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Tyler led the FH-CSI team into the room. Chase glanced around, starting when Zachary introduced himself. He stared at Venus with a curious look but merely said, "Where's the body?"
Suddenly, I found myself very happy to see him. He was safe territory, a known factor. I hurried over to his side, grateful for something to focus my attention on. Menolly lowered herself to the ground and hopped on the front edge of the desk, crossing her legs precisely, folding her arms across her chest. She didn't like Chase very much, but at least she was polite enough not to hover like a bat in the rafters when he was around.
As the medics examined the body, I leaned close to Chase and whispered, "Don't say anything you don't want overheard here. Something here isn't quite right, but I can't put my finger on it. Yet."
He nodded and planted a peck on my cheek. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zachary watching, his golden eyes now dark and tinged with irritation. I pulled away with an uneasy feeling that none of us were safe here. Not my sisters and me, not Chase and his team, not even the Pumas who belonged here. The night was fraught with danger, and we were all walking targets.
A few minutes later, one of the medics, Sharah, an elf, came over to talk to us. "The man was an FBH, all right. It looks as though every drop of liquid in his body, every internal organ, has been—"
Chase interrupted her, holding up his hand. "I know you need more time to do the autopsy and come to any real conclusions," he said in a pointed tone. Sharah blinked, then took her clue and nodded. "Take the body back to HQ and do what you need to. Have the report on my desk by morning at the latest."
"Yes, sir." Sharah motioned to her men. "You heard the detective. Get a move on, boys, we don't have all night."
Under the watchful eyes of Tyler, Venus, and Zachary, the EMTs body-bagged the man and carted him out to the waiting medic unit. My sisters, Morio, Chase, and I headed for the door as soon as they were through. Chase wrapped his arm around my waist as we approached the three Pumas.
"We'll let you know what we find out," I said.
"Fine." Zachary gave Chase a pointed look. "Thank you for coming out here on such short notice, Detective. Especially when we're so far outside your jurisdiction."
It was barely there in Zach's voice, but I could hear it: a challenge. I didn't know whether Chase would pick up on it, but apparently testosterone speaks its own language, superseding species and race.
Chase stared him down. "I'm sure your local sheriff wouldn't mind me stepping in. Would you like me to stop by his office, tell him about the case? While I'm at it, I can tell him the reason I'm here is because y'all are Supes and needed an FBH to run interference. As it is, I'm going to have to come up with a good reason why we removed an FBH murder case from your land."
Zach cleared his throat. "No, that won't be necessary," he said, frowning. After an icy pause, he motioned us toward the door. Tyler fell in beside him as they escorted us to our cars.
"I'll call you later tomorrow," I told Zach, keeping my voice as neutral as possible.
Zachary nodded, silent as the night. But I could feel his gaze fastened on my back as I climbed in and shut the door. Tyler, on the other hand, glowered the entire time. I had the distinct impression he appreciated neither our help nor our presence.
Camille waited until Chase was headed down the road, then she put the car into gear, and we eased out of the compound. On the way home, before anybody had a chance to say anything, I scribbled a note for them to read.
"Don't make anything other than innocuous conversation," it said. "I have a feeling the car may be bugged. I'll go through it tomorrow." And so that was how we came to discuss the impending holiday dinner the entire way home.
When we pulled into the driveway, we saw that Chase had arrived before we did. He was already inside. We spilled out of the car.
"Great gods, that was nerve-racking," Camille said as she wearily climbed the porch steps, carrying the shield that we'd found. She dropped it next to the door. "Let's leave this damn thing outside. I don't like the feel of it and don't want it in the. house," she added. "So, you really think my car's bugged?"
I nodded. "Ten to one, somebody was listening. Tomorrow, before you go anywhere, remind me, and we'll scan the car with the crystal that Trenyth left us."
"Good idea," she said. "Queen Asteria is one sharp cookie. We'd be as adrift as a glacier without her help."
Morio opened the door and stood back, allowing us to enter first. Menolly popped in the kitchen while the rest of us dropped into whatever seat we could find and stared at one another. Chase was shaking his head.
"That body… what happened to that man?" he asked.
"External digestion," Morio spoke up. We all stared at him.
"External digestion?" I said. "Yuck."
"How do you know that?" asked Chase.
Morio tugged at his collar. "Hey, I can't help it if I majored in biology when I got my degree online. My guess is that they'll find some residue of a digestive enzyme in his body. If the Hunters Moon Clan got him, they probably envenomated him with a paralyzing neurotoxin, which also broke down his internal tissue. Then they sucked it out through… well… wherever they could find—or make—a hole on his body."
"Gee, thanks for the visual. Not." Chase turned green. "Why did you have to tell me that? Now I'm going to have nightmares. It was so much easier before you all came through the portals. I hope you know that!"
I laughed, my first real laugh of the night. "Chase, the werespiders were here long before we came over from OW. As were the Puma Pride members and Morio and his kind. Get used to the idea that you had plenty of Supes here all along. You just didn't know about them."
"I still wish I didn't," he muttered but returned my smile. "Strike that. Then I wouldn't know about you, either."
