“An entomologist.” I said thoughtfully as I took a left turn. “Speaking as a writer myself, I’ve always wanted to meet one of you lot. I’ve always had a bone to pick with the word ‘pumpernickel’ -”

“You’re thinking of an etymologist, Dy.” My brother said with a sigh. “An entomologist is a scientist who studies insects. Why in the world would you think a word historian would ask us to come out to the park in the middle of the night?” “As if a woman can’t have hobbies, babe? Why, shame on you.” I glanced at the windshield mirror to see a woman with a mop of dark hair swat my brother on the arm. He sighed and leaned his head against her shoulder. Even that alone felt like I was intruding on something private. I never thought he’d be so comfortable lowering his defenses with someone he’d only known a few weeks. But perhaps that why he did it so easily. My brother was a strange creature, after all. He carried features from both our parents, but that fey quality was something he kept all to himself. A silver-eyed being of mist, who might disappear each time the sun came up. Maybe he feared any lover who knew his true name could wish him out of existence.

Then the kid beside me pinched my arm, knocking me out of my reverie. “Ow! You little gremlin!”

“I wanna slushie.” Tomas grinned at me. He was dressed in khaki shorts and a bright blue coat, with perfectly combed and parted hair. He grinned a wide white smile that concealed the darkness in the depths of his soul.

“No, Tomas. I promised your grandma I would get our work done and sent by tomorrow, which means we need to finish this by tonight. We can stop at a Penny’s on our way back, maybe.” Cori Waters said, leaning in from the backseat with her eyes twinkling.

She actually liked the boy, for whatever godforsaken reason, but then I got the impression she liked everyone. She was a bit older than us, having gotten her master’s degree about a year back, but her wild hair and bright, unkempt clothing made her look more like a teenager heading back from a rave. She tapped my shoulder. “Take that left through the side gate of the park. The security guards know me.”

“Okay, but have they given you permission to be here?” Sue me for being worried, but the lighting out here was dim, and all of the rangers we’d passed on the way here were armed. “I mean, aren’t you the slightest bit concerned about heading into the woods at night with a child and two people you barely know?”

“‘Barely know’ feels like a bit of an understatement.” She said, turning back her head to smile at Ryan. “But even if I couldn’t trust my own judgement, I hear things out on the grapevine all the time. Enough to know you two are good people.”

“All right then,” I said, taking a deep breath and making the turn. Sure enough, the two park rangers glanced at each other and just waved us in. Everything approachable about the Lakeside Park turned downright creepy in the middle of the night. A few solitary lamps along the path illuminated a few sleeping panhandlers and at least one jogger, cheerfully whistling as he went past the car. God, that whistle was the stuff of nightmares on its own.

Not to mention the breeze kept creaking all the playground equipment. And the entire place was so goddamn cold. I rubbed the arms of my jacket as I parked and got out of the car. “Stupid municipal council couldn’t even pay to add a few extra streetlights.” I muttered.

Ryan glanced over at his… date? Was this little outing an actual date? If so, I’d never gotten the memo. “I’m guessing that’s why you picked this spot. Seems as good a place to study fireflies as any.”

“Oh, yes," Cori said. “I first went out to the woods near New Pondi, and got some readings, and now I want to get some here at the edge of the City. Professor Moura—that's Tommy’s Nana - and I had a theory that the fireflies here were changing their flashing frequency specifically in response to higher carbon dioxide levels, which matches up quite well with some of the other readings we keep finding here when you start taking into account…”

She started to give a big explanation about how fireflies and their lights, with lots of references of genes and RNA and enzymes. Ryan listened intently, as he listens to pretty much everything, but I tuned it out after a few seconds. The kid, Tomas, was hunting in a large duffel bag Cori had slung into the trunk of the car. I peered over his shoulders and saw notes and books and a large bag of sour candy the boy grabbed immediately.

“I remember you telling me that red lights were ideal for tracking down Lampyridae.” My brother was saying. “You remembered that whole rant, huh? Or maybe Google refreshed your memory? ” Cori said, but even from the light of our phones I could see the dark shadow of her blush. “But yeah, you’re right. However, my red torch got broken, and um, there’s something I want to check... Anyway, we’re just giving the traps a once-over. We’ll be in and out in twenty minutes.” She clicked her tongue. “Although come to think of it, if you guys are using torches, it would be way easier if you kept them as dim as possible.”

