“How can you tell?” said a uniformed police officer who joined us upstairs.
“The room’s been losing heat out the broken window at the bottom for a while. It’s noticeably cooler up here than the last time we visited Benny.”
“Good catch,” said the officer. “How do you know this man?”
I watched the paramedic monitoring his heart while the other injected the antivenom slowly into the IV bag.
“We met last September,” said Christopher. “We had questions about scorpions. He’s an expert. We’re back in town and arranged to meet him this evening, but he didn’t answer our text when we got here.”
“You’ll have to wait to speak with him until morning,” said one paramedic.
“What hospital are you taking him to?” Christopher said.
“Reno General,” said the second paramedic as they loaded him onto a stretcher.
“Officer Aaron Quinn,” said the police officer. “I would like to get your full statement. You’re from out of town, so I’d like to know where you’re staying and for how long, as well as how you can be reached after you go home.”
We went through what had happened again and how we’d found Benny. Christopher did the talking, gave our names and numbers, and produced his card from the Portland Museum. Now that some of the excitement had died down, I couldn’t help but scan around the room. The creatures still gave me the creeps. Upon closer examination, there was a gap where a couple of small tanks were missing in the back corner. As I walked toward them, I had a sinking feeling about what I’d find was missing. I was correct. The adult Arizona bark scorpions were gone.
I sent quick texts to Andrew and the Wilsons, updating them on what we’d found.
“Benny is unconscious and bitten by snakes. Going to the hospital. Scorpions have been stolen. If Eric was in Reno today. It should be a good time to check inside his house.”
Eric had been here earlier today. Horace and Jasper hadn’t done this on their own. Maybe he wanted the scorpions for further research purposes or to keep us from getting venom to make the antidote. I ground down on my teeth. Either way, he was a step ahead of us. Again.
While the officer finished speaking with Christopher, his partner boarded up the broken window below. He’d also swept up the broken glass. We strolled out while he finished and they secured the scene with yellow tape.
“Just to be certain, what do you remember touching?” said Officer Quinn. “We’re going to lift fingerprints.”
“The door, the knob, the handrail, the fridge,” said Christopher. “Not sure if I touched the tank beside Benny or not when I was on the phone.”
“If we need your prints for reference, would you come to the police station and give them voluntarily?” said the officer. “Maybe in the morning.”
“Of course,” said Christopher. “We’re headed to dinner and will be in town overnight. After that, you can reach me on my cell.”
“Have a nice evening. We’ll be in touch,” said Officer Quinn as we walked to my car.
I hoped Benny’s creatures would survive without him for a few days. Maybe he had a friend or assistant who could feed them and check that they were warm enough. I wasn’t about to volunteer.
“We’ll go see Benny tomorrow at the hospital,” said Christopher as we got in the car. “I still have questions for him, if he’s up to answering.”
“The adult scorpions are missing. I texted the others.”
Christopher cursed. I was glad we were back in the car.
“How did I miss that?”
“Do you think this was Eric?” I said, biting my lip.
His eyes hardened, and his jaw clenched at the name. “I do. He can’t stay ahead of us forever, though. We’re catching up. This was recent.” He started the car. “Let’s eat.”
. . .
The next morning after breakfast, we went to the Reno police station and left our fingerprints for reference. We looked up the hospital visiting hours and confirmed Benny’s room number at the front desk. He was conscious and available. He’d told the nurses he wanted to see us and to send us in if we stopped by.
The hospital was smaller than the one in Portland, but it had the same distinct smell inside that triggered negative memories. I took a few deep breaths near the door as I steadied myself. Benny was on the third floor.
Benny’s homely face lit up when he saw us.
