Finding a place to park in a busy tourist town like Berenko wasn't easy, even for Obi-Wan. Eventually though, after much to-ing and fro-ing, his patience paid off. The opening Obi-Wan spotted was only a short walk from the building that housed Naboo's version of a police force. The Jedi quickly lowered the speeder down and set it neatly into place. Then he picked up his Jedi robe from where he'd left it on the back seat and gave it a good shake, to remove all the creases.

Once he'd wrapped the oversized garment around him, Obi-Wan immediately felt more professional and much more like his old self. It was surprising how he missed wearing those traditional robes. He guessed the most he'd ever do was vary the shade of brown.

A wry smile came to his lips. Buffy probably despaired of his fashion sense. That amusing thought led to another, far more depressing one. How would he feel when he left the Order and traded those brown robes for full-time civilian clothing? Just the thought of it made him feel ill at ease.

"I wish there was some way I could remain a Jedi," he muttered.

Obi-Wan looked around guiltily. He shouldn't have said that out loud. Buffy was insistent he never spoke the 'wish' word in case a vengeance demon was listening. Why had he stupidly spoken out loud? He might wish he could stay in the Order, but that didn't mean he wanted to lose Buffy.

The frown came between his brows as he closed his eyes and stretched out with his Force senses. Testing the currents for anything around him that could be dark. Anything that might be a vengeance demon. Or any kind of demon for that matter. The Force showed him only the signatures of normal sentients around him. Nothing demonic within range. That didn't completely reassure him. Buffy was much more attuned to finding demons in the Force than any Jedi was. He knew there could be one stood in front of him and he'd miss it.

Opening his eyes, he looked about him carefully. When no demon sprang out, proclaiming that his wish had been granted. Obi-Wan relaxed. Shrugging off thoughts of demons and his uncertain future, Obi-Wan began to fasten the brown robe. Taking simple pleasure in touching the soft woven fabric, the robe's deep pockets and the way it completely concealed the space smuggler outfit he wore underneath. There was still the blaster hanging off his hip. He pulled out the weapon, pointed the barrel towards the sky and gave it a dirty look. Despite both their aversions to blasters, Buffy had insisted he wore it.

'It's to complete the Harrison Ford look', she'd said, 'you're gonna need all the right accessories to pull it off'.

Obi-Wan wasn't sure why it was so important he pulled off the Harrison Ford look, but Buffy seemed to think it a good idea. She'd claimed it would give Andrew nightmares and then giggled. Since he enjoyed watching her smile, he'd happily gone along with the idea. Now, that decision left him with the problem of where to hide the space pirate's weapon. A Jedi wouldn't carry a blaster hanging off his hip. Unwilling to leave it behind, he shoved the weapon deep into the pocket of his robe, threw the holster into the back of the speeder and set off for the security force's building.

Obi-Wan easily found the place as the previous night he'd researched the town and committed a map of the area to memory. As Qui-Gon's padawan the older man had taught him the wisdom of knowing a location and having a basic map of the area in your head. It always came in useful and had served him well, many times in the past.

There was a plaza in front of the building. Here Obi-Wan stopped amongst the crowds of tourists and market sellers to run his eyes over the building's frontage. Traditionally Nabooan in design, the building boasted a colonnaded facade, wide steps leading up to a decoratively carved doorway and above all a domed and turreted roof. Despite the classical architecture, Obi-Wan knew from missions that the security system inside would be far from old fashioned.

As he entered, he noticed the scanning device as he passed beneath it. Obi-Wan grimaced. No doubt that dratted blaster pistol in his pocket had activated an alarm somewhere on their security system. While it wasn't illegal to carry a weapon here, it wasn't exactly commonplace either. That blaster should have been left back in the hotel room. His lightsaber wouldn't have registered as a weapon. It was far more discreet. Now he'd lost the chance of staying off their radar.

This was confirmed when Obi-Wan crossed to the reception desk. From all directions came a low mechanical hum, as every security droid in the room turned to monitor him. And to his right, the uniformed woman busily working at a terminal stopped her work to give him a suspicious glare.
Inwardly, he sighed. Ah yes, it appeared he'd been flagged on everyone's datapad as a man of violence due to carrying a blaster in his pocket. Oh, goody. Thank. You. Buffy. Like I needed this.
It was his own fault, though. He should have learned by now that Buffy's crazy ideas led him into trouble.

