Inside the Jiang Shi, Jirou waited patiently as Duo conferred with Wufei Chang. The two of them had spent the past hour (along with Hubb's assembled team) searching and questioning every guest. Now it was time to speak to the owner of the establishment, Vivian Wong. A task that given the circumstances was easier said than done.

Jirou crossed his ankles and slouched back against the wall. He knew Vivian would not be pleased by his visit. Like every other vampire who was wrapped up in the higher affairs of their kind, she knew a meeting with him could very well spell disaster. Yet, Jirou knew Vivian also had a reasonable head on her shoulders and cared genuinely about the safety of her club's attendees first and foremost. If it meant keeping more unwanted blood from spilling and more cops showing up on Jiang Shi territory, then she would risk seeing him.

Duo whispered something into Wufei's ear. Jirou watched the Chinese vampire nod once before disappearing behind a set of double doors decorated by a fierce looking dragon lady. He reappeared a few minutes later and motioned for Jirou and Duo to follow him behind the doors. Jirou was silent as Wufei led them into the lavishly decorated room. Plush oriental Chinese rugs and priceless artifacts of jade and gold greeted the two vampires. Ancient murals of Chinese text and artwork lined the walls. Dragon statues and terra-cotta soldiers could be seen on various shelves and in corner spaces.

Seated among all the treasures, at a fair-sized wooden desk was their query. When her guests entered, Vivian stopped whatever it was she had been doing and focused her attention on the two males before her.

"Ah, detective Maxwell," she greeted the American vampire warmly. "It's so nice of you to come." Her eyes landed on Jirou. "And Jirou Matushita; this is most unexpected. I thought only Mister Maxwell would be questioning me."

"Jirou is on the case, ma'am. Chief Lebowski personally requested his assistance in the matter." Duo informed her.

"I see." Vivian's eyes darkened. "Leave us," she hissed.

Wufei gave a slight bow and shuffled out the door.

Once her bodyguard was gone, Vivian rounded on her guests. "You've got a lot of nerve coming here, Matushita," she growled at Jirou. "If Kaiba or Jounouchi finds out that you're here –"

"Kaiba and Jounouchi don't scare me, Vivian. Mai Kujaku and I have an accord. I come with her blessing. So, you can stop worrying about your pretty little head. I didn't come here for a social chat, just to get answers."

Vivian shook her head. "Jounouchi's wife's authority is of little comfort to me. Lord Yami made it perfectly clear that you were banished and if I am caught -"

"Yami isn't here Vivian," Jirou pointed out. "And I am here because whatever killed Siegfried is still out there and is a threat to us all. Now, will you please just answer our questions? The sooner Maxwell and I get information, the sooner we can leave."

Vivian studied him for a moment. "Fine," she agreed.

"Now, did you notice anything or anyone unusual about the place tonight?

"No, it was just the usual lot."

"I see. At what time did Siegfried arrive?"

"It was just after nine."

"Was he alone?"

"To my knowledge he was."

"No bodyguards?"

"I don't recall any. Look, boys, if you want more detailed info, such as his activities for the night, then you'll have to talk Mara."

"Who is Mara?" The question came from Duo.

"She's one of the girls who serve my whales. She waited on Siegfried this evening. You'll find her in the lounge tending to the guests. "

I couldn't tell you much. Only that he seemed really worried about something."

"How could you tell?"

"Aside from the general fear and nervousness that I could sense admitting from him, he kept looking over his shoulder, like someone was following him or something. I got curious and asked if he was okay, but he just smiled and said he expecting to meet with some investor later and was a bit worried about the outcome."

"Did he meet anybody why he was here or did anyone suspicious approach him?"

"Nope, he came alone. Sat down, had chilled sherry with a pint, then left."

"Did anything happen during that time that may have caused him to leave so abruptly?"

"No, not really - wait a minute! He received a call on his cell phone just before he left. He seemed pretty upset about it too."

"Right, anything else you can tell us?"

She shook her head.

"In that case, my partner and I will let you get back to work. Thank you for your time, Mara."

