Blood Moon Knight

III

As a Navy man, Marco spent years around, and on, the water, but after college almost no time at the beach. He enjoyed himself so much just being at the beach that it was enough to make him forget his quest for the rest of the day; the excellent company and wonderful, unobstructed, view of that company were just the icing on the cake.

Marco was anxious to get back on the trail, but had shopping to do and a few errands to run. It was therefore late the next afternoon before Marco was able to return to the university, where he now stood in front of Donna's office. He felt really bad about what he had said to her during their meeting. The fact she had been nasty to him, and probably deserved her treatment, didn't assuage his guilt; he aspired to be the mythical "better man," sometimes actually succeeding. He had finally decided on gifting an artifact, a combined peace offering and apology.

The piece was a single primum rune carved into bluestone, the same type of rock used in the construction of Stonehenge and likely from the same source. It had been found in a dig close to Donna's hometown of Amesbury. It was at this dig that the photo on Donna's desk, of herself and Marco's parents, was taken. The relic wasn't a rare or spectacular find, but he knew it would be of great sentimental value to Donna.

Unfortunately, Donna was not in her office. Marco thought the gift was better given in person, but he didn't want to let any hurt feelings fester. He walked over to a desk used by graduate assistants, wrote a brief, nice, note, stuffed it in the box holding the stone, then sealed it with some tape from the dispenser on the desk. He dropped it into the incoming-deliveries box on the floor next to Donna's office door. He then left, without having spoken to anybody.

Walking to his parents' lab, Marco turned his attention to Jackie's offer of help. He was definitely feeling the old attraction toward her that he felt as a teenager, but, so far, how they were relating to each other seemed different. It seemed more mature, which he supposed it was, given they had an additional decade and a half of experience under their belts.

Under different circumstances Marco was certain he would pursue the opportunity to rekindle their romance. But even with what little research he had done so far, it seemed his hunch that their work led to his parents' murders was correct. That made him deeply concerned, then, that accepting Jackie's offer would put her in mortal danger.

Allowing himself a little selfishness, Marco thought it would be impossible to pursue a relationship with Jackie, friends or more than, if he turned her offer down. He considered the idea that maybe if he explained fully the situation she might decide on her own against helping; however, she seemed to still be the bold chick he knew in his youth, so he doubted it. He knew, without question, that his experience made him the better judge of the danger ... but, at what point did he have the right and the obligation to decide for her, in her best interest?

He still had made no progress toward the decision when he arrived at the lab. Marco looked around, somehow sensing danger, and, truth be told, looking for a mysterious blonde woman with heart-shaped face tattoos. Seeing nothing, he unlocked the door, entered, then closed and locked the door behind him.

The lab was clean. Immaculate. The perfect clue that something was very wrong; it was certainly not just as his parents and their staff left it, despite Donna's claim. It was unlikely that Donna, as head of the department, had not visited recently, so the question was whether Donna lied or the lab had been tossed.

Marco walked through the lab, looking over the picks, brushes, chisels, magnifying glasses, and other bric-a-brac used when cleaning and examining artifacts. He knew more valuable equipment, such as cameras, probes, x-ray emitters, and other computer-based tools, were locked in cabinets around the perimeter.