“Yes, yes. Thank you. You’re getting better at syncing. I could feel you.”
“It still took me too long. Those bees were all over you.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. It takes time, you know that. And the bees….” Andi sighed. “I let them take me under in the hope of maybe finding a clue about our killer.”
“And was he here?”
“Hard to tell. The arthropods at the bunker see things differently because most of them are earth dwellers. There are similarities, enough to make me think the probability of him having a connection to this place is high. I can’t say for sure, though. I was able to sense several males who fit the picture from all the other people working with the bees. I guess they’re part of the therapy here.”
“Makes sense. Working with bees requires patience and focus. At least that’s what you told me. I can see it being beneficial for people who struggle mentally.”
“Animal therapy. It’s an effective way of treating all kinds of illnesses, mental and otherwise. The bees were furious, though, because they took so much honey.” Andi’s brows furrowed in anger.
“I’m sure we can drop a hint with Dr. Blackton. How about we find Geena and return to the precinct? Unless you want to tell me something about Thomas LeClerk?”
“I couldn’t get a clear read on him. He’d been handling medication before his break, so everything was muddied anyway, and he was so exhausted, it overshadowed everything else.”
“But—?”
Andi rubbed his temples. “I don’t know yet. Could be nothing, could be something. There was something in the colors… the vibration was off… sorrow, pain, perhaps lying.” He gave a frustrated sigh. “We’ll see once I’ve gotten more attuned to the way the arthropods see things around here.”
“How do we convince Geena that House Cusabo is the place we need to keep digging?” George mused.
“I don’t know yet. But the perk of having five detectives instead of two is we can split work. Not to mention the beat officers we can send out.”
“Which will give us space. Good idea.” George let go of Andi’s shoulder, gently patting the spot he had gripped. When he turned around, he almost froze. Geena was standing at the entrance to the bee garden, about thirty feet from them. The look on her face was unreadable, and George wondered how long she had been there and how much she had seen and heard. They had talked quietly, to not agitate the bees after they had settled back into their hives, but there wasn’t much noise out here except for the occasional bird singing. Inwardly cursing his carelessness, George waved at her.
“We’re done here, Geena. If you’re ready, we can leave.”
She smiled at them, her face inscrutable. All George could do was pray she hadn’t seen or heard something she shouldn’t. And if she had—he hoped she could keep her mouth shut.
THE DRIVEback to the precinct was mostly silent. Andi was recalibrating after his tête-à-tête with the bees, George worried about what and how much Geena had picked up and pondering how he would react to all the different reactionsshecould have. Geena was just sitting at the back of the car, staring out the window. When they reached the city, she was the one to break the silence.
“What did you think about House Cusabo?”
Since Andi’s body language telegraphed loud and clear how much he didn’t want to interact with anybody at the moment, it was up to George to answer her.
“I think it’s definitely a lead. The circumstances of Kesha’s disappearance are suspicious, and there is no such thing as coincidence. And let’s not forget about Corporal Grand. We don’t know yet when exactly he went missing after he left House Cusabo.”
“You think them leaving House Cusabo and their deaths are somehow related?”
“I think the pieces fit too well. And then there’s the other people Shireen has found who were reported missing by House Cusabo. Even though we don’t know yet if they are among the victims, I’m willing to bet on it. That said, I’m keeping an open mind for other explanations, but until we learn more about the other victims, it’s surely a good idea to dig deeper into the history of House Cusabo. Now that we have Dr. Blackton’s cooperation, we can officially snoop around.” He winked at Geena in the rearview mirror.
She snorted. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“Granted, it’s more fun otherwise, but for reasons I’ll never understand, the DA wants a clean chain of evidence.”
“Nitpickers, all of them.”
“Why did they put Kesha down as a missing person, but not the corporal?” Andi’s question made George hesitate. He hadn’t even thought about it. Behind them, Geena whistled.
“I get why he’s so good. I have to admit, this hasn’t crossed my mind.”
“Both Dr. Aoki and Thomas LeClerk said that Kesha left in a hurry, and not on good terms. How would they even realize she was missing if she wasn’t in contact anymore? Wasn’t that the explanation for why they hadn’t reported Grand missing?” Andi let the questions hang in the air for a moment. “Because LeClerk knew where she was. I bet you anything he was the one to file the missing person report.”
Geena coughed. “Normally I’d say that’s a bit farfetched, but in light of what we heard so far, it sounds absolutely plausible. Dr. Blackton didn’t know anything about the whole incident because he hadn’t been working at House Cusabo at the time, and Dr. Aoki had been on holiday. Neither of them seemed to know about the missing person report either. At least they didn’t mention it.”
“The only one who was there when she left and who knew her well was Thomas LeClerk. He even asked if she had to suffer. I knew he was hiding something.” Andi punched the console in front of him.
