The body was gone, and the aide had pulled up the covers, but nobody sat on the bed. We all stood, except for Dorothy. Mona was smoking, and Jan lit a cigarette as she came back into the room. She looked around and spoke to Neil.
"I'd like to ask a question. According to what Marshall has told me, you made arrangements for Felix's care this morning, then you left. But then you came back rather abruptly and said you needed to see Felix. May I ask why?"
He nodded slowly. "It was suggested that my precautions for his safety might not have been adequate."
"Against the Scorpions?"
"Possibly."
"Then let me ask you this. If the Scorpions were going to do this, would they do it in this way? Somehow drug Rafe, wait for him to pass out, then sneak in to strangle Felix? That doesn't seem like their 'style,' so to speak."
"I don't think it was the Scorpions, and it has nothing to do with 'style.' The main reason for them to do it would be to send a message, to us, to the Jinx. It doesn't send much of a message if nobody knows they did it."
"And why would they kill him and leave me alive?" Rafe added. "Drug my coffee, even if they could have, and then wait around for me to pass out? Why not just kill me, too?"
Jan nodded. "That's what I was thinking." She looked at him more directly. "I believe your name is Rafe?"
He nodded.
She held out her hand. "My name is Jan Sleet. I'm investigating the murder of your friend, and I need to hear your story."
Rafe did not glance at Neil for an okay, but he did pause before replying.
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