A harried-looking woman came over to greet him and Obi-Wan responded with a polite bow. The woman's suspicion felt like a thin, jagged line through the Force and once again he blamed the blaster pistol in his pocket.

With no trace of his inner annoyance, he requested in a gentle voice, "Good day to you. I'd like to speak to someone in regard to the bodies found in and around Lake Bahlar recently."

The woman stared at him blankly.

He wasn't sensing anything but confusion from her so he explained further, "Each of the bodies had puncture wounds to the neck. The official cause of death for the young girl was a wild animal attack. The other victims all died as a result of falling on their barbecue forks."

As he expected, the mention of barbecue forks jogged her memory. He felt her start.

She stared down her nose at him."Are you a reporter?" Her voice was sharp and disapproving. Her dislike for the press evident in her tone.

Obi-Wan didn't blame her. After seeing the way CNN produced so much drivel regarding the relationship between Buffy and Palpatine he didn't hold them in esteem either.

"I'm a Jedi, not a reporter," he replied. He kept his words even, his voice calm and he made sure to speak without hesitancy. The Force told him she disbelieved and distrusted him, which was annoying as he'd been sending out waves of reassurance through the Force. It must be that dratted blaster.
He went on, "I'm here conducting an investigation at the personal request of Queen Amidala."

She gave him a hard look, still unconvinced."Very well, I'll see if someone will speak to you. If you'll wait here. Please, take a seat Mr ?"

This was a test. Obi-Wan easily sensed it. She knew 'mister' wasn't the correct title for a Jedi. Had she'd dealt with a Jedi in the past? If so, who?
Obi-Wan didn't want to reveal his own name. There were too many enemies who knew of his close association with Buffy. Needing to use another Jedi's, he'd intended to use Mace Windu's. Now he hesitated, unsure if that was wise. Master Windu had recommended Buffy stay at one of the honeymoon hotels. Had he stayed in this area? Had he met this woman? Obi-Wan knew he couldn't risk using Mace Windu's name. He also knew he'd hesitated over this far too long.

Obi-Wan gave the suspicious woman one of his slow easy smiles and, with an almost imperceptible finger wave, said slowly and firmly, "I'm Master Qui-Gon Jinn."

The woman left, looking slightly stupefied, and Obi-Wan waited.

A short time later, the door opened revealing a middle-aged overweight man with a strong receding hairline. He stood with a caff mug clutched in one hand and a datapad in the other. His eyes scanned over those waiting before coming to rest on the robed figure of Obi-Wan. The Jedi rose to his feet, taking in the man's stained tunic, heavy jowls, and large stomach paunch as he did so.

"Are you looking for me?"

"If you are..." The man referring to his datapad."Master Qui-Gon Jinn?"

Obi-Wan gave a formal Jedi bow of greeting. The gesture failed to put the man at ease. He shuffled uneasily, sliding his datapad under one arm and moving the caff mug from one hand to the other.

"I'm Officer Coltreeve. I'm willing to discuss those cases with you. If you'll come with me?" Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked back through the doorway. Obi-Wan quickly following.

The officer led him down a succession of narrow corridors and into an elevator. There they were joined by four uniformed enforcement officers who greeted Coltreeve politely but guardedly, before speaking in low tones amongst themselves. The Jedi reached into the Force. Sensing wariness, dislike, irritation, and even more wariness. None of those emotions were directed towards him. It was Coltreeve who they regarded with contempt and suspicion. Why? No stray thoughts explained why.

From the plain-clothed officer stood silently beside him, Obi-Wan sensed a wave of contempt for his fellow workers. Towards himself wariness and underlying another emotion that was much harder to define. Something underhand, something elusive... Was it glee? No, it wasn't glee. It was something else. Some dark secret he gloated over.

What sort of dark secret? Did he know vampires existed? Why gloat?Was it because he'd fooled people into believing the deaths were all accidental? Fork accidents? Who'd thought of using that odd excuse? Coltreeve was an officer of the law concealing murders. Why? Bribery? What did he have to gain?

Buffy hadn't believed they'd died of fork impaling. She'd said it was just like Sunnydale and the Mayor was most likely behind it all. Obi-Wan had quickly done a search on his datapad and reassured her that Berenko didn't have a mayor.

After they'd risen a couple of levels, Coltreeve led Obi-Wan to a small, messy office. A stack of data-sheets lay scattered across the desk. On a large plate was an extra-large size half-eaten pastry, and there was also a board game with pieces in play.

