"Look here; I can see a scratch on the stomach," Rowan noted, leaning forward over the body that was splayed out on the table in front of them. "That's probably where the venom entered, via that small wound. Boomslang venom is extremely potent—just touching it gives you, what, a thirty percent chance of death within five minutes and a forty percent chance of paralysis?"  

Apple stepped out of a door behind them. "You're confusing Boomslang with something you must've seen on television because Boomslang venom is slow-acting. It stops the coagulation process of blood and causes internal and external bleeding." He snapped shut a small container that he was holding in one paw. "Symptoms may not appear until hours after the bite. Fun fact, Harry Pawter featured Boomslang skin in a potion."

"Oh?" Rowan meowed, his whiskers twitching as he stepped back from the body. "I—I had no idea..." 

Apples shrugged, not seeming to detect the hint of sarcasm in the tom's tone. "Most cats are so uninformed these days... how hard is it to flip on those phones you spend hours staring at and google the most deadly snake venoms?" He shook his head as he pulled out a few swabs. "So, found the entry wound yet?"

"Stomach," Ebony noted, lifting a paw and pointing to where she had spotted the small scratch. "Saw it on the way in—my eyes must've caught it accidentally." She laughed.

"Gotcha. I'll test it just to double-check that that's where the venom entered. That wound certainly looks like a claw wound, not a bite, though," Apple muttered, grabbing the swab and brushing it against the small scratch. "Ever since the Viper's murders started popping up, I developed a field test for Boomslang venom. We don't have to wait for the full labs to come back, in that case, which is always nice. The real long tests are so tiring to wait for, and to perform." 

Rowan shared a glance with Ebony as the tom took his swab to a petri dish. The black she-cat struggled not to laugh as Apple started humming to himself.

"So... should we go check out another Viper victim? See if we can link the two murders in any way?" Rowan suggested. "I've avoided the Viper case because of the Bloody Rose, but it doesn't hurt to juggle both at once, right?" His whiskers twitched.

"Sure," she meowed, then leaned forward and added in a quiet mew, "We can get away from Apple." Rowan snorted, and the forensics science turned toward them.

"What's so funny?" Apple meowed calmly.

Rowan shook his head. "Nothing important. We're just going to pop over to the coroner's and check out a Viper victim."

"Why don't I come with you?" Apple suggested. "I'm nearly done with this round of tests on the entry wound. I can have another lab tech check the body out and finish up the basics necessary for the proper examination." 

"We're fine," interjected Ebony, quickly standing and starting to pad away. "C'mon, Rowan, we have places to be..."

-

"I really appreciate you doing this," Rowan meowed, his eyes bright. 

"Oh, it's not a problem," meowed Carrot. The ginger tom rolled out the long board, a sheet draped over the metal. "At least, it's not a problem if I do it for you..." His green eyes glowed as he brushed his muzzle against Rowan's cheek. The brown tom stiffened until Carrot stepped back. "I've got to pop over to perform a coronation on some suicide case. I'll be back in a bit!"

"Bye." Rowan smiled warmly, then shivered as soon as the tom stepped out of the door. "He totally thinks I'm g—."

"You're gay?" Ebony asked, interrupting him. "I mean, I'm totally okay with that... but you could've told me earlier."

"I'm not gay," Rowan meowed stiffly.   

Ebony shrugged. "There's really no reason to be ashamed. Love who you truly love, Rowan, and any dumb cats who oppose it can go stick their faces in a pile of mousedung."

"I'm not gay!" hissed Rowan. "And quit swearing; there are cameras in here. We have to be professional." 

"Fine, fine," Ebony meowed. She pulled the sheet off the body. It was frozen carefully. She estimated that it had been in the freezer for maybe a week. The black she-cat leaned forward, whiskers twitching with interest. 

"Entry wound's below the left ear, I think," Rowan meowed, pointing out a small scratch on the body. "It's probably been tested, but the lab reports are locked up, and I'd prefer not to have to track down Carrot so he can unlock it for us." 

"You don't want to talk to your boyfriend? What a surp—" Ebony's taunt cut off when Rowan jabbed her, claws sheathed, on the flank. "Rude!" 

"He's not my boyfriend! Quit saying that!" Rowan meowed irritably. "Now, back to the case... entry wound below the left ear, but there are some signs of struggle on the body. Those slices on the face are probably from the coronation, so we can ignore those. They're too clean cut to be claw wounds. The ear-wound also appears to be by a pair of claws, though it is rather strange that a paw of unsheathed claws would only produce one scratch, in both cases." 

Ebony nodded, wincing as pain radiated from where Rowan had hit her. She didn't dare to let it show, though—she wasn't going to let Rowan win. "There are signs of struggle on this body, though. Look on the flanks. There's just some scratches all over the flanks—light ones. If Boomslang venom is so slow acting... wouldn't they try to get help for it?"

A voice echoed from behind them. "Grass. Forty-one moons, pretty poor tom who lived here in the city. Most people who knew him said he was rude and often kept to himself. Stubborn, I gathered. He wouldn't seek help. And he didn't, and then he died." Both Rowan and Ebony turned to see a small white she-cat.

"Snow? What are you doing here?" asked Ebony, her eyes wide. She recognized the she-cat from her old job overseas.

She shrugged. "Reassigned, just like you... you look a lot more lively, Ebony. The city's been doing good to you?"

Ebony shrugged. "I guess. This is Rowan, my partner."

He dipped his head. "I'm not gay," he meowed, like it was a habit.

"What?" Snow's nose twitched.

"Ignore him," Ebony told her. "So I'm guessing you were assigned to the Viper case? Sorry if we're stealing your thunder, but we've also been told to work on this one." She had never liked Snow.

Snow nodded slowly. "Yeah, I was in charge of tracing any clues from Grass's murder. Of course, I've found nothing. The Viper is pretty good at what he does."

"Why does it have to be a 'he'?" objected Ebony.

"Statistics," dismissed Snow with a wave of her 

⛈ by Rio.