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It wasn’t long before Felton arrived, ready to brief the assembled officials and investigators on the FBI’s rapid and intense investigation into the disappearances of the six girls and the killing of Elsa Hansen. He was proud of the special team he had assembled to lead an elite task force and had no doubt that all those responsible would be found and brought to justice.
And Clancy came. He had raced to Adelphi when he received word from both the FBI and the university that Nox had been on the scene of a shooting and had recovered six missing girls from the Edgewood Cemetery.
“I’m alright!” Nox promised when Clancy pulled him into a tight embrace.
“Alright? They said you were involved in a shooting!” Clancy leaned back, his eyes glittering as he searched Nox’s face and chest to make sure he wasn’t hurt. “I can’t believe you found them. This is…unbelievable, Nox.”
“Nah. It wasn’t me.” Nox waved dismissively. “It was mostly Nelson. He was onto the MacCrorys from the beginning and he’s the one that figured out that Elsa never left the bookshop. I would have been on one of those stretchers if Nelson hadn’t kept me safe and hadn’t been faster than Brian MacCrory in there,” he said, turning and laughing at the cottage in disbelief. “He was brilliant and we would have gotten here sooner if Felton and the New Castle sheriff hadn’t gotten in the way.”
“But you saw the pattern and connected those missing girls days before the police and the FBI would have. It would have taken them weeks to put all the pieces together and it would have been too late by then.”
“Oh, that was Merlin,” Nox said, making Clancy roll his eyes.
“I guess he does have his uses.”
Nox sighed, not in the mood for whatever bee Clancy had in his bonnet about Merlin this time. “What are you talking about? He’s always useful.”
Clancy groaned wearily. “Speak of the little devil and he appears,” he said with a sneer, pointing over Nox’s shoulder.
He turned and grinned. “He also comes if you summon him with your phone. I sent him a text.”
“You did it!” Merlin’s emerald green cape billowed around him as he ran to Nox. “I am so relieved and so proud of you, my lad!” Merlin’s arms wound around Nox’s waist and he disregarded Clancy.
“I was just telling Clance that I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Merlin’s nose tipped back. “Careful. He might think I’m good for something other than slandering.”
“Come on, you two.” Nox rubbed his temples to alleviate the pounding ache in his head. “I’m so tired and you know I hate it when you fight.” He looked over to the cluster of FBI techs gathered around Nelson. He was giving them lists of items he wanted collected from the different rooms and answering questions about where they had been and what they had touched. But Nelson’s head hung as he listened and nodded and Nox could tell by the way he had widened his stance and was hugging his chest that he was barely hanging on. “I’d like to go home now,” Nox announced loudly. “I’ll check in with you tomorrow, Clance,” he said before giving Merlin’s head an affectionate rub. “I’m sure I’ll see you shortly.” He left them and repeated his demand that Nelson take him home immediately.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” a veteran agent had confided to another agent as Nox passed them on his way to the car. He prayed to all the gods that they never would again as he fell into the Continental and slammed his door shut.
“I hope you have more of that salted moonwater,” Nelson said as he started the engine.
Nox leaned so he could check the sky and smiled. “We’ve got plenty. Merlin puts out gallons of spring water every full moon, but I’ll have him put out a few extra tomorrow night,” he said, making Nelson nod.
“That’s right. Tomorrow is the full moon and there was supposed to be a ceremony. I think that might be canceled.”
“There’s some good news,” Nox said, folding his arms over his chest. “We ruined their garbage summoning ritual tomorrow night.”
“We did.” Nelson used two fingers to guide the wheel as they passed the cemetery’s long lawn. It was more peaceful now, as if the resting spirits were glad that the girls had been found and the evil deeds there had ended. “Julian is in the wind. Brian MacCrory must have told him we weren’t on the way to the bookstore.”
“He won’t get far,” Nox said with a cheeky grin. “He’s driving a purple van and it’s covered in occult symbols.”
Nelson tilted his head, his lips quirking slightly. “I’ve always wanted to put out an APB. But I never imagined I’d have to include the words ‘Bippity Boppity Books’ when I was writing it up.”
Their weak huffs of amusement faded into the steady rumble of the engine as Nelson turned them back toward Georgetown. “Have you ever shot anyone before?” Nox asked and Nelson shook his head.
“I’ve never fired my weapon anywhere other than a range and at a target.”
“I’m so sorry,” Nox said as he slid across the bench seat and rested his head on Nelson’s shoulder.
“I was really sick about it after it happened,” Nelson said after a long pause. He snorted and shook his head, then carefully settled an arm around Nox. “Then, I saw all the snakes and those girls hanging from the wall like empty, dripping sacks. MacCrory won’t be what haunts me when I close my eyes at night.”
“I’ll see what I can do about that.”
Nineteen
There was no telling what he meant by that, but Nelson had gladly submitted what was left of his will and consciousness when they returned to Nox’s place. He trudged up the stairs and stripped out of his suit and shoes in the bathroom, telling Nox to burn everything. The smell of the basement was still there after Nox got rid of them, though, and Nelson feared it had seeped into his pores.
