At First Light(Dr. Evan Wilding #1)(20)

“Ragnar?k. In reference to the Viking apocalypse, I presume.” He thought of the blade that had sliced the breast of the pigeon in the park. “Do you get a lot of would-be Vikings hanging out there?”

“Thick as fleas. Some of them belong to Viking reenactment groups like members of the Vikings Vinland Society. And there are practitioners of ásatrú at the lanes, too.”

“ásatrú. Faith in the old gods.” He stared at the runes on the chalkboard. “Germanic neo-pagans.”

“They call themselves heathens. But yes. And they’re fine folks. Worried about the earth and trying to live good lives. At least, that’s most of them. There’s a far-right fringe who claim to be ásatrú but who are nothing more than racists who admire the Vikings because they think they represent a pure white race. Their whole shtick is white supremacy prettied up as genetic purity. Come to think of it, there’s quite a few of them at the lanes. Maybe the fine folks are fewer and farther between than I thought.”

James Talfour, Evan thought. A Black man with a noose around his neck.

He narrowed his eyes at his assistant. “You rub elbows with these people?”

“I know.” Diana gave a small shudder. “Sometimes you have to run with the dogs. The lunatic fringe aren’t the sharpest knives in the Viking drawer, but when I’m in the mood, I enjoy handing their shit right back to them. European paganism was part of my undergraduate study, if you’ll recall. Before I got detoured to the pre-Hispanic cultures of South America.”

“Ah yes. Didn’t you spend a summer in Denmark working Viking burials?”

“Actually, Southern England. And it was Roman burials. Very close, Professor. On almost zero counts.” The corners of her mouth curled up. “The work was all right, even if I didn’t get to rub elbows with anyone as drop-dead gorgeous as your brother. If I had, I might not have switched tracks.”

Evan didn’t want to burst her bubble by telling her that River and monogamy were like the proverbial oil and water. Constantly brushing up against each other and having a good sit-down. But never truly mixing.

Then again, Diana didn’t strike him as a woman who wanted anything more than a bit of fun on the side. Like Evan and River, she was married to her work.

“Anyway,” she went on. “If your killer likes runes, you should give Ragnar?k a look-see. I have a lane booked for this evening. Why don’t you descend from your castle and check it out? Lots of rune tattoos, now that I think about it. Medieval interlace, too, along with Valknuts and images of Thor’s hammer. Maybe you’ll find your killer there, shaving heads and carving mysterious messages in the walls.”

Evan gave her a look of surprise. “A dwarf walks into an ax-throwing competition and asks if anyone is a killer. How could I refuse such a kind invitation? I’ve always felt a burning desire to be a punch line.”

“Don’t Vikings love dwarfs?”

“If memory serves, the Prose Edda refers to dwarfs as maggots festering in the flesh of the primordial being Ymir. Also sexual predators who hunger to bed goddesses.”

“Oh. Sorry.” She looked disappointed, then brightened. “You should check it out anyway. I’ll be your bodyguard.”

He made a noncommittal grunt. “Let’s back up to that comment about me coming down from my castle. What are you implying?”

It was her turn to blush. “You’re a man of the people, Evan. I didn’t mean it that way. Just that maybe you should live a little. You know, get out once in a while.”

“I get out.”

“With your hawk.”

“Ginny is good company. Better than most humans.”

She let his words hang in the air. He glared at her.

The moment ended with Evan’s phone blaring “I Am Woman.” It was his ringtone for Addie.

He answered with, “I’m still working on it.”

“You haven’t translated the runes yet?”

“Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

Her sigh came over the phone. “Anyway, I’m downstairs in the lobby. I’m also kind of double-parked behind your fancy sports car.”

“I wouldn’t advise that. Campus police are notorious.”

“I won’t be there long. I need you to go on a little drive with me, Evan. We’ve got another murder.”





CHAPTER 9


Evan broke into a half run to keep up as Addie strode toward the parking lot.

“This victim is already dead, right?” he panted.

“That’s usually when I get involved,” she said.

“Then slow down a bit. Or you’ll have a third body on your hands.”

“Sorry.” She drew in a breath and slowed her pace. “The body was reported to the Kendall County Sheriff’s Department a month ago. By then, the victim had already been in the field for an estimated eight weeks. Not much more than bones by the time they got on the scene.”

“And now it’s on your desk?” he asked. “The case, not the bones, presumably. What’s the link?”

“A deputy noticed some similarities and phoned.” She pulled a file folder from her immense handbag and handed it over. “Here are a few photos from the scene. Scott Desser was found naked, his decomposed body still curled on its side. There was a noose around his neck. Autopsy report indicates cut marks on the anterior aspects of cervical vertebrae.”