Page 7 of Code Violation

“Yikes, I had no idea. And there are plenty of folks without dental insurance.”

The fact that Tim was still listening to Nero nerd out about cold cases, DNA, and dental records was endearing. Once again, Nero was a bit sad that Tim wasn’t on his radar for much of anything. He tried not to wonder if Forrest Cooper was listening as well.

“Right? For sure, dental records are a good place to start, but there is a significant percentage of people who remain unidentified purely because wrong assumptions are made—maybe from the very beginning of the case. Bones don’t always tell the full story. Maybe they are misgendered. Maybe the victim was trans. Not every human falls within the bell curve.”

Nero would argue that most humans didn’t, that everyone was somehow unique. But that was probably more information than Tim wanted to hear right now.

“Wow, that’s intense. I had no idea. MBA here, not a science degree.” There was that grin again. “So, what brought you here to Cooper Springs in the first place? Pretend I haven’t heard any of the rumors flying around.”

As Tim had pointed out, Cooper Springs was a small town and the reason Nero was there wasn’t a secret.

“I’m doing research for a show surrounding the two teens who went missing in the 1980s. Another girl disappeared too, but she was found later—not alive, unfortunately. Kaylee Fernsby, Morgan Blass, and Sarah Turner. I read that remains were recently discovered, and if any match the girls, maybe we can shed a little light on what happened to them. Just having a show and listeners talking about it online can help solve a case.” Nero then added, “I was at the library just now hoping to look at old newspapers, but no dice. Turns out they’re stored somewhere else. With any luck, I’ll be able to access them soon.”

“For fuck’s sake, give the man a chance to drink his beer, Tim,” Magnus said abruptly, as if he’d only just realized everyone in the bar was listening in. “I think your salad is ready.” Swinging around, Magnus headed back into the kitchen.

Tim snickered. He clearly knew Magnus well enough and didn’t take the scolding to heart. Nero appreciated Magnus running interference though—it wasn’t something he was used to.

Forrest Cooper hadn’t moved a muscle since Nero had started talking. But maybe now he’d understand that Nero meant no harm. Maybe, if Forrest would speak to him, Nero could tell him that one of the reasons he’d come to town was because he thought his cousin Donny might be up on that mountain. But he wasn’t sharing that now. For one thing, the idea was far-fetched, and for another, Donny was his personal project. Donny had been his cousin but also his friend and Nero was protective of him, even if he’d now been a ghost longer than he’d been Nero’s cousin.

Returning with the soup and salad, Magnus set it down in front of Nero with a thump, then grabbed a set of flatware from somewhere underneath the countertop.

“Here you go,” the publican said before looking around again at the people lining the bar. “I’m not running a damn zoo here. Let the man eat his meal.”

Nero’s stomach rumbled. He picked up the fork and shoved a bite of lettuce in his mouth.

Was it bugging him that he and Cooper were sitting next to each other, but the man hadn’t done more than growl his direction? Hadn’t even bothered to acknowledge the message Nero’d left on his answering machine earlier in the week? Yes, it did. Nero accidentally caught Forrest’s gaze in the mirror again and thought he saw that flash of heat. His dick thought so too.

Those mixed signals were killing him.

Nero wasn’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea. Flaky. Unwilling to commit. Elusive. Entirely too attached to his computer, always researching and recording Grave Secrets or gaming. Once again, Austin the Ex and his grumbling popped into his head. Maybe it was best to ignore the now familiar simmering spark of attraction that popped up whenever he was in Forrest’s proximity. It wasn’t as if he planned on staying in Cooper Springs forever.

“He says he’s not running a zoo, and yet he lets the likes of us in here almost every day,” the woman sitting on the other side of Tim said. She’d introduced herself to Nero as “the better half of the Critter and Mags team.” Mags wore her usual forest service uniform, and her curly dark hair was tied back in a long, neat braid protecting it from the damp. Maybe he should try something like that too. “Speaking of zoos, have you all seen that Reptile Man is back?”

Rufus Ferguson, who must’ve been in the kitchen or just come inside, spoke up from near the end of the bar. “Reptile Man? I thought they were out of business. Didn’t that Bernie guy finally die? Wasn’t he strangled by one of his own boa constrictors? Fitting death, I say.”

Speculation erupted around Nero as the other folks at the bar ignored him to discuss whether or not the business in question had gone bankrupt or been put out of business by Fish and Game for trafficking in endangered species. And whether Bernie was really dead or if he’d faked it by putting out the story of the boa constrictor.

“Nope,” a man also wearing the forest service uniform insisted. Nero thought he was called Critter. “They got busted but paid the fine. And Bernie’s definitely still alive.”

“Critter, pull your head out. They’d never pay the fine,” Magnus countered, confirming Nero’s memory. “I bet they waited a while and just opened up again, hoping the state isn’t paying any attention.”

“I always thought that place was cool. I used to beg my dad to take me there when I was a kid,” said a woman Nero didn’t know. He’d seen her around a couple times though and thought he’d heard she was competing in the upcoming chainsaw festival. “I must have spent three or four birthdays petting crocodiles and holding snakes.”

“Personally,” Rufus interjected, “that place always gave me the creeps. I didn’t like it back in the seventies when— what’s his name?” He snapped his fingers. “Harry Dixon first opened it up. Harry was creepy and so were the animals he had caged up. And his creepy son owns it now?”

“Yeah, I think it’s still in the family, Pops. And as far as I know, Harry Dixon is still alive and kicking,” Magnus said. “I can’t believe you took me there if you hated it so much.”

“Maybe hate is a strong word. And anyway, you know I’m not a fan of snakes. They should be left alone, far away from human settlements. It was typical of him that Magnus was weirdly fascinated by them as a boy.”

“Did I ever tell you about the time I brought a garter snake into the house?” Magnus said to everyone sitting near him.

Rufus groaned and shook his head but suffered listening to his son tell the story.

Magnus pointed a hand at his dad. “Here is a man who has spent the majority of his life outdoors hiking and camping in the wilderness with no backup. He’s canoed in the Yukon Territory. Been held captive by a moose and later the same day had a badger charge him. Climbed glaciers and mountain peaks before we had satellite phones. We all know about the Bigfoot thing. And he is frightened of snakes.”

“Snakes are creepy,” Rufus insisted, dragging a stool around to sit at the opposite end of the bar from Nero. “And I’m sticking to it.”

“So anyway,” Magnus continued, “when I was around twelve, before Mom got sick, I found this sweet, innocent little garter snake in our front yard and brought it inside to show them.” He threw his head back and guffawed loudly at the memory. “I am not kidding you guys, Pops shrieked and fainted dead away. We had to take him to the ER for stitches because he banged his head on the doorjamb. The snake slithered somewhere and disappeared. We never found it. I was devastated.”

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