Here's the next chapter. There will be another one next Saturday. To clarify: The relationship is established in this story but is still being kept a secret from the rest of the station. But... the rest of the station definitely suspects something! - larosesombre

Chapter 2: Pursue All Lines of Questioning

Quark woke up in a pool of blood. A quick and frenzied search revealed that he was unhurt and that the blood was therefore not his own. Somewhat relieved, Quark rolled over onto his side to sit up. He went to plant his hands to push himself up, only to be hindered by the item clutched in his fist. Quark's eyes widened as he took in the sharp blade, the blood-encrusted handle, the dried flakes scattered all over his hand and up his sleeve.

The smell of blood almost burnt his nose, assaulting him with its intensity. Quark turned slowly, he was at the top of the stairs. Behind him, he was startled to meet a pair of eyes. Dead, glazed over eyes. Quark nearly fell down the stairs in his scramble to put distance in between himself and the eyes.

The eyes were planted in the horrified face of the Bajoran from earlier. Struggling against the urge to be sick, Quark crept over to the body and knelt down by it. There was a gaping wound in the Bajoran's chest, and this was undoubtedly the source of the blood.

The blood that was all over the knife in Quark's hand. Panicked, Quark's head began to race. Had there been a struggle? Had the Klingon killed his employer? But what about the knife. Had Quark...? Suddenly dizzy, Quark dropped the knife. He couldn't remember anything past the Klingon taking control of the situation. He felt sick, trying desperately to remember what had happened.

Quark suddenly found himself thinking about Odo. He wanted nothing more than for Odo to tell him that it was alright. That they'd catch the murderer. But there was the horrible possibility that Quark was the murderer. Staring down at the body he wondered what Odo would think of him then.

Odo was waiting for him. Had been waiting the whole time Quark had lain there. The full horror of the situation hit him as he thought about the evening he had promised Odo. It must be late, surely the changeling would be looking for him soon, and he couldn't let him find him like this.

Quark couldn't face the very real possibility that he had done this, and he certainly never wanted Odo to have to see it. How could he protect himself? Plots of scandalous novels suddenly returned to him in a flood of poor suggestions as he attempted to wipe his fingerprints off of the knife. He needed an alibi. Leaving the knife by the body, Quark rushed off to find a change of clothes and to change the data log of one of the holodecks. He needed to have evidence that he had been far away from the murder when it happened.

...

Odo was still waiting for Quark. It had been two hours since he had shut the bar down for the day, and Odo hadn't seen him since. He was getting frustrated, and the part of him that wanted to see Quark finally won over the part that knew it was a poor decision to interrupt Quark while he was making a deal.

Odo wouldn't admit it, but he was hesitant to investigate Quark now. He was wary of discovering something damning that he'd rather remain ignorant to. It was difficult to reconcile this with his morals, but if he didn't know then he couldn't be expected to do anything about it. So Odo made sure he didn't know about things.

But this was different. What if something was wrong? Quark was taking too long, and Odo finally had enough. Rising to his feet he started back towards the bar. It was time he checked in on the Ferengi. Odo was halfway out the door when his combadge went off. "Kira to Odo. There's a problem at Quark's."

These were the last words Odo wanted to hear. "What happened?"

"There's been... I think you'd better just come see it."

Odo was let into the bar by two security officers who were standing guard outside. He had barely made it into the bar when with a cry a form collided with him. It was Quark. The Ferengi had thrown himself across the room to get to Odo. Odo had to remind himself not to show too much affection as he examined Quark with concern. "Are you hurt?' He asked. "What's happened?"

"Oh, I am so glad you're here." Quark whimpered, clinging to Odo. "It's horrible."

They were interrupted by Commander Sisko. "Odo, I need you upstairs." He and Kira were standing near the staircase. "Leave Quark down here, and prepare yourself, it's brutal."

"What happened?" Odo asked again, gently prying the Ferengi off of him. "I'll be right back." He said softly, leading Quark over to a bar stool.

"A man's been murdered." Sisko was leading him up the stairs towards the bar's storage bay. "A Bajoran. I have the Provisional Government at my neck, it seems he was quite an important business man and here he is dead in a pile of Federation contraband."

"Federation contraband?"

"Absinthe. It's been illegal on Earth since the 20th century due to it's high thujone content. Thujone is a chemical known for its hallucinogenic and somethimes convulsant and lethal properties. There are crates of it up here. Doubtless Quark's work."

"What's the charge for selling a drink like that?" Odo asked casually, hoping the commander wouldn't notice his concern over Quark.

"A rather hefty fine. But the charge for murder is far worse. What can you tell me about Quark's recent movements, Odo?"

"Nothing that will be useful." It was clear that the Commander was suspicious of Quark, and frankly, Odo couldn't blame him. This whole thing looked like a business deal gone wrong. "Commander, I know that Quark wouldn't do something like this."

"Like this?" The commander asked, raising an eyebrow at Odo.

"He wouldn't murder a man, and certainly wouldn't be so..." Odo looked around at the blood. It coated a number of surfaces. "Messy. He'd find a cleaner way. If he wanted to get rid of someone at all."

"Nevertheless, I expect you to investigate all leads thoroughly, Odo." There was a certain insinuation in the Commander's tone. It almost sounded as if he didn't believe that he could trust Odo to investigate Quark.

"Commander, I will investigate the matter using the proper procedures. I assure you there is nothing to worry about."

"A man is dead Constable. I'm afraid there will be a great deal of worry until you can find his killer."

"Understood."

Sisko left, presumably to speak to a Bajoran minister, and Odo began his examination of the scene. The Commander's comments had started a conflict in Odo's mind. He felt he had a duty to follow all lines of questioning. It was the right thing to do, the correct way to uphold the law. But at the same time, Odo really didn't want to investigate Quark. He was worried he'd learn something he didn't want to know. There was the possibility that Quark was responsible for this and if he was then Odo would rather he never had to know about it.