Chapter 13 #2
Demetrius snorted a laugh.
Dave continued, ignoring him. “If the mummy has awakened, he may be trying to find this Mery. And each person he tracks down who isn’t him, makes him angry.”
“How’s it tracking them down?” Demetrius asked.
Oliver made a face. “It might have something to do with fungal spores that got on all of us.”
“Gross,” Cody muttered, then held his hands up as Dave shot him a glare.
Dave turned to Oliver. “But you were the only one who touched it?”
Cody made a sound like a record scratch. “What the actual fuck?”
“Oh my God.” Oliver put his face in his hands.
Cody let out a yelp and gave Demetrius a wounded look. “Why’d you pinch me?”
“Take a guess,” Demetrius said, then reached across the table to touch Oliver’s forearm. “Hey, come on. Let’s keep talking about this.”
Margie came out of the kitchen and delivered their food. She didn’t linger, as a party of six entered the diner.
Dave ran a hand up and down Oliver’s thigh and leaned in. “I’m sorry. I thought they should know everything.”
“No, you’re right.” Oliver glanced at Cody. “Just trying to avoid triggering the beast.”
“Wait, am I the beast?” Cody grinned. “Gotta say, I don’t mind it.”
The conversation was paused as they all took some bites of their meals. Demetrius was the first one to break the silence.
“To your knowledge, were you the only one who touched the mummy?”
“Not sure. I mean, that night when we opened the coffin, yeah, I think I was the only one who actually touched it. But if someone stole it, they would have touched it as well, although they would have most likely worn gloves.”
“If someone stole it,” Demetrius repeated. “Do you think that’s a possibility?”
Oliver made a face. “No, I don’t.”
Demetrius leafed through Samira’s notebook some more. “She copied a lot of the symbols from the scroll into her notebook, but she didn’t get a chance to translate them.”
“Yeah, I saw that,” Oliver said.
Demetrius grinned. “We know someone who might be able to decipher some more of this.”
“Oh no.” Cody scrubbed his hands over his face. “Please don’t say her name.”
“You’re talking about Clarabell,” Dave said.
“Yeah, of course,” Oliver said. “Do you think she’d take a look?”
Demetrius chuckled. “Are you kidding? You know Clarabell. She lives for stuff like this.”
“Maybe I should make copies of the pages or something?” Oliver reached for the notebook, but pulled his hand back. “I don’t know. I mean, if Samira turns up, she’ll want it back.”
“Clarabell has a scanner,” Demetrius said. “I can have this back to you tomorrow, would that work?”
“Yeah. Okay.”
Dave took Oliver’s hand under the table and squeezed. Oliver returned it as he sat back against the booth, the tension leaving his shoulders.
“This has been really helpful, guys,” Dave said. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, talking this through has helped a lot.”
“We’re here whenever you need to talk.” Demetrius slid the notebook off the table, along with the baggie holding the scrap of material. “Can I have her examine the fabric as well?”
“If you keep feeding her spooky stuff, she’ll never leave town,” Cody grumbled. “It’s how we ended up with a raccoon living in our backyard.”
They all laughed, but Demetrius and Cody quieted as someone at the door caught their attention. Dave checked over his shoulder. Any good feelings he had been having froze inside him.
Lucia approached their table. She wore her sheriff’s uniform, her jaw set and her mouth a thin line.
“Hi, Lucia,” Demetrius said. “Or is it Deputy Durant?”
“We’re just enjoying a good meal and conversation,” Cody said. “You’re not going to ruin that for all of us, are you?”
“This isn’t about you for once, Bower.” Lucia shifted her gaze to Oliver. “Oliver, I’m sorry, but I need you to come to the station with me.”
“What?”
Claws and razor blades spun inside Dave’s chest. Color had drained from Oliver’s face as he looked between Dave and Lucia.
“Why?” Oliver gripped the edge of the table tight. “I didn’t do anything.”
“What’s this about?” Dave remained seated, locking Oliver in place.
“Let’s go down to the station and talk about it without causing a scene.” Lucia had lowered her voice, glancing at the other diners who were openly staring.
“No,” Oliver said. “Not until I know what this is about. Do you have a warrant?”
“I do not have a warrant,” Lucia said. “But Glenmont PD does. When Detective Carter let me know what he was going to do, I offered to bring you in until he can get here. I thought I might be able to break the news a little more gently than him.”
“Your idea of gentle needs work,” Cody said.
The sounds of the diner faded to white noise. His hands had curled into fists. How was this possible?
“What grounds does Detective Carter have for his arrest?” Demetrius asked.
“I’d rather not get into this here. I need Oliver to come to the station with me.”
“I’m not leaving until you explain it,” Oliver stated.
“Lucia…” Demetrius’s tone was calm and even, always the voice of reason. “Please just let us know what evidence they have to be able to get the warrant. Please. You know Oliver really well. You know he’s not a killer.”
With a groan, Lucia pulled a chair from an empty table and sat at the end of the booth. Margie had come out of the kitchen, and she hovered nearby, fingers worrying her silver St. Christopher’s medal.
“I don’t know a lot about what’s going on over there,” Lucia said.
“You don’t want to,” Oliver said.
“But Carter told me there’s been another murder.”
“Oh, shit.” Dave put a hand on Oliver’s leg and squeezed. “Who was it?”
Lucia seemed to be debating with herself. Finally, she leaned in closer, the words just above a whisper. “A woman named Vera.”
“What?” Oliver practically shouted. He shrank in the booth slightly. “I just talked with her yesterday. When? How?”
“I don’t have those details.”
“But Oliver’s been here in town all day,” Dave said. “Working on papers for class.”
“Have you been with him all day?” Lucia asked.
“I…No, not every minute, but most of it.”
“I need to take him down to the station.”
“But they’ll arrest him,” Dave said, shaking his head. “And take him to Glenmont.”
“Retain a lawyer.” Lucia stood up and slid the chair back into place. “And a good one, not Dieter Reid.”
“This can’t be happening.” The words were strained. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Let’s get it all figured out,” Lucia said. “I will do everything I can to make sure Carter knows you’re not a threat.”
Oliver met Dave’s gaze. It broke his heart to see the fear there.
“I’ll find a really good lawyer,” Dave promised. “And I’ll be right behind you.”
“No, go home and start making calls,” Oliver said. “It’ll take a while for them to book me.” He nudged Dave slightly. “Come on. The sooner I go, the sooner we can see about bail and getting me out of there.”
Reluctantly, Dave slid out. When Oliver stood before him, Dave pulled him into a strong hug.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Oliver handed Dave his messenger bag. “I’m going to hang onto my cell phone, just in case.”
“They’ll probably want it as evidence,” Lucia said. “Again, I’m sorry about this.”
“Yeah, I know.” Oliver tried to smile, but it appeared very shaky. “Don’t start those bachelor parties without me.”
“We’ll get you out in no time,” Demetrius said.
Oliver grabbed Dave’s hand, squeezed it tight, then followed Lucia out of the diner. He might as well have been dragging Dave’s heart along behind him on a string.
“What the fuck?” Dave whispered, crushing Oliver’s bag against his chest.
Cody hugged him from behind. “We’ll get him out. Let’s go tell Eileen and Dieter. He’ll know a good criminal lawyer we can retain.”