Page 137 of Cross & Crown

“They wiped it down?” Kelly asked.

“I’m not sure. It could be a grab for whatever sat here. This

case is extremely old, look.” Julian tapped his fingers on the

corner. “Dark walnut with cabriole legs and dovetail joints. I

believe this itself is a Colonial era piece.”

“Is that important?”

Julian fingered the wood like he was looking for

something, but he shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s possible it was part of a collection of items, all from the same era. I don’t

know.” He straightened with a sigh and glanced around the

shop. “Whoever destroyed the rest of this store, though, left

this case intact. I wager they knew it was antique and couldn’t bring themselves to touch it.”

“Murderers with a respect for history. Huh. I wonder what

led them here,” Kelly said as he began to explore the narrow,

dusty aisles. “How far ahead of you were they in all this?”

“Too far. Much too far.”

Nick sat at his desk, hunched over files and notes and

several books he’d had one of the summer interns go find for

him at a nearby bookstore. He didn’t realize he was no longer

alone until someone tapped him on the shoulder.

“You chasing down a lead?” Hagan asked him.

138

“Uh . . .” Nick’s eyes darted to JD, who was beside Hagan,

craning his head to see the books on Nick’s desk. “Yeah. Yeah,

I am.”

Hagan threw himself into his chair and clunked his boots

on the desk. “What you got?”

Nick glanced at JD again and gestured for him to sit.

After a few seconds of trying to decide how best to word it, he simply said, “We found out who you are.”

JD’s eyes widened and he sat forward, a smile playing

across his lips. “You’re serious?”

---