s fine,” he confirmed.
“Do you think you can find her?” Julian asked abruptly and neither Nelson nor Nox hesitated to nod. “Alive,” he specified.
“I can’t promise that,” Nox said softly, his eyes shimmering as they held Julian’s. “We’re doing everything we can, but my hands were tied before and Agent Nelson just found out about Elsa yesterday evening. We won’t give up until we find her and bring her home. We just have to prepare ourselves for the fact that it might be too late to bring her home alive.”
Both Howard and Julian nodded. “Thank you for being honest and for being here now,” the younger man said, supporting his father as he began to cry.
“I’m so sorry for everything you’ve been through.” Nox took hold of Howard’s hands again. “I am planning for the worst and hoping for the best until we find her.”
Nelson nodded. “I think that’s the best course. You said you watched her get to her car, Julian, but you didn’t watch her leave. Did you see anyone lingering outside or any cars parked close to hers at the time?”
Julian shook his head. “No one was hovering. It was raining and it was cold. She ran to her car and got inside, but she didn’t start it. I remember waiting and rolling my eyes because she was on her phone. Probably catching up with her notifications. We got a call in here and I ran to get it.” He pointed at the old rotary phone on the desk, earning another sigh from Howard.
“You’ve finally convinced me to get a cordless phone,” he said and Julian whispered a thank you. Howard shrugged. “Had my evening cup of tea and nodded off while Julian minded the register and answered calls.”
“It was a while before I got off the phone,” Julian said. “Some guy wanted a mushroom guide that I couldn’t find. I glanced at the windows when I was locking up, but it was dark and pouring out. When it was time to close, I woke Dad and had to help him into the car. We go out the back through the office,” Julian said, hitching a thumb over his shoulder. “And we head in the opposite direction so I can drop Dad off at his place. I didn’t realize anything was wrong until I spotted her car the next morning and went to take a look.”