“Dim as possible.” I repeated. “While going out there.” Cori shrugged a little helplessly, like what can you do?

My brother caught my eye and he shrugged as well, basically telling me this wasn’t my problem to deal with. If I wanted, I could probably stay in the car. Maybe even head out to Penny’s while the others were firebug hunting. I heard they have a nice bacon cheeseburger deal there this weekend.

But that wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting now, would it? Not to mention I was the only one here who was armed. If a bear or something somehow spawned in the middle of the park, I probably needed to be there. Penny’s was open 24 hours, after all. No doubt wandering in the woods a little would build up the appetite.

“Okay, so the park officials allowed the Professor and I to build the lures in a grid structure,” Cori said, pulling out a map that had been sketched on with red pen and highlighters. “That means if all three of us -”

“What about me?” Tomas demanded. The kid was dragging his finger through the dust layer on one of the few cars in the lot, drawing rude pictures. Cori cleared her throat. “You’ll be with me, Tommy. As I was saying, if all three of us move square by square like this on the grid, within yelling distance of each other, we could get this done in half an hour. Forty minutes, tops. Then, as a reward, dinner will be on me.”

“Seems fair enough.” I said, nodding. The work itself didn’t seem too difficult, mostly noting down readings on a few scanners and counting the fireflies surrounding each lure. The woman insisted on us not using our phones to take pictures, which would make this job last twice as long and become considerably more annoying. Tomas was waving his little torch through the trees, despite the fact we’d been specifically told to keep our lights dim and pointed towards the ground. Surprise, surprise, nocturnal creatures don’t do well with bright lights. Thankfully the woods in the park weren’t very large, and the kid was basically stomping around with each step.

I yawned, slapping another mosquito off my back, and immediately caught the spray Ryan tossed to me. My catching instincts are so proficient I should probably be glad I’ve never followed Dad’s path into the Army. I’d be grabbing grenades out of the air left and right. I sprayed it all over my body, getting a whiff of chrysanthemum as I tossed it back. “You really do carry everything around with you, huh?”

My brother nodded silently, fading further away as we walked towards different lures, until he was only the shadow of a shadow, his outline a flicker at the edge of my vision. Cori Waters, for her part, was making prodigious use of the voice note app, calling out the list of variables that had been taken into account for this study.

That made her easy to track, at least.

I won’t say the place wasn’t creepy at all, because it was. It had all the standard crooked trees with branches that grew towards like outstretched fingers. The moon and the light pollution together added this ghostly haze even to the darkest nooks and crannies, the little lamps hanging over the paths only adding depth to the darkness around them. I found it easier to keep lookig off the paths and let my eyes adjust to the woods.

I found the first lure hanging down from a tree, just about eye level. With a sigh, I pulled out my phone and made my own voice recording of the readings on the sensor. Then I spent a frustrating five minutes trying to count the little dots of light floating around each lure. Why didn’t she rig a camera here, so she could do all this from the comfort of her own home? I suppose entomology couldn’t afford such expenses.

The bugs were still nice to look at, I guess. All flickering and jumpy in their movements, buzzing in different directions whenever I moved my hand towards the lure. That was interesting as well: a series of tiny, greenish-yellow lights hanging down towards the ground. The lights flashed in strange patterns and swayed in the breeze, and the fireflies responded to the movement like an army of synchronized dancers. I stared for a while, mesmerized, before shaking myself out of it.

I did see a few more fireflies on my way to the next lure, but their pattern seemed to be different. Was it because they were from a different species? I asked Ryan about it when he caught up with me, which naturally for him didn’t take very long. Whether it’s because the man has night vision goggles stuffed up his underpants or not, I honestly have no idea. But he’d somehow managed to get readings for all three lures in his assigned area before I’d even started the second one.

“Oh yes, the patterns do differ between species.” He said, leaning down to examine the sensor. “Nice catch. Those sequences can be hard to notice on first viewing.”

“Uh, thanks I guess? Although I do wonder why all these little guys just come towards it. I mean, the light is just sitting there. It’s not even moving.”

“Well, they are insects.” My brother said. “And besides, Cori told me these were based on a very particular species of spider. One who lures a particular male member of the species into its web, and forces it to modify its lighting pattern to lure more fireflies in.” He put his hands together and his fingers twitched, in a rather unsettling rendition of a spider skittering across the floor.

