Page 35 of Ancient Obsession

“I told you this on the drive to the station,” Dave said.

“I know. But I want to hear it from Ollie.”

“Why?” Oliver crossed his arms. “Are you accusing me of something?”

“No, you numbskull. In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve been through a lot of crazy shit, too. Let me help you.”

“You accused me of being a werewolf.”

Cody shrugged. “Circumstances.”

Robin looked between them. “Wait, during the werewolf attacks?”

“No, years before.” Oliver huffed impatiently. “This is getting us nowhere. Can you please check with Beryl and see where we can meet her?”

Cody took a step closer and lowered his voice. “Ollie, I know I usually give you a hard time, but I am trying to help. We worked together pretty well at the Morelock Motel. I only wanted to hear things from the start. Maybe by talking through it again, you’ll remember something new.”

“Something more than being coated in a cloud of ancient dust?” Robin said as they sent the text.

Cody’s eyebrows went up. “Ancient dust?”

Oliver sighed, already anticipating the teasing. “When the team lifted the lid, the pressure inside released or something was triggered, and we were all sprayed by a cloud of…” He turned to Robin. “What would you call it?”

“You just called it dust,” Cody said.

Oliver shook his head. “Yes, that, but something else, too.”

“A residue?” Robin offered. Their phone dinged. “Beryl’s up in room 257.”

Dave started for the stairway door. Cody fell in behind Oliver, continuing with his questions.

“What kind of residue are we talking about? Sticky? Gooey? Dark like charcoal dust?”

“No, it wasn’t anything like that. It was…” Robin trailed off until they all exited onto the second floor. “It was like when the tree pollen is off the charts, you know? Like one of those days where it coats everything, and it’s in yellow piles on windshield wipers and stuff. You might not be able to see it in the air, but you can feel it.”

“Yeah, okay, I get it.” Cody cocked his head. “Good description.”

Robin blushed. “Thanks.”

Dave had moved down the hall, reading room numbers. “257 is this way.”

“Anything else happen?” Cody was right behind Oliver again.

“No. That’s it.”

“You stepped in when Vera freaked out,” Robin said.

Oliver gave a quick nod and glanced back at Cody. “Oh, yeah. I did do that.”

“Uh huh,” Cody said, the words layered with suspicion.

“Here it is.”

Dave stopped outside the open room door and waved for Robin and Oliver to precede them. As Oliver entered the room, he heard Dave say, “Back off, okay?” to Cody in a low voice.

Oliver followed Robin to the other end of the room where Beryl sat behind a teacher’s desk typing on a laptop. When she saw them, her expression tightened. As Dave and Cody stepped through the door, her eyes widened, and she gripped the edge of the desk.

“Who the hell are they?” Beryl demanded of Robin. “What is this?”