Micah pressed his lips together, thinking. “Do you remember when he started accumulating the more expensive clothes in his wardrobe? Maybe there’s been extravagant gifts sent to the dorm?”

Mateo frowned. “I remember right before Halloween that he got these super sweet AirPods in the mail. He told me they were a gift from his parents, but if he’s really here on scholarship like you said… I’m guessing maybe they weren’t?”

Since Halloween – so Nico had probably been doing shows for at least a month.

Micah stood, picking up Nico’s laptop, which was still sitting on his desk. “This was the computer he was using to work as a camboy?”

Mateo’s already pink complexion grew splotchy at the reemergence of that word. “Yeah, that’s what he was using.”

Micah carefully pried it open. There was still battery life, but the screen saver immediately prompted him for a password.

Fuck.

It was probably too much to hope for, but Micah looked back at Mateo. “I don’t suppose you happen to know his password?”

Mateo’s brow crinkled. “He called me to e-mail him an assignment from his laptop once, and he had to tell me his password to get to it. If it’s still the same, it should be, uh, 3319hufflepuff. He told me it’s his old basketball jersey number, his age, and the Hogwarts house in Harry Potter-”

“-where the hardworking and loyal students are sorted, yeah, I know. I mean, I’m a Gryffindor myself, but I totally stan the Puffs.”

Mateo blinked, looking a bit stunned by Micah’s unprofessional rambling, but Micah didn’t care. The password worked, and Nico’s home screen popped up. He grinned. “Thank you, Mateo,” Micah said, truly grateful. “You have no idea how helpful you’ve been.”

“Of course,” Mateo said, rubbing the back of his neck, “but, uh, you don’t think whatever’s going on with Nico has anything to do with… that, right?”

To be honest, Micah had no idea if the fact that Nico was apparently moonlighting as a camboy had anything to do with his disappearance. But it was a starting point, at least.

Micah offered Mateo a tight smile. “I can’t actually answer that without compromising the integrity of the investigation,” he pointed out.

“Oh.” Mateo retreated a step. “Oh yeah, of course. I’ll just, um, get out of your hair then, if you want to look over the room.”

Micah nodded in agreement and let Mateo know he could return in an hour. It shouldn’t take him longer than that to finish inspecting the room and take a couple of pictures of Nico’s more expensive clothes. (Or anything else that happened to catch his eye.) He wouldn’t rush the search, but Micah couldn’t deny he was eager to bring Nico’s laptop back to the precinct for a more thorough examination.

Finally, a lead.

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER NINE