I chuckled a little nervously. “Man, you should do the shadow puppets at the Christmas show. Say, where is that kid anyway? Didn’t your girlfriend tell us to keep an eye on him?”

“I actually remember quite clearly that she didn’t.” My brother muttered. “And I’d presume a sensible child would stay around the guardian he knows. But you’re right. He was making quite a lot of noise, and I don’t hear him now.” He cocked his head like a terrier, listening. His frown deepened. “I don’t hear Cori, either. Why don’t we—"

He was interrupted by a loud scream, and I could actually feel the goosebumps rising across my skin, my hair standing on end. Then the scream devolved down into some still very loud cursing, and I could make out Cori’s voice. I started to run, but Ryan put his hand to push me back, switching on the flashlight clipped to his belt. I rubbed my eyes, the glare almost blinding after so much darkness. “Move carefully. I heard her fall down something, and the last thing we need is two sets of injuries to deal with.”

Honestly, I was surprised he’d heard anything other than that earsplitting scream. We followed her voice, Ryan making careful steps across the roots and fallen leaves, mulched and slippery from the afternoon downpour. Ugh. It really did look like I would’ve tripped over just running through the grass.

We finally came across the stream, and a few feet away there was a dark ravine it had etched out, surrounded by more leaves and branches. It was wider and deeper than I ever would have thought a stream could create, certainly wide and deep enough for a young woman to be wedged in at the bottom. And when Ryan shone the torch inside the hole, the first thing we saw was the wet gleam of exposed bone. Tagging along with Ryan as I have, I’ve seen some horrible things in my time. But something about this still made my stomach lurch. It had something to do with how wet it was, how it still trembled. Because it was still part of a living thing, and—and—Ryan tapped me on the shoulder. It was usually my job to call emergency services, and to be fair, my brother is usually more adept at the whole first aid business. I heard him speaking to her in a low voice, leaning over the pit. “Take deep breaths, Cori. I know it’s going to hurt, but I need you to take this and use it to cover the place where it’s bleeding, okay? Keep as much pressure on it as you think you can take. It’s going to be all right.”

There was something genuinely comforting about hearing him say that, and even as I spoke on the phone I did see Cori’s breaths slowing a little. It’s not like my brother is scrupulously honest; he’s perfectly capable of rapid-fire deception as it suits his purposes. But he is always sincere.

I know it’s hard to tell the difference sometimes, but it’s there. It’s that feeling of knowing someone might stab you in the back, but only within a surgery theater. And in this case, he was right not to worry. The park entrance was barely a mile from the hospital, and within five minutes the area was swarming with EMTs. I suppose they were used to city people doing stupid things out here. Along with them came the kid, Tomas, who honestly I’d completely forgotten about.

He was still waving his torch around the trees, humming to himself. He seemed to find all the commotion entertaining more than anything else, and soon began chattering to one of the medics lowering a stretcher into the pit. “And she said we were going to Penny’s after this, even though Nana always says that stuff is sludge…” I know better than most that kids who act like total monsters can grow into perfectly respectable members of society, but this seemed downright disturbing.

My brother kept talking to Cori as they lifted her out, trying to distract her as much as possible. “So, with what you saw in those bushes, it wasn’t anything to do with the lures, right?”

“Oh, no.” She chuckled, though her eyes shone with tears in the glow of the lamps and I saw her mouth was red. She’d bitten right through her lip from the pain. “This was a glow-worm, a beetle larva, not a firefly. Not everything that glows is made the same way, Ryan. I was thinking it was part – part of the genus Phrixothrix, with the red light. Like railroad worms! Man, I love those guys. I heard from some people they could be around here, but I never saw them before. Or it could be a new species, baby! Or maybe - ow, ow, ow.” She groaned and clutched at Ryan’s arm. “You don’t think you can get them to give me some more of that anaesthetic?”

“We’ll see, I suppose. So while you were heading over to check it out, you fell into this pit?” Ryan asked. One of the EMTs preparing to lift her out of the ravine gave him a glare, which I thought was a little unjust. Sure, his question were distracting, but seeing Cori’s leg clearly in the light made me think any distraction was a mercy. Ryan raised his hands in surrender nonetheless and backed away from the stretcher. Soon the medics were carrying her through the woods, and when I turned to follow I caught my brother staring upwards, his eyebrows furrowed.

