“Mostly it was dire warnings of my bleak future.”
—
Ten minutes later, Diesel pulled into the lot attached to Salem Hospital and parked. We entered the hospital and found our way to the State Pathology Department. Nergal’s office door was open, and Nergal was working at his computer when we walked in.
“Knock, knock,” I said.
Nergal looked up and smiled. “Hey. Find any more mummies?”
“Nope,” I said. “Just the one. We’d like some information on him.”
“I haven’t done the autopsy yet so there’s not much to tell,” Nergal said.
“Have you had a chance to look through his clothes?”
“Not since last night.”
“Did you find anything last night?” Diesel asked him.
Nergal sat up a little straighter. “What do you mean?”
While Diesel was talking to Nergal, I walked around the room, skimming my hand across surfaces, looking for a vibration or a tingle or heat.
“Was anything interesting stuck in his clothes?” Diesel asked. “Like a coin?”
Nergal went silent for a beat. “Um…” he finally said.
I put my hand on Nergal’s shoulder. Nothing.
“Try his pockets,” Diesel said.
Nergal shrank away from me. “What’s going on?”
“We think there might have been a coin on the dead guy,” Diesel said. “And it’s not on him now.”
“How do you know?” Nergal asked.
“I looked,” Diesel said.
Nergal jumped to his feet. “You’re not allowed to look. How did you get in to look?”
“I’m special,” Diesel said.
I ran my hand over Nergal’s pants pocket and felt a definite vibration.
“He’s got it,” I said.
Nergal moved away from me. “You’re freaking me out. Who are you? What are you?”
I looked over at Diesel. “You want to field this one?”
“You have the coin in your pocket,” Diesel said to Nergal.
“So what?” Nergal said. “It’s not a crime. It’s evidence.”
“I’ve seen the evidence list, and the coin isn’t on it,” Diesel said. “So it looks to me like you stole some evidence.”
“It’s just an old coin,” Nergal said. “It’s not even a whole coin. It’s just a piece of a coin.” He pulled it out of his pocket and held it in the palm of his hand. “Why are you so interested in this?”