“I’m getting to that.”

Cyrus could tell the man didn’t really want to be having this conversation. He could respect that. A little.

“So you had one of Nora’s New York cards and you gave that card to Isaac Murran?” Cyrus asked.

“Yes. Yes, I did. I had mentioned in that class on medical play, that I made custom chastity devices. He ordered one from me, and I made it for him.”

“When was this?” Cyrus had left his notebook in his pocket, afraid the presence of it would scare Doc into silence. But Cyrus made a mental note of everything Doc said.

“Two months ago,” Doc said. “Late July.”

“What did he ask for?” Nora said. “When he made the order, what did he say?”

“He wanted something that would punish erections. A trainer of sorts so that every time he got hard, it would be agony. Then a month ago he was back, and said it wasn’t enough.”

“Wasn’t enough?” Cyrus repeated. “What the hell did he want? A dude standing over him kicking him in the balls 24/7?”

“As he said, he wanted a more ‘permanent solution,’” Doc said.

“Permanent?” Nora narrowed her eyes at the man.

Doc said nothing for a moment, a long moment, and then an even longer moment. Cyrus was about ready to choke the answer out when he finally spoke.

“He wanted someone to castrate him.”

“Shit,” Cyrus said while Nora let loose a long whistle. Even she was impressed by that request.

“Castrate?” Cyrus said. “Like…literally castrate him. Cut his balls off.”

“Cut them right off,” Doc said. “And he was willing to pay through the nose for it.”

“How much we talking?” Nora said.

“Nora.”

“What?” she asked. “It’s a fair question.”

“He said price was no object. I threw out 50K as a number, and he didn’t blink.”

“Fuck,” Nora said. “That would be tempting.”

“Forget the money,” Cyrus said. “Why? Why would any man want that?”

“He didn’t say explicitly,” Doc said. “But I got the distinct impression he was having trouble controlling himself.”

“Excessive masturbation?” Nora asked. “Spontaneous erections? Flashing?”

“I don’t believe so. I think…” Doc said, pausing again. “I think he…”

“Doc, spit it out,” Cyrus ordered. “He’s dead. I saw the body.”

“Yes, he’s dead,” Doc said, “so it shouldn’t matter. Let him rest in peace.”

“It does matter. It matters a lot to me.” Nora pointed at herself. “Answer me right now. Why did Ike Murran want to be castrated?”

“Like I said, he didn’t come right out and say it,” Doc said at last. “But when I said that castration seemed a bit extreme, even for a masochist, he agreed. He said it was a ‘last resort’ solution but that it was…” Doc swallowed. “He said something to the effect of, ‘Better than spending the rest of my life in prison.’”

“Prison?” Nora said.

Doc nodded.

Nora and Cyrus exchanged worried looks. “He was afraid he was going to rape someone,” she said.