The beady eyes were still there as Eve returned to her bullpen.

"Peabody, Baxter, and Trueheart, to my office!", she bellowed.

The three followed her as she entered her small office. It was Trueheart who closed the door, making the three of them compressed with each other.

"What's the status of your case files?", Eve asked.

"15 percent.", said Peabody

"30 percent.", said Baxter.

"5 percent.", said Trueheart.

The three looked at the young detective with jealousy. Eve glanced at the piled papers on her table. 40 percent.

"LT, you must be lucky to be vaccinated against Epidemic.", Baxter snickered.

"I don't think so, Baxter. Maybe I'll feel luckier if these papers will go away."

"Oh, no Dallas. Our hands are full to handle your crap.", Peabody groaned.

Eve raised her brow. "Want to do my papers?"

"No.", her subordinates answered in unison.

"Then shut up and listen."

Eve began to tell them about the case. She was fascinated how the three showed hopeful expressions while she explained some grotesque details.

"Does that mean we're included in the case?" Trueheart probed like a schoolboy.

"Can I casually tell you a Code Five case if it's not?" the Lieutenant retorted.

Peabody squealed happily.

"I am your servant, LT. My savior!", Baxter swore and pumped his fist in the air.

"Everybody, calm down or the whole cops in Central will make a stampede towards my office. Now, I want you Peabody to come with me to visit Morris. You, Trueheart, will visit Dickhead for the evidence while you Baxter will go to the Skyline and interview the staffs involved, maybe we'll get a possible clue of our third victim or the perpetrator itself. Connect it with the testaments from the consulate staffs as well. If you have to work it with Yancy, tag me first."

"No problem, your highness."

Trueheart raised his hand. "How about me, Lieutenant, in case Dickie won't do it without a bribe?"

"Use your charm, Trueheart. If not, use your body. Maybe Dickie might bite it.", Eve joked, which made Trueheart shuddered at the mere thought.

"Be at my house office at 0800 for collation and briefing. Don't be late. Scram."

When the three went to their respective desks, adjusted their holsters and picked their links', everybody knew that they were saved from 'Paper Epidemic'. With the news about the Lieutenant's 'special power' passed around, all cops in Central started to brew a plan for their own 'redemption'.

"Erm Dallas, you've been consuming several pints of peanut brittles for a week now.", Peabody commented as she looked at Eve who was munching one while driving.

"They were tasty, I tell you, and quite a good stash than my chocolates. Ever since I regulated my chocolate and replaced it with this, the Candy Thief never entered my office anymore. I even left a jar of it on my table and not a single crumb was taken. I wondered why.", Eve speculated.

"Maybe your Candy Thief was allergic to peanuts, or knew that too much peanut consumption can give you pimples or makes you fat."

"Really? I never knew that you can read the mind of my Candy Thief."

It all started when she passed around the SoHo and spotted the kid, Tiko with his grandmother. The old lady still remembered Eve's actions, so the two dragged her to their apartment. The reward this time it was a jar full of crispy peanut brittle. It hooked her and starting to wonder if she will be rewarded by another jar of treats if she passes there again.

Their conversation ended when they arrived at the morgue. Eve spotted Morris slicing a corpse that was settled in a slab. His hair was tied in a ponytail and wore a casual gray polo shirt with dark trousers.

"You looked refreshing, Morris.", Eve greeted.

Morris glanced at her and said, "I filed an off-set for today, but when I received your tag as top-priority, who am I not to accept it?"

"Sorry for the bad timing, but you know I won't entrust my victims to anybody else but you."

"How flattering. No wonder you are my favorite customer. Anyways, you would like to meet them, wouldn't you?"

They went to the next slab where Howe lies. There was no Y-incision, as it was unnecessary due to his wounds.

"Your man here has consumed some garlic bread with oregano herbs, an orange juice, and some curry," he explained. "The wounds he incurred came from a very sharp object, approximately 24 to 40 inches its blade's height. The cut here around his neck was his COD, hit his carteroid artery. Your killer was ambidextrous and wielded a two-handed weapon."

Eve slipped her microgoggles then Morris pointed the meeting spot at Howe's lower torso.

"See the flop here – there was no overlapping when the weapon contacted the skin. Even for a professional one-handed user, this cut is nearly impossible to be executed."

"And this one is not an amateur two-handed user, I presume."

"I agree, very clean and precise cut. Now if you are going to trace the wounds, there's an unevenness on it. The blade slashed thinly at first, then went deeper as it goes to the center and back to its thinnest cut at the bottom. If we are going to picture it out, it was likely to be a curved sword."

Like Morris did, Eve traced the wounds with her hands.

"Like a cutlass?", she probed. She handled a case with a sword as a weapon once, so she had a background study about it. Besides, Roarke has a massive collection of it.

