Sao and two city patrolmen arrived on the dark avenue a quarter past one, joining the parade of local police, flashing lights and humming engines. The North household was unlit, cold and haggard in its walls of ivy, wanting only to be left alone. Unfortunately, nearly every door on the block was thrown open, eyes staring in at all angles. And, of course, there was the police crew in the process of unscrewing the front gate with a screeching electric screwdriver.

On his way down the street, Sao encountered two uniformed men prodding and shining torches over a patch of grass on the sidewalk. A large ash tree was growing from the patch; its springtime flourish spoiled somewhat by the dark, and a large dent in its trunk.

“Someone drove out of here in a hurry.”

“This isn’t in the path of the driveway, though.”

“The woman next door says it was an officer who came by earlier.”

Sao glanced at the neighboring house. There was a massively coiffed head staring through a fence with all-consuming green eyes. The wide black pupils, discernible even under the scant moonlight, followed Sao as he moved to inspect the damages. The treads on the ground left no doubt in his mind. “It was my supervisor. He was… in the area when the report came in, so he took a look first. But he left to check on something else before the officers arrived.”

“One of us, huh,” murmured one of the men without looking at Sao. “Investigator, whatever. And he just left.”

“Think it’s the truth? Could have left on urgent matters...”

“More important than this? The guy who lives there’s famous, isn’t he? Any one of us would have stayed put.”

“And an investigator, driving like this?”

Like clockwork, they both turned toward the walled house, Sao compelled along with them. “The cameras will find out.”

Under the watchful gaze of Carme North’s security cameras, peeking from their little nests of ivy, the police squad finally succeeded at removing the gate, tossing it aside with a clang. The commander barked a few warnings, and the frontrunners entered. Sao was quite sure he heard the word ‘body’ among the commander’s precautions. He squeezed his eyes shut, and regretted it. There were all sorts of demons hiding in that darkness, shapes and faces - or rather, heads. Matching that mysterious redness to a concrete visual had not eased him up in the least.

He opened his eyes, his vision bleary.

“Hey, pal. You doing okay?”

The officers had abandoned their ground inspection and were now analyzing Sao like he was some crucial piece of evidence. Sao rubbed his eyes and stepped back, half tripping off the curb. “Yes. Just a bit tired, and confused. My supervisor and I were involved in the North case earlier this week, so one of us has to be here.” His smile felt slippery, it didn’t want to stay. “It’s hard to believe there may really be a body inside that house… in such a state as that...” 

“I take it you saw the pictures then. Terrible stuff...”

Sao answered with a fading smile.

“Cadoc at his video table, with that box right behind him, who would have suspected?” One of the officers snapped his fingers. “Hold up - you were on the Cadoc case? The one where he went missing, but turned back up again the next day? That means you met him, didn’t you?”

Sao did not imagine his face looked agreeable, but the officers both nodded in affirmation.

“Did you notice any off about him, when you did?”

“Hey, hey, let’s not jump to conclusions here. Report said there might have been another person in the room with him who did the dirty deed.”

“Wonder what the sister did to make him snap.”

“What did I just say? We can’t--”

The unnameable sickness was taking hold once again.  Sao wanted to excuse himself, but there weren’t many options for escape. He could walk off down the street, pointlessly, followed by the eyes of curious silhouettes in their doorways. He could go back to the car - again becoming useless - and sit and be watched in there. Naturally, there was one place he might be of use, but it was the place he wanted to visit least of all.

A halo of light appeared over the ivy that topped the North’s garden wall. A clunk, a clatter, and one of the entry squad rushed back out of the door, whipping open one of the car doors and grabbing the radio.

“They must have found something,” said the first officer.

The radio man gesticulated wildly as he made his report, and the trio of Sao and his two new companions inched closer and closer, trying to gather details without experiencing the sight for themselves. But sight was hardly needed - once they stepped in front of the open doorway, they were hit by pungent, unfettered stench of blood. A damp towel the color of old tomatoes was lying on the porch.

Registering it at nearly the same moment, they scattered like roaches.

Sao stumbled behind the patrol car, setting a hand on it for support. Once again, he heard the word ‘body.’

“We’ll wait for the ambulance before moving the body,” said the radio man. 

He did his best not to think of Carme. Body, head, or phantom. Yes, he didn’t need to see or think - a walk down the street would do. Let them watch. He turned toward the lake, feeling light as a feather, and contemplated what would happen once he reached it. He may as well start now.

“Sao.”

Sao wondered dumbly if he were dreaming. He barely felt the tread of his own feet.

“Headed somewhere?”

A sleek black car was trundling alongside him - so dark and silent he hadn’t noticed its approach. The very picture of anonymity - if not for Van's massive arm hanging out from the driver’s window. The machine was so sunken and compact he appeared to be spilling out from lack of space. 

