Jeffries turned and stomped away towards his car. “Uppity bastards,” he muttered, either not knowing or caring that we could hear him perfectly fine.
“You’re good to go back to your ship, unless there’s anything else, And sorry, I’ll deal with him,” Jeffries growled, following his partner.
“Don’t mind Jeffries,” the coroner, an older gentleman named Dr. Quincy said. For some reason, he’d expected us to joke about his name when he was introduced. We hadn’t, and he’d smiled at us ever since. “There was a girl in the department he liked and never bothered asking out. Two years ago, she decided to go back to school to get her Masters, applied to your program, and got matched. I know because he got sloshed over it at my brother-in-law’s bar.” His lips twisted in distaste. “Phil ended up having him removed after he kept calling women alien cock sluts and a bunch of other nasty stuff about women and your people. He doesn’t put up with that sort of bs. No idea why he’s even still got a badge after that. It was hate crime level shit, complete with him threatening to show the gal what a real human man felt like if he got his hands on her.”
We turned to glare at the departing car.
“I will let my commander know,” Sachuu said.
I nodded in vindication. Commander Gundar would see this man removed from his position of power and into some kind of mandatory psychological counseling. He obviously needed help and was a walking tragedy waiting to happen, even if he only behaved thusly while inebriated.
“Now,” Quincy said, “I’ll be back at the morgue in about an hour or so, given traffic and distance. As soon as I’m there, I’ll take samples and send them over to the lab by courier,” he winked. “And just in case they don’t send you the information without having to go through channels and badger them, I’ll send an identical set of samples over to the mate scholarship center. They can send them to you to run, yes?”
“They can run the samples there, actually,” Sachuu told him.
“Good! And next time you’re in the area, stop by The Flying Saucer. That’s my brother-in-law’s pub. He renamed it after that to do with Peterson and expanded it into a gastro pub with a 50s Atomic vibe. Tell him I sent ya and to treat you to whatever you want on the menu. On me.”
We murmured our thanks.
“It is rather late in the day,” Klora observed.
“We can stop for pizza before returning,” Sachuu said. “I saw a Pizza Inn along the way here.”
Pizza sounded good. I was definitely hungry, and eating before returning meant that I wouldn’t wake my sleeping family preparing myself a meal upon my return.
Klora and I followed the L.T.C. back to our rented vehicle. The Pizza Inn turned out to be a stucco and brick building with a red roof and a porch supported by white columns.
As we entered, we passed the kitchen which had a large open counter between us and it. At the end was a small carpeted space that opened up into the seating area. A hostess stood there, her eyes widening as she saw us.
“Oh! You’re from the bride fleet!” she squealed. “Is Lopyer with you?’ she asked.
“He transferred to St. Paul,” Sachuu told her.
She gaped at him, holding three plastic menus in her hand. “Like Minnesota?’
“Yes, Minnesota.”
“That’s too bad,” she murmured. “He ate here every now and again, enough to be a sort of regular. Nice guy.” She smiled and started walking. “Sorry, just thought he’d have said something the last time he was here. Let me show you to your table.”
We all opted for the buffet and ordered soft drinks.
“I hope your move has gone smoothly,” Sachuu said as we sat down with our plates.
“I got a message saying Neal loved his new room. Xero helped Mitchell decorate it with even more Lilo and Stitch than his last one. I am looking forward to seeing it. He also said Darla came herself to oversee the warriors and took him to lunch at her favorite restaurant.”
Sachuu smiled. “If he is making friends with Darla, you will have nothing to worry about. She and her friends are close and very active socially around their work and school schedules.”
I nodded. “It was very kind of her. She’s always been helpful on the forum I belong to, helping out with recipes and such that appeal to children and are easy to make as well as very nutritious. She will make a fine friend.”
“I’m excited about getting a larger room and my own bathroom,” Klora snarked. “No more having to wait for a private shower!”
I shuddered. I did not miss that aspect of being enlisted and unmated.
“Perhaps you will find your match soon and have even more to celebrate,” Sachuu told him.
“Well, as it is, I’m thinking about adopting a cat now I have room for a litter box and cat tree,” he said.
“Neal wants a dog or a cat,” I said.