"It might be saifs or sabers that is curvy and thick enough to have this end result. Wipe it with some neurotoxins and we have our murder weapon."

It was a double kill, Eve thought, just like the smoke bombs and the surveillance discs. When they moved to Kenwood, it has the same theory, only with a darkened spot on her rib.

"The killer slashed her first then kicked her. Why would he do that? She did not struggle – unless around that time somebody distracted him. She has a single infliction, so it goes my theory that there's a loss of a single weapon. The third victim knows."

She could see that after the killer slashed Howe, he went to the attendant one-handed. His other hand must have blocked something with it, probably the third victim must have fought and able to steal the other weapon to the killer. Sword combat.

"If you ever apply for ME, you might replace me.", Morris said casually.

"No thanks, but Homicide is my passion."

When they went outside, Eve's link' beeped. It was Baxter.

"Dallas. What's your status?"

"I have talked to a staff here; she said she saw one who suspiciously went out in the kitchen with a go-cup similar to what you bagged. Should I send her to Yancy?"

"Yes – ah, no wait.", Eve paused then looked at her wrist unit, "Tag Yancy, tell him to meet you at the Doctor's Hospital, men's ward. Look for Lewis Remington, he was the security personnel who got tranqued. He should be coherent by now. Two hits in one stone."

"I say two birds with one stone, LT.", he corrected, then hang up. After a second, her link' beeped again.

"Dallas."

"Hey, kid. Seems like I caught you on a bad timing.", Feeney said.

"No, Feeney. Peabody and I are about to leave the morgue. What's your status?"

"My boy here is digging the memory circuits of the surveillance around that floor. They were seriously deep-fried."

"That's another over-kill.", she commented.

"But there is something you might look into. I checked the previous surveillance discs and found something. I'll transmit you the clip."

The timestamp was yesterday around 1900. Eve saw it, made her mouth grew firm and her expression hardened.

"Seems like we got the clumsy one. Thanks, Feeney.", she said then ended the transmission.

Peabody was about to say something about what they've watched but stopped, almost swallowed her tongue as she looked on Eve.

"Peabody."

"Yes, sir."

"Replace Baxter's place in interviewing the consulate staffs. Also, ask a list of names of Harminian citizens under the royalty, those who have arrived and will be going to the US. I have to deal something. Alone."

She went to the Pearl Skyline again and parked her vehicle on the same spot. The bellboy did not stop her this time; instead, he meekly parked the DLE in the same space that morning.

Mrs. Dwight immediately approached her when she entered and walked towards the reception.

"I have to speak to Afef. Now."

"I'll get him, Lieutenant. You may sit in our lounge for a coffee.", the hotel manager offered, then walked away to fetch Afef.

Eve could bust Afef in her own way by marching to the royalty suite and hassle him, but the hotel staffs were very cooperative and probably under mourning for Kenwood, so she held back. The coffee that was offered to her was not bad either.

Afef was led by Mrs. Dwight to her. Eve knew he has an idea what was going on from the gaze he gave to her.

"I have to conduct another interview, Afef, and you can call your lawyer for this. If you don't have one, we can provide a lawyer for you.", she said.

"I'll waive my right for lawyers, as I don't have something to hide from you. As much as I want to stay here, it would be deemed appropriate if you choose your own location to conduct my interview."

Weird, she thought, that he doesn't want to be on his turf. It's either he wanted to play innocent, or he was avoiding something.

"Then we'll be at Central, then.", she said.

Afef followed her. She found her DLE parked in the same spot, and when she went to the passenger side for him, she did not open the door.

She swung her fist downward, hitting his abdomen in brute force that made him wheezed in pain. By reflex, he curled towards her but she held his nape, making him twirled around then slammed his body into the car. She pulled her holster and held the stunner on his lower rib.

"This is a police brutality!", he hissed.

"Police brutality, my ass. You are under arrest for the murders of Armir Howe and Mathilde Kenwood, some charges will follow later."

"Mu-murder?! I did not kill them!"

She used her knee to press his body more on her vehicle.

"You can deny anything but you're caught red-handed, Afef. Your face was in the surveillance disc, encoding the reservation for that hall. Bet your fingerprints will also appear in the unit keyboards."

"Yes, I admit I did that, but I am simply following the orders of the princess."

"Now you're using your Highness to save your ass, eh? Then why not I arrest her as well to see then?"

Afef stiffed under her hands.

"I have disappointed you then, Lieutenant. The princess is not here anymore."

"What do you mean by that, Afef?"

She waited for a beat before he answered.

"The reason why I am on the said premises around the time of the murder is that I am attending the Royal Highness. She made an appointment with Mr. Howe. She's also a victim, too."