“It’s pretty cloudy tonight,” I observed. “So this can’t be stargazing. What is it that you looking for? A plane or something?”

He shook his head. “Don’t you think it’s a little strange we can see the sky so well at all?”

He pointed to the ground around the pit, still strewn with branches. I got what he was saying at once. We’d come out into a spot that was practically a clearing. A few sparse bushes scattered around the stream, and of course grass and wildflowers. It had been hard to notice in pitch blackness, but it was pretty obvious now those leaves and branches couldn’t have covered the pit naturally.

I frowned. “What, you think someone dug out this entire thing? You’d probably need an excavator to get it done, or at least a month or two of shovelling.”

Ryan knelt beside the pit and rubbed some of the soil between his fingers.

“The loam here is fairly loose overall. But I agree with you, yeah. I think it’s more likely something natural caused by the shrub roots and the stream was widened a bit by human intervention. It wouldn’t be that difficult, I reckon. But it’ll be tricky to find more obvious signs of digging without daylight.” We started to pick up the trail of the EMTs out of the wood. With all the blinding flashlights and the yelling, they weren’t hard to keep in sight.

“I still find all this kind of hard to believe, though. What would that hole even be for? Some weirdo survivalist’s supply cache? Something to trap bears with?” But that wouldn’t line up very well with what Cori had told us.

A red light appearing in the bushes…

I saw the kid, Tomas, still talking in front of us. I stepped forward to come up beside him, and he must have glimpsed the expression on my face because he tried to shy away from me.

“Heya, kiddo.” I said. “Mind if you empty out your pockets?”

He swung his flashlight at me, and I caught it. “You want my money, asshole?” “Just checking if you’ve got another something like this with you. With a light of a different color, maybe red? Perhaps for a prank or something of that nature?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, you creep!” He yelled again, and there was enough outrage in his voice that people were turning to look at us, enough that I stepped back immediately.

A closer look did make it seem like he was right. If there was something stuffed in his pockets, it couldn’t be large enough to be a torch. He certainly seemed genuinely confused by what I had asked, but there was no way for me to tell if he was lying.

Ryan could, I think. With all his talk about examining crime scenes for evidence, most of it comes from examining people. He stares at you with that owlish glare, and it’s like he can see every thought clanking around in your head. But I can’t say the same of myself. Whenever I look into someone’s eyes, all I can see is my own face reflected back at me.

*

“The glowworm girl, is it?” One of the nurses yawned, sipping from a paper cup, then gestured us to follow her. “We get a lot of loopy people around here, but man that one would not shut up.”

I’ve actually visited the Willowbark Hospital a few times. Not enough to call out to the nurses by name, sure, but enough to recognize a lot of faces. And during all of those impromptu appointments, I don’t remember seeing a single face crackling a smile. Their gloom always feels like a collective, an all-encompassing mood echoed by the hospital itself.

It wasn’t a grimy place – I’m pretty sure a lot of effort was put into making it spotless – but the paint was faded and peeling off its edges, and the whole building seemed to be sagging at its foundations. But I never found cause for complaint while taking treatment there. If anything, I found lots of cause for praise. These people just scowl more deeply when you go for compliments, though I do make an effort sometimes.

This all went double for the doctor we found in Cori’s room. “You did a great job, doc.” I said, and he looked downright offended by the statement. He took off his glasses and started to clean them admonishingly with a piece of cloth.

“You are the young man listed as her emergency contact, yes?” He asked Ryan. My brother nodded, and I couldn’t conceal the surprise on my face. I knew he and Cori had gotten close over the last few weeks, but not I’d-rather-contact-you than-my-family close. “Very well. In any case, calling this a leg fracture would be the understatement of the century,” He told us, looking back up. “It’s the worst break you could possibly have at a fall from that height.”

“So you’re saying I also broke a record or something?” Cori called from the bed. “No, but you did manage to snap your femur, tibia and fibula in the same fall.” The doctor replied, perching his specs back on a large beaky nose. “We’re keeping her on the morphine for a little longer, by the way. And by my reckoning it will take at least six months before she can walk properly, and certainly longer before she should consider going on any of those little excursions again.”

