Page 12 of Dead Air (Moon Murder Mysteries)

“Buck knew a guy!” Al whimpered up at Cenn, blocking his face with his bound hands. “He told him how to get into the park and where there were lots of bears. He said there might be one ranger over here but that he’d be easy to deal with.”

“This ‘guy’s’ name. What was it?” Cenn asked in a low growl, daring Al to lie to him.

“I don’t know, I swear! Please don’t come inside me again,” he cried out and a laugh burst from Cenn as he dropped him.

“I’m pretty sure I’d remember that! ” He straightened and flashed Niall a wide-eyed look, shaking his head.

“I know it was him!” Al looked at Niall, panicked and pleading. “You have to believe me. I would never shoot Buck. I loved him like a son.”

Niall made a weary sound. His mortality was beginning to catch up with him as the adrenaline and rage started to wear off.

Cenn could feel that Niall was shaken and horrified by what he had witnessed and how close he had come to being shot.

“It was a very tense situation and we’re all confused.

But I think it would be better if you remained silent.

And the less I have to testify to, the better. ”

Help arrived an hour later. Two deputies from the local sheriff’s department and Agent Shelby competently taped off the area around the body and removed the dead bear from the creek. Al had been questioned and Shelby appeared perplexed and understandably uncomfortable as he approached Cenn.

“Dr. Curn, it’s unfortunate to finally meet you under these circumstances,” he said, grimacing as he read the notes on his phone.

“I’m not sure how, but I have to ask…” He coughed and scrubbed one of his brows.

“Did you…come inside Mr. Wallace’s…body in any manner?

” he eventually managed, offering Cenn a pained look.

Cenn blinked at Shelby for a moment, then canted toward him. “Is that Mr. Wallace? I didn’t get his last name before he blew his friend’s head off,” he explained as he pointed at Al. There was a quick nod from Shelby.

“Mr. Albert Wallace of Luray,” he said, making Cenn frown as he shook his head.

“I’ve never seen that man before he murdered his friend. He’s not really my type either,” he added and Shelby’s gaze followed Cenn’s as he appreciated Niall’s ass in his cargo pants. He was crouched next to the bear, petting its fur and offering them a tempting view of his full, firm backside.

“I see… So you’re with Georgetown?” Shelby confirmed. “How’s your research going?” He was suspicious but he hadn’t called yet, not wanting to look like a jealous stalker if he was wrong and a Dr. Curn had been dispatched to the park to study the salamanders.

“Great! Niall’s been a godsend and I wouldn’t have hesitated to come if I had known I’d have such a charming assistant,” he said, then grinned conspiratorially at Shelby. “Or that he’d be so cute.”

“Right.” Shelby coughed as he tapped out notes on his phone. “I might need to follow up with you later. What’s a good number to reach you at? Preferably during the day.”

“Let me give you my card.” Cenn didn’t hesitate to pull out his wallet, allowing Shelby to see the fake driver’s license and school faculty ID as he flipped through and found his business cards.

There was a curse on the number and Shelby would believe he had talked to Dr. Curn’s assistant and that she had confirmed that Dr. Curn was conducting a study in Shenandoah for the next few months. “My personal number is on the back.”

“Thanks,” Shelby said, sliding it into a pocket on his vest. He was still suspicious but he was more concerned with what was going on between Cenn and Niall than the dead poacher.

There was no logical reason to doubt Niall or Cenn and Al was only making himself seem more unstable by insisting that Dr. Curn “came inside him” right before he made Al shoot Buck.

“Is there anything else you can think of that might explain this?” Shelby asked but Cenn shook his head quickly.

“Our gear and my notes are still where we left them, when we heard the gunshot and Niall took off like the Devil was after him. I could barely keep up and I was almost too late. In fact…” He turned and stared in the direction of the creek.

Shelby gave Cenn’s arm a tap with his phone. “What?”

“I wonder if…” Cenn paused again for dramatic effect. “If I caused Mr. Wilton to shoot the wrong man when I interrupted them. He said they were only expecting one ranger and that he wouldn’t give them any trouble. What if he panicked because they weren’t expecting another witness?”

“It’s Wallace, not Wilton. But that does make more sense than…

whatever he’s raving about,” Shelby said, giving his head a baffled shake.

He believed “Dr. Curn” but Shelby sure as hell didn’t like or trust him.

Oddly enough, Shelby was relying on his instincts, not his jealousy.

The agent’s stoic professionalism impressed Cenn, even more oddly, because Shelby was certainly jealous.

Cenn would have to do something about that.

“I’ll find some way to write this up,” Shelby eventually muttered.

“I don’t envy you. Is it alright if I take Niall back to his place and try to get his mind off of this? He’s pretty shaken, especially after finding that body… Was it ten days ago?”

“It has been…tense around here lately. Especially for Niall,” Shelby agreed but he hesitated, staring in Niall’s direction. He was so torn between his duties as the only ISB agent in the park and his desire to comfort Niall.

“We already had dinner plans so it’s no trouble.” Cenn smiled, pretending to be oblivious to the other man’s regret and now vibrant jealousy. “I should probably stay the night, in case the shock wears off and he needs a shoulder to cry on.”

“Good idea.” Shelby nodded, then set off to talk to the deputies. “You’re both done here,” he said to Niall with a dismissive wave.

