Page 147 of Blood Moon

The five of them left the borrowed office and trooped down the hallway toward the interrogation room. Barker was pacing, and when he saw them, he said, “It’s about damn time.” Then he recognized Crissy and Carla Mellin. He gaped like a fish on dry land. “What… what the hell…?”

“It’s rather obvious, isn’t it, Tom?” John said. “I don’t think you’re going to enjoy your TV debut tonight.”

“He’s not,” Beth said, beaming. She held up her phone so John could see the text. “Richard skipped over Brady and went straight to the top. Two minutes from now, TV audiences will be seeing a rerun of aCrisis Pointepisode, not the one on Crissy.”

He would have liked to celebrate her victory with a hug, but their attention was drawn to the window, where Crissy was talking quietly with Derby. “That’s him,” they heard her say.

“You’re sure?”

“Positive. Can we listen in?”

Derby signaled another deputy to open up a microphone inside the room.

“—really is a phenomenon that shouldn’t be missed. It begins here at ten-fifty-sevenP.M.Totality will be at one-fifty-eightA.M. Surely Derby wouldn’t deny me seeing that. You could escort me up to the roof.”

One of the deputies shifted in his chair. “How’d you lure Molly Bowie into your car, Victor?”

“It’s Professor Wallace,” he said loftily. “I’m going to file a formal complaint against this department over your maltreatment of me.”

Crissy said, “His voice is exactly as I remember. Can I go in?”

“Honey,” Carla said, “I don’t think—”

“I want to confront him, Mom. He had all the power before. Not anymore.”

Without further discussion, Derby reached around her and opened the door. “Victor, there’s someone here to see you.”

Crissy walked into the room.

The professor stared at her with disbelief and dismay, and then with fury. He stood up, his placid features becoming congested with malice. “You. You ruined it!” It was a high-pitched scream more than a shout. “Because of you, they wouldn’t let me into the inner sanctum! I, a professor. I who is more intelligent than the rest of them put together. I who wrote the book on it!”

He continued the rant long after Crissy had calmly turned her back on him and walked out, leaving him in the charge of his interrogators who had to physically restrain him.

Chapter 39

The professor’s outburst amounted to an admission of guilt, although unintentional. Crissy made arrangements with Derby to return in the morning to provide an official statement; then they were released to go.

Barker put up a monumental protest over John’s freedom to simply walk out. His tirade turned nasty when he got in Derby’s face and asked just what kind of operation he was running here.

“I’m glad you asked,” Derby calmly replied. “This operation investigates homicides that take place in the parish. Since you were one of the last people to see the ogre alive, I was going to bring you in for questioning. Thanks for saving me the trouble. This way, Tom,” he said, smiling as he and another deputy led him, sputtering invectives, into an interrogation room.

John had the satisfaction of witnessing that scene; then he and Beth left to drive Crissy and Carla home. On the way, the latter said little. Her aspect remained defensive.

As they got out of the car, Crissy thanked Beth for therole she’d played in identifying Victor Wallace. “If it weren’t for you…” She choked up and couldn’t finish.

“I’m just glad you’ve been liberated,” Beth said. “At long last.”

She hung back while John walked the two women to their front door, where Crissy bade him good night and apologized again for bringing so much hardship on him. He said, “I’m grateful you’re alive. That’s what matters most.” She smiled at him shyly before slipping inside.

He was left on the porch with Carla, whom he faced squarely. “I have something for you.” He reached into his jacket pocket and took out the thumb drive, which he’d removed earlier from its secret holder in his boot.

He took her hand, laid it in her palm, and closed her fingers around it. “If you ever doubt how much I anguished over Crissy, Billy, Gracie, read through all that. It represents over three years of my life.”

She pulled her hand from his. “Let me ask you something, Detective Bowie. Fearing for your daughter’s life—”

“I was. Last night at this time.”

“You were fortunate enough to catch that degenerate in time. I wasn’t. We didn’t know who he was or when he might reappear. In my position, how far would you have gone to protect your daughter?”