"Please, take a seat," Coltreeve pointed to a chair before moving around the desk and dropping, heavily, into a padded chair.

Obi-Wan sat, his eyes moving over to the holo-picture on the man's desk. It appeared Coltreeve had a family. The Jedi noted that the wife and daughter's hair was styled to perfection and their clothes expensive. Something he might have missed before he'd met Buffy.

"I'd appreciate it if you placed all your weapons onto the table," the officer said coldly. He leaned back in his chair, his arms resting on his belly. The man's brown eyes staring pointedly at the Jedi's robe pocket. "I know you've got a blaster pistol hidden in there and I'm sure you'll have the metal cylinder that all the Jedi carry. The..." He frowned, black eyebrows almost meeting in the middle as he tried to remember the weapon's name. With a pleased expression, he exhaled, "Lightsaver!"

"Lightsaber," corrected Obi-Wan, tugging the blaster pistol from his pocket and laying it down on the desk. The lightsaber was far more reluctantly laid on the desk. A Force pull could always bring it back into his possession, but a Jedi never liked to be without his weapon. Not to mention you'd meet some idiot who'd try to pick it up and switch it on.

The officer made no move to touch either of the weapons. His eyes went to the lightsaber and a thin smile came to his face. Obi-Wan supposed it reassured him he was dealing with a real Jedi.

Obi-Wan couldn't help remarking, "I could have killed a Jedi and stolen it from him."

Coltreeve jerked his eyes away from the weapon, scanning Obi-Wan's face. "No, you've got that look about you. That self-satisfied look I've seen on all the other Jedi faces."

Obi-Wan blinked, self-satisfied? Is that what people thought of the Jedi? Who had this man dealt with previously?

The officer scratched at his belly before jabbing a stubby finger towards the blaster. "It was the blaster that threw me. I heard the Jedi only fought with lightsabers. I heard something in their religions says other weapons aren't holy enough for them."

Obi-Wan kept his face impassive. "Well I'm a Jedi, and I carry a blaster. You must have heard wrong. However, now you know that I'm a Jedi, perhaps you'd care to tell me more about the victims found near the lake. Be assured, my interest lies only in uncovering the truth and that I've been sent here by the Queen."

It was the truth, if one looked at it in a certain way. Lord Vader had been the one asked to investigate, but she'd been happy enough to leave this task to him.

'Cops and Buffy are totally non-mixy,' she'd said, 'so you can go on your own. If they try avoiding questions you can always wave your hand at them. You're good at that type of thing. Just don't over-do it. I don't want to find any cop groupies have followed you home.'

Now, Obi-Wan gazed at the officer his face open and guileless. He was quite prepared to use Force persuasion if he had to, but he'd rather give the man a chance to provide the information of his own free will. He waited. Time passed. Coltreeve, apparently, was having an inward debate with himself over the wisdom of sharing this information. Suddenly, he flipped open his datapad and fired off a list of victim details. He included names, dates, locations, and also gave an overview of their injuries.

"There were 'four' victims who died of barbecue fork accidents?" That information was new. Obi-Wan wondered if the man would now try to convince him of the dangers of running with a barbecue fork in his hand.

"Yes, four. The last two were migrant workers here searching for work. We managed to keep their deaths a secret from the public. The barbecue fork explanation is pure fabrication, of course."

Obi-Wan stilled and slanted the man a narrow look. That admission was unexpected. Why was he admitting this?

Coltreeve leaned back, his chair creaking under the weight. "To be honest, Master Jinn, when we found the first victim we were at a loss. The coroner and the medical examiner put their heads together and came up with a mountain tiger attack. It's not unlikely. Every so often one comes down from the mountains and attacks a walker or one of the farmers. We genuinely thought she'd been attacked, fallen into the lake and bled out in the water."

"What about these fork incidents?" The Jedi's earnest blue eyes bore into the man.

"Ah," Coltreeve leaned forward, picking up the half-eaten pastry and took a large bite before putting it down again. As he talked, he chewed. "The second victim, mmph, he had puncture wounds to the neck. Mmph, he'd been at the lake that evening, mmph, barbecuing." Coltreeve swallowed the remains of the food inside his mouth, for which Obi-Wan was grateful. "His partner came back from swimming to find him dead. Barbecue fork in hand. The other victims were all found in that vicinity and we decided that death by misadventure would put their loved ones' minds at rest."

