At First Light(Dr. Evan Wilding #1)(34)

So Evan is still officially part of this investigation. She allowed herself a small smile.

“He just arrived, sir,” she said as Evan appeared in the doorway, accompanied by a uniformed escort and sporting a plastic guest badge clipped to his woolen blazer.

Evan had cleaned up since their trip to the pond in Kendall County. When he could be bothered, Addie thought, he always cleaned up well. He’d shed his jeans and hoodie for a light-gray suit and black tie, combed the mop he proudly called a decent head of hair, and even trimmed his beard. He nodded to the others in the room and made his way to the chair next to Addie’s—she’d already ratcheted up the seat. Evan set his satchel on the floor and scooted into the chair.

“Glad you could drop by, Dr. Wilding,” Criver said.

“Sorry I’m late,” Evan replied. “Please go on.”

Criver tipped back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “Let’s get started, Detectives McBrady and Bisset. What have you got?”

Patrick opened with a description of the Talfour crime scene and a summary of what he and the other detectives had learned about Talfour that day. The man had moved to Chicago six years earlier, relocating his business, a brick-and-mortar store called Finer Things, from Savannah to the Magnificent Mile. The business, specializing in high-end jewelry, furs, and a few objets d’art—Patrick pronounced it “ob-jets dart”—was successful. No outstanding debt, no suggestion of questionable activity. Talfour paid his taxes, was well-liked by his employees, his neighbors, and his only family, an older sister, who appeared devastated by his death. His car, a black 2016 BMW sedan, was parked in the underground garage of his building.

He then went over the assault on Talfour from six months earlier.

“None of the attackers have been identified from that CCTV video,” he said. “Based on the language used by his attackers, the mugging appears to be at least partly racially motivated, although Talfour was robbed of his wallet and watch. In the weeks leading up to the incident, his shop was spray-painted with racial slurs. Again, no arrests. In your folder, you’ll find photos of the graffiti on his shop and several stills from the assault.”

A rustling of paper filled the room.

“James Talfour was active in the community,” Patrick continued. “On the board of the local chapter of a national children’s charity and an occasional Big Brother. He also served on several additional boards, including his homeowners’ association and an animal rights organization.”

“The guy sells furs in his store and supports an animal rights group?” one of the evidence techs asked.

Patrick leaned back in his chair and lobbed his empty coffee cup in the trash can. “Go figure. He also donated generously to several police fundraising drives while marching in antipolice protests. A Google search popped up a picture of him on a website for a group that opposes the quote-unquote prison-industrial complex.”

“Several points of entry for the investigation, then,” Criver said, thumbing through the papers in the folder. “Did anyone look at footage from Talfour’s store from before the assault?”

“He didn’t install cameras until after the assault.”

Criver’s expression showed what he thought of that. Addie couldn’t disagree. Nothing like closing the stable door after the horses have fled.

“Okay,” Criver said. “Good work on this piece. And now I understand we have a second potential victim?”

Addie stood, smoothed her blazer, and went to the board. “We received a call this morning from a Kendall County sheriff’s deputy who saw our report and believed he might have a similar case. Scott Desser was murdered approximately twelve weeks ago, although his body wasn’t discovered until four weeks ago.”

She launched into a description of Desser’s death, emphasizing the points she’d written on the board—all the things the two murders had in common.

“And we have runes,” she added. A murmur ran around the room.

“The sheriff’s report didn’t indicate the presence of any runes near the body,” she said. “But after I read the initial report, Patrick and I agreed it was worth investigating. Given the length of time between Desser’s death and when his body was found, any runic inscriptions present at the time of death could have been scattered. Dr. Wilding and I searched the nearby area and found an animal bone etched with runes.”

Another murmur went around the room. Someone whispered, “Serial killer.”

“Let’s not get hasty,” Criver said.

Addie explained how the deer bone had led them to a teenager named Tommy Snow, who’d turned over three additional bones. All the bones were carved with runes similar to those found near Talfour’s body.

“In the packets on the table, you’ll find photographs of the bones and the runes,” she said. “It’s possible that Snow has the remaining bones. The Kendall County sheriff has requested a search warrant for his home and workshop. We’ll also look into someone Tommy Snow refers to as Mr. X. Snow claims he was hunting bones for this person.”

Criver looked at Patrick. “Does Snow’s possession of the bones make him a suspect in your opinion?”

Patrick kept his gaze on Addie.

“He’s definitely a person of interest,” Addie went on, swallowing her frown. “He’s antisocial, obsessed with biology and anatomy. And smart.”