He gave us both a brisk nod and he and his nurse marched out of the room. “Six months?” Tomas piped up. “So you won’t even be taking me to the water park in August?” “So sorry, sweetpea.” Cori muttered, reaching out her hand to pat his head and missing by a few feet.

This kid couldn’t be that naïve, surely? Or this psychopathic? He’d stayed as far from me as possible the whole ride here, hanging around Ryan. My brother seemed utterly disinterested in him, but I didn’t trust that Little Boy Blue act for a second. “Might have to do some of the seminars in a wheelchair, then. Or crutches? I can’t think which would be easier. Ryan, babe, you took the readings back from the park with you, right? There were some in my pocket when I fell. God, did I drop them? Did I –”

“I have them with me.” Ryan said, kneeling down beside her. He took her hand and pressed it to his cheek, giving her a cheek a tender kiss I saw her just melt into. I really couldn’t have felt more awkward than if I’d walked in on him in the shower. “You want me to get your notes from your apartment?”

“Get it from my office! I practically live there now, but you’d know that, wouldn’t you.” She giggled, now cheerful again. “So yeah, I’d love it if you could get it for me. Although I can’t get much work done in this state, of course. Or maybe I can! I heard lots of scientists do their best work while on drugs.”

“And even more end up going to rehab, Cori.” My brother said, his expression smoothing over as he stood. He nodded at me and we both stepped out of the room. We found Tomas speaking with who I had to assume was his grandmother. Professor Moura had the thick, ponderous spectacles of an academic, even wearing the brown blazer with the elbow patches. But she was also a tall and beefy woman, easy to imagine leading trips out into the Amazon and boxing crocodiles. And despite the long coils of grey through her hair, she looked surprisingly young for grandmotherhood. I’d put her in her late fifties at most. She patted the kid’s shoulder with a brown, weathered hand. “Had to run late sorting through those requests from those idiots at Doldrum. I came as soon as I could.”

The Professor glanced over at Ryan. “Ah, so you’re the new one, I see.”

“Guilty as charged.” My brother nodded. “You are Cori’s supervisor, right?” Moura snorted. “I told that girl to use red flashlights, but you could scream into her ear and it would pass right out into the other one. The fireflies don’t perceive the red light at all, you see. Lets you observe them without disturbance. Of course, humans don’t see too well in red light either… but at least it would be better than walking around with no light at all! Just asking to break your neck. Can’t imagine why she would do that unless –”

“She was looking for that glowworm with the red light on its head.” I remembered.

“Indeed.” A ripple of anger passed over her face. “And then she got you two embroiled in it, and Tomas! That’s just like her. Using everyone around herself without a thought. I try to teach her better, but then it seems…” The professor shook her head again and marched into the hospital room, dragging Tomas in with her. “Wow.” I said, after the door swung closed. “That was certainly… opinionated.”

Ryan tapped his chin, his expression unreadable. “And not even an attempt to hide it in front of strangers, either.” He checked his watch. “Let’s go pick up her notes.” “Cori’s? Dude, it’s eleven in the night? I I don’t even think she could even read them before the morphine wears off –” But he was already off, walking with long, urgent steps. I sighed, briefly wondering if I could go home and nestle down with a steaming cup of tea, and hear the full story from Ryan whenever he came back. Still, he was the one with the car keys, and there’s no way I was willing to catch the subway at this hour. I mean, have you seen the size of the rats in there?

*

I’ve never really been down to Incarnadine University, but I’ve met up with enough of its students that I was getting nervous about just walking in. Sure, it was the middle of the night, but that didn’t mean I wanted to take any chances.

Apparently it was only two weeks before finals, and all of the library building’s windows were still ablaze with light. I even saw some students heading out of the cafeteria, chattering to each other like they’d just finished lunch break, even though by my watch that was at least twelve hours away.

“No one ever allowed us out of the dorms after eleven.” I muttered, keeping my head down as we walked.

“Well, it’s not like that stopped you anyway.” My brother said. “B3, B7… okay, here’s the Zoology building.” I could make out some large marble pillars and even a gargoyle or two on the roof, but most of the area was still plunged in darkness. The faculty staff had no obligation to be here during the small hours, after all. But just as Ryan inserted one of Cori’s keys into the padlock, someone popped up behind us. “Why, hello there.” The guy said.