"How considerate," Obi-Wan replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Inwardly, he winced at his slip. His sense of justice might be outraged, but allowing emotions to show like that could easily jeopardize the investigation. And yet, something in the Force urged him on, "Or is this less about consideration for the bereaved and more to do with local business owners? Business owners who approached you to say a serial killer was bad for profits."

Coltreeve reached for his mug. He tried to hide his scowl as he drank and swallowed noisily. He's playing for time, Obi-Wan thought. Angry and doing his best to hide it.

"That is true." The officer put down his mug. "I was approached by several business owners worried that murders might affect trade. However, you must remember it wasn't me who gave the official cause of death. It was the coroner. Once he declared them to be cases of clumsiness there was no need for me to investigate any further."

"Clumsiness?" was Obi-Wan's pithy reply. If the man knew the medical examiner and coroner were hiding the true causes of death than he was guilty of conspiracy by silence. There were three of them involved in this deceit. He wondered again what their motive was.

Greed. It came to the Jedi sudden startling clarity. The man was motivated by basic greed. He was greedy not only were food was concerned but also with credits. Someone was paying him and the examiners to conceal these murders.

The chair squeaked as the officer leaned forward with surprising swiftness. "Look, this isn't what you are making it out to be! After the second victim, our orders were to do it this way!" Coltreeve lowered his voice. "The minister for our country heard about the deaths and became concerned about how it would impact on tourism. He told us to log all the deaths as accidents. That way we wouldn't alert the murderer and he'd be bringing in his own outside team to conduct the investigation. I thought at first you'd been sent by him. Which leads me to wonder why you don't know this?"

There were lies below the man's words but there was also the truth. But was there more truth than lies? A minister was behind this? That sounded as if the rot went deep into Nabboan politics if that was the case. If the man was telling the truth that is. The Force told Obi-Wan the man was dishonest and used to thinking on his feet to hide his deceitful nature. He was hoping to fluster the Jedi.

Obi-Wan replied, his accent becoming stronger, "As I've said previously, it was the Queen who personally requested me to investigate not-."

Coltreeve cut him off with a wave of a large, pudgy hand. "I think the problem is we are coming at this from different angles," he said. He picked up his caff again, took a tentative sip and pulled a face – the liquid was now cold.
"You say you've been instructed by the Queen? Well, everyone on this planet knows Jar Jar Binks helped to fight the Trade Federation alongside her. The Gungan minister has the Queen's ear and she has his. He will have consulted her and in response, she'll have sent for you."

Only Obi-Wan's intense Jedi training meant he was able to maintain a sabbacc face. Jar Jar Binks was the minister for this country? Jar Jar he knew to be a Sith? Jar Jar who'd become a vampire? That changed things.

"Look, I'm hiding nothing from you here and putting myself on the line." Coltreeve gestured to the datapad lying on the table. "All I've done, all we've done is follow orders. I'm happy for you to make copies of all the victims' files and then you can study them at your leisure. I'll even give out my personal com-link number and if you've any questions I'll do my best to answer them."

The Jedi eyed him. That was a dismissal. A sign he wanted the interview to end and anyone, Force sensitive or not would know it. Deciding to take the files before the man changed his mind, Obi-Wan slid his datapad towards the officer's. Once the files had transferred he stood.

"Thank you. You have been most helpful," said Obi-Wan, giving him a short bow. A little too helpful, thought the Jedi, but he didn't voice it.

Coltreeve remained seated. "You'll be able to find your own way out, I presume?"

At the Jedi's nod, he pulled the plate towards him once more, took another bite from the pastry and began munching.

As soon as the door closed behind the Jedi, Coltreeve licked his fingers and dropped the pastry back onto the plate. He touched the control panel on his desk. An image of the outside corridor sprang up. The officer watched as the Jedi walked to the elevator. He changed the image to one of the reception area. Again, his eyes followed the Jedi as he left the turbolift and walked to the main door. Another viewscreen was called up. This one showed the Jedi walking down the steps in front of the building and out into the square where he soon became lost in the crowd.

Reassured, Coltreeve took out the holo-com disk he'd hidden at the back of a drawer. He activated it and waited. After what felt like a long time, a blue holographic image of a robed man flickered in the center of the desk.

"Master Sifo-Dyas," Coltreeve exclaimed, almost bursting with excitement, "You asked me to contact you when someone made contact regarding the bodies?"