Niall popped up and spun around. “Are you sure?” he asked Shelby, receiving only a faint grunt as his focus returned to the deputies and the two dead bodies.

“Let’s take off, Niall,” Cenn said as he held out his hand. “We were having a beautiful day before it turned into a horror movie. Maybe we can salvage it.”

“Sure…” Niall nodded but frowned at Shelby, uncertain.

“They know how to find us,” Cenn said and Shelby gestured for them to take off but didn’t spare them another glance.

“Call me if you need anything ,” Niall said, jogging to join Cenn and taking his hand.

“Good boy,” Cenn whispered and gave Niall’s hand a squeeze, causing him to trip.

He laughed nervously, blushing as he allowed Cenn to lead him through the forest, the way they had come.

Instead of returning to their gear, Cenn guided Niall to the cabin, insisting he could manage on his own and find his way back easily.

Niall was obviously dazed and the adrenaline had fully worn off, leaving him drained and a little unsteady so Cenn sat him down on the bed with a mug of water.

“I keep all the important coordinates saved on my phone. Your secret spot and your cabin are at the top of my list, after my campsite,” Cenn lied as he held up his phone. “Keep taking small sips of water and see if you can get some rest. I won’t be long at all, I promise.”

“Are you sure? Something could happen to you or?—”

Cenn hushed loudly and cradled Niall’s cheek, willing him to relax and soothing his fears. “Nothing will happen to me. I want you to lay down, close your eyes, and clear your mind,” he commanded in a soft, even tone, lulling Niall.

He nodded loosely, taking a sip from his mug before setting it on the bedside table. “I’ll lay down and clear my mind,” he mumbled, yawning as he lowered onto the pillow and closed his eyes.

“Good boy!” Cenn whispered as he smoothed the hair away from Niall’s face and made him drowsier.

A crooked smile tugged at Niall’s lips. “I like that,” he confessed before he drifted off.

“I thought you might.”

Cenn rose quietly, then vanished as he backed through the shadow behind the cabin’s door.

He flew to the outcropping and retrieved their gear and his notes from the lower ledge.

It only took Cenn a few moments so he left their things on the cabin’s porch and sped off to Shelby’s office to wreak a little havoc.

Located in a tidy one-room cabin, about a mile south of the park’s main entrance, Shelby’s office was surprisingly well-appointed for a rural outpost. But being the only ISB agent meant he was solely responsible for 311 square miles of federally protected land.

That land was a jurisdictional gray area that came with unique investigative challenges and required access to various agencies’ resources.

First, Cenn changed Shelby’s passwords for every website and database the agent might need to do a background check on a certain mysterious biologist. He used Shelby’s laptop and accounts to purchase some very interesting toys and subscribed to some questionable websites, ones the FBI was certain to be monitoring.

Several inflammatory emails were sent from both Shelby’s personal and work addresses to everyone in his chain of command, up to the President of the United States.

Once Cenn was sure that Shelby’s access to the internet was completely compromised he meddled with the good agent’s bourbon. He kept a flask in his desk drawer and a bottle in his filing cabinet.

Cenn raised the flask in the direction of the creek. “Bottoms up, Shelby!” A healthy sip from each and a simple demon’s charm would add a hallucinogenic kick to Shelby’s evening tipple, his lone vice. “What else…?” Cenn turned and searched the small, yet neatly organized office around him. “Ah!”

He danced across the room to the long leather sofa and lowered, sniffing and grinning. His arm straightened, his finger aiming at the narrow closet behind Shelby’s desk. Cenn opened the door and clicked his teeth at the pillow and sleeping bag on the shelf.

“Rog the Rapist was your first case in two years, so we know you aren’t sleeping at the office because you’re overworked.

There can’t be problems at home because you live alone.

” Cenn recalled how desperately Shelby wanted to comfort Niall and the agent’s incandescent jealousy.

He’d behaved stoically and quickly regrouped, but Shelby had forgotten about the case and had worn his heart on his sleeve for a few brief moments.

“You do it to be closer to your crush, you sad sap. Let’s see what we can do to twist the knife a little more.

We want you too fucked in the head to think straight. ”

Cenn closed his eyes, seeking out Shelby and confirming that he was still by the creek, miles away from his office.

A quick sweep of his hand closed all the blinds and sealed all the doors, granting Cenn plenty of privacy.

He lowered the lights and added a few floating candles and completed the mood with Barry White, humming along with “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe. ”

He was still invisible but Cenn dropped his metaphysical pants and took out his spectral dick.

Cenn thought about Niall’s sweet, unsullied soul, purring as he stroked himself.

He recalled how beautiful it felt, wallowing in the sublime softness, basking in Niall’s angelic aura.

Cenn whipped up his desire with visions of Niall’s ecstasy until his lust was too potent, overwhelming him and filling the room with a bright blue glow.

“Niall! My Niall!” Cenn chanted at the ceiling as he spilled into the palm of his hand, the ethereal essence dripping over his fingers as he staggered to the sofa.

“He sall lye intill his bed, he sall lye in it seik and sore,” he sang softly, his hand dragging over the arm and along the cushions where Shelby often slept.

There would be no visible trace of the demon’s charm or his seed but Shelby would enjoy obscenely lurid dreams about Dr. Curn and Niall. They would last until Cenn released him or Shelby gave his heart to another.

“I think my work is done here,” Cenn declared, zipping his preternatural pants and dusting off his hands as he headed for the door.