His large, glossy beard gleamed from the flashlight, and he wore a red tie and a tan suit that was the same color as his turban. Pretty standard for a professor, other than the large, dripping swordfish slung across his shoulder. “I can’t say I recognize either of you, but my memory’s been especially foggy these days. I’m Professor Indrajith, but you can call me Satya. What are you two doing here?” “You know Cori, right?” I said quickly, before he could reach for his phone. “She had a bad accident, and her lovely boyfriend over here,” I patted Ryan’s back, “is here to pick up some of her stuff.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.” Satya said, as Ryan let himself through the doors of the faculty building. “But it’s a very strange hour to do something like that, don’t you think? I mean, not even the faculty members come here at this time of night, and some of us pride ourselves for our long hours.”

“It is strange.” I said, sending my brother a glare he didn’t turn back to register. “But I mean, you’re here, aren’t you?” The professor patted his swordfish, which was still dripping all over his suit.

“Well, I’m from Marine Biology.” He said, as if that explained anything whatsoever. He hurried up to keep sight of Ryan, and I went with him. “In any case, I can direct you towards Cori’s room. This place is a labyrinth to begin with, and there are some quite valuable collections here on display. Best to be safe, right?”

“Right.” I said. Ryan seemed to be quite familiar with the layout to begin with, because he didn’t stop for directions once before coming across Cori’s room. Even before the door was opened, I could tell it would be a tiny little place. It did have a nice plaque with her name on it, though.

“It’s a junior professor’s office.” Satya said from behind us. “Cori’s not quite that yet, of course, but no one was holding the position or the office, and she’s been doing such a lovely job so far with the students. They’re the ones who actually paid for the plaque, you know.”

“Hm.” I saw my brother stare at it, his eyes thoughtful, before shaking his head and turning the key in the lock. We found the window wide open and the entire office in disarray, papers strewn everywhere, and the display case on the wall smashed. Satya gasped behind us, and I guessed that whatever was in that display case must’ve been quite valuable. Ryan walked immediately to the window and looked outside, then turned and shook his head at us. “Whoever did this, they’re long gone.”

The professor gasped. “We have to call the police! Don’t touch anything! There might be fingerprints!”

My brother sighed. He didn’t look particularly happy about losing the chance to pore over the scene on his own, but there was nothing to be done about it now. The professor ushered us out of the room, insisting upon the sanctity of the crime scene, and shut the door behind us. Ryan gestured to me as the Professor spoke and we slipped out of the building, going around the doors until we were looking up at the open window of the office.

“So, let me get this straight.” I said. “Someone broke in and stole part of a valuable insect collection in Cori’s office. Why would she be the one to have it, anyway?” “She told me she’d been cataloguing it under the new system. Was very proud of some of those specimens, really. I do remember her telling a lot of people about it.” I winced. “And so now you’re trying to figure out how someone could get up there and open that window from the outside.” I joined him in studying the wall.

“Seems pretty doable to me. Only one floor up, and I tell you I’ve seen curfews inspire guys to tackle much higher heights. And you could use some of that crumbling masonry as handholds, and maybe jimmy the window lock out with a knife.” “It’s doable, certainly.” My brother said, snapping open his pocket magnifier and studying the wall more closely. “And I noticed Cori’s spare keys were gone from the wall, so our burglar only needed to climb one way. This part of campus certainly feels deserted enough to make that kind of risk acceptable. But there aren’t any traces of climbing here. Even if our burglar was hyper-competent, it’s very tricky to leave no marks on that kind of brick. Why go to such effort and then go on to trash the rest of the office anyway.”

We stood there and argued for a bit about this general line of logic, with Ryan looking around for potential witnesses and coming up empty. There just wasn’t much else to do, what with Professor Indrajith standing guard in front of the office door, and we were still both standing outside when we heard the police sirens.

A few officers rushed out immediately to cover the scene, with a yawning detective walked up leisurely behind them, holding a cup of steaming coffee. She bent over, cackling with laughter and the cup shaking in her hand, the moment she saw us. “Oh, the one time Elvira decides to take a week off… oh, that’s rich.” I’ve never been quite sure how Detective Tran gets away with dyeing her hair blue and using nose piercings at her job. Maybe she has blackmail material on her captain or something. But under all those accessories is the most by-the-book cop you’ll ever meet, and you certainly have to be straitlaced to deal with an ego like Detective Presley, her usual partner. Presley also happened to be Ryan’s ex-girlfriend. Isn’t it such a small world?