"Well?"

"I've had a Master Qui-Gon Jinn here, asking a lot of questions. I provided him with all the answers, as I was told to," Coltreeve paused. "He was carrying a blaster which threw me, but he also carried a lightsaver, like you said a Jedi would."

"Lightsaber," Sifo-Dyas corrected wearily, before looking over at something out of Coltreeve's field of vision. When he turned his face back to the officer his expression was thoughtful.

"Master Jinn?" he asked. "I'm surprised he carried a blaster. Then again, he likes to be thought of as being a rebel and he's a tendency to stick his nose where it doesn't belong."

Sifo-Dyas looked away again and Coltreeve felt certain the man was being told what questions to ask. "What did this Jedi look like?"

"Self-assured, in his twenties, reddish-fair hair, he -"

"Wait!" the former Jedi master interrupted, "Show me his image!"

"One moment." Coltreeve's fingers ran over the desk control once more. The image of Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared, entering his office and taking a seat.

"Ah, that's not Master Jinn." The smile of Sifo-Dyas became both sly and knowing. "You've had a visit from his latest padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. That he's here and not Qui-Gon is far more interesting to us. He's Lord Vader's sidekick." Sifo-Dyas's voice became a low rasping growl, "Was he accompanied by a small blonde woman?"

"She wasn't with him," replied Coltreeve. "I know what the Slayer looks like. My wife watches CNN's gossip channel and they did an hour long feature on Lord Vader's hair and make-up." He added bitterly, "I wanted to watch the pod racing but she insisted I watched it with her."

"Lord Vader won't be far." Master Sifo-Dyas's face twisted with hatred. Coltreeve thought the man's face became bumpy and disfigured. The moment passed and the man's face morphed back once more. Coltreeve put the strange effect down to a glitch with the holoprojection.

" My guess is the two of them are staying in the area." Sifo-Dyas mused. "Consider finding them your priority. Start with the lake resorts. Once located don't approach them, contact us. Did you give Kenobi of the exact location each of the bodies was discovered?"

"I gave him everything I had in my files. I also told him Jar Jar Binks wanted the murders concealed and that he intended to organize his own investigation."

Master Sifo-Dyas rubbed the palms of his hands together. "Good, good. In fact, this is excellent news. We didn't expect her to come here so quickly. Not after the little fiasco she caused with some of our Order at the museum in Theed. This almost makes up for those losses. We just need something to draw her to us, at the correct time..."
He looked over to whoever stood out of sight and nodded. "Bait? Ah, quite so. We'll put that into effect tonight, my Lord. I'm sure she won't resist her beloved crying for help."

The ex-Jedi master looked to Coltreeve who stood by, listening impassively. "You'll be well rewarded for this, Coltreeve. If you can find Kenobi and Summers even more credits will come your way."

...

First of all thanks to Blackhat who beta-d. It is kind of him to continue doing this.

Secondly to all reading, thanks for your feedback. Over 130 reviews on and 1700 reviews on the Buffy site Twisting the Hellmouth. Whoo! Thank you all who have read and then took the time to leave feedback. You all make my day.

I'm being pushed as a writer with this story. I am not a reader of crime or who-dunnits. So all rather new to me.

Ok, new information

Author's note 2*

A few people asked about master Sifo-Dyas and his turning into a vampire.

I first introduced this master and Buffy in chapter "Oh, yeah. You and Whose Army?" In which Buffy lets him know she isn't happy with his taking Force sensitive kids and also warn him privately that she knows of his plans for a clone army.

Next in chapter "M.I.A" she is questioned by the Council. He was seen arguing with her and later disappeared, which the Council consider suspicious. (not that they are pointing any fingers at her :) )

Then once more he was mentioned by the vampires in Naboo's museum. Chapter 162 "Trust Me, I'm A Jedi." He is in charge of recruiting for the New Order.

And then in "Hello, There," one of the vampires says to Obi-Wan that..."I don't take orders from the Gungan," snarled Master Jai. "My orders come from Master Sifo-Dyas and he answers only to Darth Desolate."

So there you have it. I've been building layers and plot twists for a long time now. It is one reason why I haven't rushed this story.
Once finished, if you'd like to reread it you will spot them. Oh, and some are set up for the sequel.

And a few big story arcs before the story has finished. Musey told me to do them. I hope I can write to her liking.