“Good.” George hesitated.
“You can ask.”
“I don’t want to stress you. You threw up twice.”
“Which is nowhere near my record, as you well know.” Andi tried a smile and was pretty sure he failed even though he couldn’t see his partner’s face due to the wet washcloth still over his eyes.
“No, it’s not. Still. It was scary.”
Andi detected a slight trembling in George’s voice. “It was—different.”
“Like with the black widow?”
“Similar. Either my perception is changing again, though I doubt it because what I get from the mites and silverfish and all the other arthropods here is the same as always, or there is something going on.”
“Do you have an idea what it could be?”
“Not the slightest. The geschenk is expanding too rapidly. All I can say for sure is that the black widow and the hornets were acting strange.”
“This fits with DeCapristo’s theory.” George wasn’t happy. The prospect of having to work with that woman was about as appealing as swimming in shark-infested waters.
“Not necessarily. If you look strictly at the evidence that a court would accept, there is nothing. I didn’t detect any human interference either. Both the black widow and the hornets would have memories about it. Like being placed in the drawer or being agitated by, let’s say, somebody throwing rocks at the nest. For reasons I don’t know yet, the spider, as well as the hornets, have decided to attack and kill. It could be a biological phenomenon. Could be something to do with chemicals. No, not chemicals. That I would have sensed.”
“You want to call it off?”
Andi put a hand on the washcloth. “I’d love to. Unfortunately, Luke has sent us here to do a job. There are still questions we don’t have the answers to. I’m afraid we have to dig deeper.”
“Yay. Lucky us.” George kept on stroking Andi’s cheek. “I guess we should call Shireen. Perhaps she can find a connection between the victims.”
“Yeah.” Andi hesitated. “Just to be on the safe side, let’s ask her to look at all of them. I don’t like this.”
“Me neither.”
George kept on stroking Andi’s cheeks until reception called up to inform them that the chicken broth was here. It was not as good as what George served at home, but it did the job of filling Andi’s stomach without upsetting it again. Once Andi felt better, meaning he didn’t wish for somebody to put him out of his misery, George took out his cell and dialed Shireen’s number. She answered after the third ring despite it being already ten a.m.
“George. I thought you were down in Spartanburg?”
“Hi, Shireen. Yes, Andi and I are in Spartanburg. You’re on speaker. We need your help.”
Andi heard a tsking sound through the speakers. “Hi, Andi. Is the IT department of the Spartanburg PD not good enough for you? Or, no wait, let me guess, they’ve already gone home for the day, unlike poor me who’s still in the precinct.” The teasing tone told them Shireen wasn’t being serious. At least not too much.
“Nobody is as good as you, Shireen, and you know it. We both admire your absolute dedication to getting the job done even if the hour is late.” George was laying it on thick as always. Shireen loved having her ego stroked, which put her in a good mood, which in turn made her more open to helping them. Well, she would help them anyway, no questions asked, but George loved the formality of social rituals, just like Shireen. Andi didn’t understand this need to formalize and draw out an interaction that would otherwise take up only half the time, if even. As long as his participation wasn’t required, he put up with it. It didn’t hurt him or them, and it made both George and Shireen happy. Happy people didn’t emit hormones that upset the arthropods as badly as unhappy people did, which was another fat point in Andi’s plus box.
“You’re such a charmer, George.” Shireen giggled.
“I have to compensate for Andi’s grumpiness.” George winked at him while saying this.
“Nothing can compensate for Andi’s special brand of people skills.”
“And nothing has to because that’s what he has me for.” George placed a kiss on Andi’s forehead. Okay, maybe this whole song and dance before cutting to the chase wasn’t all bad.
“You two are disgustingly sweet.” Shireen sighed. “Now hit me. What can I do for you?”
“Andi and I are investigating a case where things are—hazy.” George was now completely serious. “Other players are involved, and the situation is delicate.”
The sound coming through the speaker was that of a hyena after a successful kill. “And they sent Andi down there? Did somebody think stirring the pot a little more wouldn’t hurt? Or do they not know him?”
“I’m here, Shireen. I can hear every word.” Andi wasn’t offended. Shireen just repeated what he and George had told Luke.