Having finally caught Sao’s attention, Van waved at him to wait, parked against the sidewalk and emerged from the tiny vehicle, loosening his shoulders in a stretch. Clothed in a baggy red sweatshirt, Van's leonine frame seemed to have doubled in size, his head looking rather stubby in comparison. The image balanced out when he grinned. Van had abnormally large teeth and distinctively swordlike canines.

Sao rubbed his eyes. “Sorry, haven’t been entirely on my toes this evening.”

“No sweat. This is pretty late for you to be up, huh? Speaking of staying up - Rai’s in the house, isn't he? I'll say hi.”

“He actually left before the team arrived. He was here earlier, investigating a noise complaint, and he decided to go to Upwater and check in on the parents. I’ve got to go in there and report back to him what they’ve found, but it doesn’t sound good.”

“Rai, skipping town and avoiding the action? Well, his plans are always one step ahead of anything I can come up with.” Sao snorted faintly, but Van shrugged and looked over at the open doorway, gate thrown aside. “So, any idea if the inside’s as bad as it looked in the picture? No - no stress. I’m sure you can get the details from the guys if you aren’t up for a look yourself. I can wring one of them out if you have any trouble.”

“You shouldn’t have to. You’re on vacation.”

Van scoffed. “Daytime ain’t bad, but I’ve been sweating for someone to talk to besides Hro - taking to him is practically business negotiation itself. Besides, I’m a little curious as to what’s been going on here. Apparently Cadoc North is a big-name eater, and there’s been a lot of drama going on in that world lately, with you and your supervisor at the center of it. Some cheating, Life Fountain activity, illicit stuff?”

“Yes. There was a poisoning, and a reveal of Life Fountains at the expo. It meant that two of the four competitors were cheating. And another man was taken to hospital as a result.” Sao shook his head. “Second, Third and Fourth places, respectively, are out of the picture. But Cadoc wasn’t involved with any of the scandal - aside from being affected by the poison.”

“Ah, but he got better enough for a video call, and to go out for a drive.”

“He did recover quickly, but he had some professional help at home. His manager - twin sister - Carme, she had the equipment, from her old company...” Sao’s voice petered out.

Van folded his arms and leaned forward, the same detective’s scrutiny Sao had gotten from the two officers. “Not to nose too hard, but are you doing okay?”

“More or less. Being up late, you know, isn’t something I’m practiced at.” Sao smiled, but again it felt flimsy as straw. “There’s just been a lot to think about. The North twins, I spoke to them a few times. There’s something about them that seems-”

“Wrong?”

“No, and that’s the problem. In fact they seemed perfectly… functional. More emphasis on the perfection - a thoroughly new style of competitive eating. They’re not bad people, at least, not in any way I could detect, and then I realize that Cadoc just brazenly took a call with me, with that box in the very room...”

“I see. And that’s the trouble.”

“I wonder, how could I miss such obvious warnings. Everyone else was appropriately suspicious - Rai suspected Cadoc could be dangerous without ever speaking to him; even anonymous internet passerby knew there was trouble afoot. But at the same time, reflecting on my conversations with Carme and Cadoc, I had no reason to believe it would come to this. There was no hate, not even any passion - I mean, they did seem to care for each other but there was nothing so volatile, in any aspect. Even now, I can’t wrap my head around Cadoc doing... killing...” Sao trailed off again. “Rai seems to think I have a way with people. It’s nice to believe he’s right, since I'm not much use otherwise. I'm never going to be muscling down violent offenders. But in truth... I don’t even have half a sense for people. I have no idea what any person is thinking at all. I spoke to a murderer, face to face, and didn't suspect a thing. I may as well have helped him slip under the radar...”

After barely suppressing it, Van laughed, though not entirely without pity. “Don’t worry about disappointing Rai. He’s seen worse.”

“Maybe it’s his expectation that’s given me a big head.” Sao smiled faintly. “But to make such a shocking mistake - to the point where I missed a bloodied head, a murder, because I couldn’t believe the person in front of me could be one - I have to wonder if I’m losing my mind. Not just the ability to read people, but to make the most basic judgments. Why am I supporting an enemy? It should have been so clear. I’m really not made for this field, it's all...”

“Whoa, whoa - think that over after a good night’s sleep. 3am after a busy day, I’m prone to losing my mind too, but I know I wouldn’t have the self awareness to realize it - so you’re not there yet. Trust me.” Van gazed up at the dark canopy of ash trees. “So Mr. North is a twin, huh? Twins can make for some zany cases. So here’s a crazy question. Ever seen them in the same place at the same time?”

“The Shifter paradox? Rai would have suspected it instantly if it were an issue. And we saw them in their home...”

“So you met them both at once! But you know that shifters don’t necessarily pick off their original models.”