Detective Tran’s laughter echoed off the buildings the moment Ryan explained to her everything that had happened so far. “Oh, wow. That’s amazing. But I hope you won’t mind if I ask you guys to stay away from the investigation. Boyfriends and break-ins go together like peanut butter and jelly.” Ryan threw up his hands. “You can’t possibly think I would – ”

“Why not?” Tran’s face grew solemn. “We’re coworkers at best, and even that’s pushing it by quite a bit. I don’t know much about your personal life outside of what Elv has told me, and that’s basically nothing. Besides, even the professionals do weird shit once the stakes get personal, and this is the definition of personal. In short, no.”

She did a cut-it motion with her hand. “This is probably just some roided-up college student doing this for a dare, anyway. I wouldn’t even be here at all if the University hadn’t been a principal donor to the Department last month. That’s politics for you.” She finished her cup and tossed it across the pathway into the trashcan. “And, of course, all of this is leaving aside the point that you’re a legitimate suspect in this case.”

I expected him to give a cry of outrage, but Ryan simply stared back at her, his eyes hard and flinty. “You have any specific reason to add me to the list, Detective?”

Tran began ticking things off with her fingers. “Let’s see, you were near the scene of the crime when it was called in, for one. And romantic partners of the victim are always automatically added to the list. Like I said, boyfriends do this sort of thing quite a bit. Oh, and then there’s what my partner for the day just texted me.”

“I thought you said this was Elvira’s off day.”

“Off week.” Tran corrected automatically. “For her new engagement party. I have George as my partner for the time being. For a newbie, he’s got good instincts, and that’s why he volunteered to go and speak to the victim of the burglary as soon as possible. Your girl was still pretty drugged up when we got there and couldn’t consent to an interview, but he did hear something interesting when from her babbling. Something about a break-up instead of a break-in.”

I blinked. “What?”

My brother rubbed his temples. “What Cori and I have between us was always intended to be temporary, and she had just gotten a chance for a new opportunity overseas – ”

“And you and I both know from your trysts with Elvie that pre-set boundaries don’t translate to real-life problems. So you certainly have means, you have motive, and your brother’s word is probably the only evidence against you having opportunity. What the hell do you expect me to do other than this? You should be glad I’m not hauling you down to the station already.”

Once again, I saw Ryan didn’t have an answer. His hands trembled for a moment before he clenched his fists. Tran met his gaze, nodded to herself, then turned to walk through the doors of the faculty without another word. My brother thrust his hands into the pockets of his jacket and turned away from the building. He stared out at the flickering lights of the rest of the campus. Even with the blazing headlamps of the police cruiser, I couldn’t read his face clearly.

“I don’t think she meant any of that in bad faith.” I offered, although privately I did think even Tran had enjoyed it a little bit. I couldn’t really blame her. Someone like Presley would be crowing like a rooster at the chance to put him in his place. It always sucks to be dependent on someone, especially someone significantly younger and less experienced.

“And, well,” I added after a moment. “You can’t really say she was wrong, either. I mean, keeping it secret that you and Cori were breaking up? That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, you know?”

“I don’t recall sharing details of my dating life with you before.” My brother snapped. “Or, for that matter, you ever asking for them.” I saw him shudder, and I don’t think it was because of the cold. “But in any case, at the very least Cori’s going to get fired because of that theft. And that would probably ruin most of her chances of getting that job in Seoul.”

He turned back to stare at the Zoology building. The new lights revealed etchings of animals it had been too dark to notice before, including a large wolf’s mouth carved around the front door.

“That office… something wasn’t right there.” He tapped his forehead. “I have to get back in there. I’ll break in after they leave, if that’s what it takes. Not that Tran’s people are likely to leave much untouched by that point, but something is better than nothing.”

“Or, hey,” I said. “Maybe instead you could go do something else. Something that won’t result in me emptying the savings account to bail you out again. Bring Cori some chicken soup in the hospital or something. I’m sure she’d love that.” I patted his shoulder. “You know Tran will do a good job, right?”

Ryan turned to give me a wide, brittle smile. “And if just a good job won’t be enough?” He shook his head and clutched his hair by the roots. Yet when he looked back up at me, the light finally illuminating his features, his face was cold marble. “You’re right, okay? You’re both right. I am personally invested in this. But that’s precisely the reason why I can’t just let it go. Do you understand what I’m saying? Why I need to do this?”

