She nodded and said, “Okay.” Then, “Hey, Joel,” and took Joel and me upstairs and into to the house’s guest quarters. “Those two are brothers—twins, I think—Gerald and Eric Cooper. Eric’s the one with the mustache.” She paused. “I heard what happened. I’m sorry.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
“Do you think the Westfall syms did it?”
“No. But they might have seen something.”
The Westfall symbionts were asleep, keeping the same hours as their Ina. Awakened, the Cooper brothers came out together, short salt-and-pepper hair standing up in spikes all over their heads. They wore handsome robes made of very smooth, deep red material. They were just as Celia had described them, now sleepy but interested.
“I had heard you could stay awake during the day,” Eric said. “But I didn’t believe it until now.”
I shrugged. “I can,” I said, “but while I was asleep this morning someone killed one of my symbionts.”
Both men went very still. “Theodora?” Gerald asked.
“Theodora,” I said.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. Killed? Someone killed her? My God.”
“Early this morning. She’s been dead now for about ten hours.”
He nodded. “And you’re talking to us because we spent some time talking to her last night.”
“I’m talking to you because both your scents are on her,” I said.
“We both danced with her,” Eric said. “She was so happy, having such a good time. She was a delight.”
“She talked mainly about you,” Gerald said. “She made us remember what it was like to be in a brand-new symbiosis. She was very much in love with you, said she thought her life was pretty much over until you broke into her house one night, swept her off her feet, and confused the hell out of her.”
I wanted to laugh about that. Then I wanted to run away from these strangers, find a dark corner, and huddle there rocking my body back and forth, moaning and mourning. They were speaking honestly about Theodora as far as I could sense, and yet I hated them. They had been with her talking to her, listening to her, touching her during her last hours. They were strangers, and they had been there with her. I had not.
Beside me, Joel took my hand and held it. That helped a little, steadied me a little.
I struggled to keep my voice and my expression neutral because frightening these men would not get me the information I wanted. And I couldn’t just stir their memories by telling them to remember. They weren’t mine. The best I could do would be to ask their Ina to nudge their memories when he awoke. For now, I could only try to persuade them. “Do you remember what time it was when you left her?” I asked.
“She left us,” Gerald said. “She said she was tired and wanted to go to bed. Said she wasn’t used to having a social life again. I think it was around two this morning.” He looked at his brother. “Two?”
“Closer to three,” Eric said. “We offered to walk her home, but she just smiled and kissed us both and went on her way. I saw her go out the front door. That’s the last time I saw her.”
“Did you see anyone paying attention to her?” I asked.
Both men frowned, then Eric shook his head. “I was looking at her. I might have missed what someone else was doing.” He glanced at me. “No offense, but I would have taken her to bed if I could have.”
I nodded. I had understood that. “I don’t think she was ready for that yet.”
“She wasn’t.” He paused. “As soon as she was gone, though, two men left. I don’t know them or which families they’re with. Hell, I don’t even know if they were together. They did leave at the same time, though.”
“Tell me what you remember about them,” I said. “Did you see their faces?”
“Only for a moment,” Eric said. “Young-looking men. Brown hair. Medium brown. Both of them.”
“Another pair of brothers?” I asked.
They looked at one another, then back at me. “No, I don’t believe so,” Gerald said. “They were a Mutt-and-Jeff pair.”
I frowned.
“A tall fellow and a short one,” Gerald explained. “And they didn’t look alike at all except for the hair. Just two guys.”
“How short was the short guy?” Joel asked.
Gerald frowned. “Too short to be a symbiont, really. I think most Ina would worry about taking on a such a small man.”