“I suppose. Cadoc was very weak at the time, so I didn’t speak to him until a call - later that night. Carme was...” Sao paused, the video comments of abuse and rage flashing by. The slavedriver, the jailer. “She asked him to speak to us, but we only saw his back. But that was just one day. They’ve also been attenting contests for years. To work with a shifter in such a public capacity? I’m not sure. The eating contests were also rife with Life Fountains - I expect a high-profile Shifter would have found that out, or found trouble quickly. So competing would take some serious audacity that I’m not sure I detected in them...” Sao stared at the perfectly cut pavement. “Who knows what my assessment's worth, though. It seems unlikely.”

“Sounds reasonable to me,” Van leaned against the nearest tree. “Okay, then. How about the reverse - ever seen the duo in person, separated?”

“They do tend to hold their substantial interviews over phone or video chat, with only Cadoc in view. I saw them together at their home, but as I said, I only saw Cadoc from the back. Oh, naturally, there are the contests, though caveats again - that's a view from a distance. Cadoc’s onstage and Carme isn’t, so they are effectively separated, though it isn’t like Cadoc couldn’t run offstage or Carme run onstage if the situation called for it.” Sao pressed a finger to his chin. “Carme makes herself hard to spot at times, but there are press shots where both are visible in different parts of the room... Is this helping? What did you mean by separated - a certain distance?”

“Could there be a third person, then?”

“What does -- triplets?” Sao felt the hinges of his mind really begin to strain.

Van threw his hands up. “Sorry. I'm probably messing this all up; I'm spitballing. Brain’s desperate for some depravity to focus on - it’s been nothing but groceries and house calls this week.” He unrolled a few sheets of paper that he had drawn from his pocket. “Man, I almost forgot why I was even here. This is what I came to pass on to you. Courtesy of Hro - once he’d censored half of the page. Even then, he didn’t want this particular doc to end up on a police phone or mail system. Not sure what makes this business so special but - here you go.”

Sao took the sheet. “He found something important, then?”

“I’m not sure. Didn’t exactly crack it wide open for me, but you’ve got a few more pieces in play. Interesting stuff, though. You see, this Leak company of Carme’s was in fact owned by Chimera - and it still is. So,” Van shrugged. “Good intuition on your part. Hro can be an asshole, but he wouldn’t want to leave you thinking he didn’t have his papers in order.” Van chuckles. Apparently Hro was just enough of an asshole to be endearing.

Under the light of the moon, Sao saw only a few scattered words - scattered further by the fact that Hro had redacted nearly every other sentence with black boxes; every number, name and contact detail. But there was Carme’s name - C. North - under the list of ex-employees. The time of acquisition, 5 years back, was several years before her departure - the majority of the members had remained even under their new ownership. It was less obvious what they had stayed for. Sao scanned the barely comprehensible rundown of the company’s mission statement, every other word a blank. 

But Hro, in a stroke of generosity (or forgetfulness - but it was Hro, and Sao preferred to believe in generosity), had left in the full name of L.E. & A.C.

Sao felt the blood receding within him, fingers cold against the paper. Then he refolded it, dipped his head slightly in deference to Van, and rushed toward the house.

His appearance was met with some confusion, and he muttered a few words of urgency, and pointed at Van, who remained grinning curiously by the tiny black car - with that much endorsement he was equipped with a pair of latex gloves and a surgical mask, and finally, Sao found himself in the recording room at the back of the North household.

 Sao looked around him. Cadoc’s studio. This was where the magic happened.

It was smaller than expected, low-roofed and paneled the same matte, drab wood as the rest of the house - save for the obvious exception. The doorway to the lab-lounge with its sunny tile and fluorescents was funneling in a bright, if unnatural, glow. It lit most of the recording room except for the corner at the opposite end, which was occupied by the slender lamp visible in all of Cadoc’s videos. To the left wall, there was the desk where the computer would have been set during recording. It was not pushed against the wall, but instead had high-backed chairs on both ends, so that Cadoc could be facing somebody as he recorded his videos. In the backdrop was the familiar, eternally unused reading chair, and an empty shelf. And the open-topped box.

Although several officers were standing guard at the doorways, nobody else was in the room proper. It reeked of food, stale cardboard, old blood. But Sao’s stomach was still, and his hands were steady. 

He stood over the large box, taking in the tufts of brown hair, which meandered in clumped trails between the wrinkled ears and half closed eyes, and the dented, red-spotted face. The head was swaddled up to its nose in the center of a hurricane of stained towels. Sao adjusted the rubbery gloves he’d been given, with an ear out for disapproval. Silence. All eyes were locked on him, but it truly didn’t matter. He reached down, wrapped his fingers in the matted hair, and lifted the dark shape into the light.

A smell was released, a red odor with a burning dampness, permeating the fabric of his mask. The air was heavy and the darkness even moreso, and yet the object was light, lighter than it should have been - as if it wanted to be carried, taken home. Put back where it belonged.

“Well,” Sao said - kindly, in case there was any chance of an answer. “You’re a familiar face.”