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“Emerson Blizzard,” North said to no one in particular.
“Thank you, North,” John-Henry said as he stood and made his way down the aisle. He stepped between Emery and Shaw, eased Emery’s fingers open, and took the pages. Then he passed them to Shaw and said, “Enough teasing for a little while.”
Shaw opened his mouth. Then a hint of red came into his cheeks, and he grinned sheepishly and bounded off toward North.
“And you,” Emery said, turning toward Jem and Tean. “What the fuck did I tell you?”
“We were just—” Jem began.
“I told you to stay the fuck out of the way while we handled this!”
“Who the fuck are you to tell me anything?”
John-Henry placed a hand on Emery’s chest, but he shot Jem a look. To Emery, he said, “Take it down a little, love.”
Emery’s face remained a thundercloud, but he nodded.
“Are you all right?” John-Henry asked.
“Fine,” Jem said sourly. “Thanks for asking.”
“We’re not fine,” Tean said. “A woman is dead. Jem hurt himself—”
Jem made a vexed noise.
“—and Auggie hit his head; he may have a concussion. I think Theo did something to his knee.”
“No concussion,” Theo said, his hand on Auggie’s nape. “And my knee is always stiff after I’ve sat for a while. How bad is Jem’s ankle?”
“I need to look—” Tean began.
“Fine,” Jem said a little more forcefully.
Tean started to respond to that—the tone, more than anything else. He forced himself to stop.
“Why don’t you start from the beginning?” John-Henry said.
“And explain,” Emery added, “why you did exactly the opposite of what we told you.”
It emerged in a jumble: Tean beginning the telling, with Auggie jumping in to explain what he’d found about Una, and then the chaos of the chase through the dark. Several times, Emery shook his head and looked away, and John-Henry’s expression was tight. North and Shaw traded looks, and both men grew serious in a way Tean wasn’t sure he’d seen before.
When Tean reached his description of the prescription vials and the syringes, Emery broke in to say, “Detomidine is used by vets.”
“Yes,” Tean said.
“He was about to say that,” Jem said. “He’s a vet; do you think maybe he should tell you what vets use?”
“Jem,” Tean said.
“Why do I need him to tell me?” Emery said. “I already know.”
“Did you also know—” Jem began.
“Jem,” Tean whispered.
With what looked like an effort, Jem shut his mouth, but an ugly flush rode his cheeks.
After a moment, North said, “This whole place is full of vets.”