“Yeah.” I said slowly. Of course I understood. But what he was really asking was whether I believed him. Whether I believed in him. And at that moment I wasn’t sure if I did. Of course my brother was capable of being emotionally compromised. If he wasn’t, then he wouldn’t be here at all. He’d be busy being a hedge fund manager or CEO or any of the other countless things the smart and shitty people do.

But I knew he needed me to believe in him. Sometimes, that has to be enough.

I sighed and walked back inside. It didn’t take me long to catch up with Detective Tran, who had found herself another cup of coffee and was sipping it as she looked through the doorway of the office. She looked past her fellow officers to me and gave me a long, weary stare.

“You know that ban on entering applies to you as well, right? Did I not make that clear?”

“Eh, well enough.” I said with a shrug. “But what I am here to ask is for you to give Ryan a chance. Not unbridled freedom around the crime scene, mind you, just a chance to look over it.” She groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. “For the last time, I’m not accusing him of anything. It’s just that it is highly unprofessional –”

“It was always highly unprofessional to call him in for cases, even as a consultant.” I pointed out. “But that didn’t stop people like you and Harlow the second you thought you could use him to further your careers.”

“You know that’s different!” She said, face twisting into a snarl.

“Not as much as you think. And if you ever really bought his Absolute Zero Robot persona, then you’re considerably dumber than I thought you were. The man would skin his scalp off to swaddle a puppy. You have to know that, because that’s already brought your ass out of the fire more than once.” I took a deep breath. “Look, you’re right to think his decisions might be affected. What I’m saying is that he shouldn’t have to make those decisions alone. You’re the cop here. He’s the advisor. There’s not much he can do without your approval. Except help you.” Tran’s groan turned louder, and she waved a hand of affirmation in my general direction, all the while muttering that it was too late in the night for this and she was sure to regret it in the morning.

Although after checking my watch, this probably meant that she regretted it already. 2:35 AM. God, time really does pass like mayflies.

My brother being my brother, he’d already found someone to interview by the time I came back. Professor Indrajith seemed thoroughly fascinated by the recent series of events. The swordfish he’d slung over his shoulder was now tucked under his arm, and he was gesturing wildly as he spoke to Ryan. “Did I tell you I once thought about majoring in psychology?” He asked, dark beard quivering. “I never regretted my final choice, not once, but the subject is so fascinating. And Cori’s situation always reminded me of those few courses I took. Immediately after she has to cut ties with her parents, she comes under Professor Moura’s wing. It’s like what Sigmund Freud said about parenthood – or was it Jung? In any case we told her it wasn’t a healthy situation, and it’s not like Alessandra Moura’s an easy woman to deal with. The two of them surely got into enough fights in their time. So then Zai told her to go out on more dates and she found, um,” He cleared his throat, enthusiasm deflating as he remembered who he was speaking to. “Gentlemen like you.” His expression twisted, just for a second, into something uglier. Was that envy? I suppose the professor could be an admirer of Cori in more than just an academic sense.

“I see.” Ryan said. “Have you seen the collection she was re-cataloguing, by the way?”

“Oh yes. Beautiful arrangement, and very extensive. That’s part of what puzzled me about the theft, you see. While there are some very choice specimens there, I would’ve thought any thief would earn much more profit from selling the entire collection. It actually inspired me to collect a few items of my own for the benefit of the Marine Biology Department – ”

He glanced down at the swordfish in his grip, as if noticing it for the first time. “I… should probably be going. But if you need anything, I’ll be a few rooms over. I’ll be there until about six, by my thinking.”

He hurried back into the Faculty building, most of the fishy stench thankfully following him in there. My brother glanced back at me.

“You spoke to Detective Tran again?” He asked, his tone carefully neutral.

“That I did. You’ll be happy to know you’ve been given a chance to look over the scene, if under heavy supervision.” I yawned, long and loudly. “Just be quick about it. My sleep schedule is screwed up as it is.”

“Ah. You’re right. I’ve wasted enough time out here already.” My brother said, turning back to look at the door. I didn’t catch his expression, but his finger brushed my shoulder, ethereal as a moonbeam. “Thank you, by the way.” He said, then snapped his pocket magnifier open as we walked back inside.