"No problem."

After she left, Duo turned to Jirou. "What do you think?

"Well, we do know Siegfried was flustered about something and judging from Mara's description of his behavior, I bet he knew someone was tailing him or least had a hunch. The cell phone call does have some merit, provided we can locate the phone. Did Cher find it among his belongings?"

Duo shook his head. "If he still had it on him when he left…"

"It figures. A killer who called his victim to in order to lure him out to where there would be no witnesses wouldn't leave a traceable phone lying around for us to find."

"So, I guess the only things we have to go are an eyewitness account which revealed Siegfried had a bad case of nerves, an unknown cell phone call, and some saliva and hair samples. Damn, we got nothing."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

"What? You think of something?"

"I might have. Does Cher still have those hair fibers and saliva from the crime scene?"

"I think Hubb mentioned her sending them over to the forensics lab for analysis. Why?"

Jirou smiled. "Sally, then."

Duo raised a curious eyebrow. "You think there's something in the DNA."

Jirou nodded.

"I take it you're going to pay a visit to the lovely Doctor Po?"

Jirou nodded, while conspicuously checking his wristwatch. "But first, I think we should make our way back to headquarters and check on the girls. That way you update Hilde on the situation and it will give Sally enough time to analyze the samples without me badgering her."

"You want to go alone." It wasn't a question.

Jirou nodded. "I'll swing by the lab after I've dropped Anzu and Jade off at home. Besides, I am sure Hubb will need you here."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

The sound of Drowning Pool's Let the Bodies Hit the Floor, screaming loudly from Jade's pocket was enough to wake the slumbering dead, Anzu decided. Cracking open one lazy azure colored eye, the brown-haired girl watched groggily as her dhampir friend flipped open her signature hot-red RAZR phone and began talking to the person on the other end. With a yawn, Anzu forced herself up into a sitting position and briefly mourned having to give up her spot on Duo's comfy couch. She recognized the ringtone. It was Jirou who was on the other end of the conversation. "What does that brother of yours want now, Jade?"

Jade briefly agreed with her brother on something, before finally flipping her phone shut. She then turned to Anzu. "He just wanted to tell me that he's finished with the crime scene and that he and Duo are on their way back here, so he can pick us up."

"We're leaving?" Anzu groaned. "What about Hilde? We can't just leave her here with these files."

"It's okay Anzu. Jade and I pretty much got it sorted through. I can get a good start on running solid background checks."

"Oh," Anzu blinked and then blushed. "I-I am sorry I wasn't much help to you, Hilde, I guess I was more tired than I realized."

Hilde grinned. "It's alright. I can only imagine how exhausted you'd be after spending a day running around with this spitfire." She jerked her thumb toward Jade.

"What can I say? I am a bundle of energy," Jade grinned. "Jirou said he'd meet us out front, so we should probably head out."

"Okay. Bye, Hilde."

"Take care, Anzu. Jade, tell that brother of yours if he doesn't want me to throw his ass in the tank for a night or two, then he'd better lay off the speeding."

"Will do; later Hilde."

Train E-6 from Kyoto is now arriving on platform three. Train E-6 from Kyoto is now arriving on platform three!"

Jounouchi watched nonchalantly as passengers disembarked from the latest arrival. Most were vampires, although he could sense a few humans amongst the throng of life forms.

"Katsuya!"

Jounouchi turned, just in time to see a flash of auburn coming at him. He felt the wind being knocked out him as the petite form of his sister hurled herself against him.

"Onii-chan!"

"Oof!" Jounouchi gasped. "It's good to see you Shizuka."

"Oy, Shizuka, we just got here. You could at least get settled in before you start smothering him!"

"Hey man," Jounouchi greeted Hiroto Honda. "Glad you could make it."

His friend snorted. "You're lucky we made it at all. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get train tickets twenty minutes before departure, and express tickets at that? Kaiba must have pulled some hefty strings."

"He had to."

"Yeah, I noticed. I'll be sure to notify Yami that he owes us new wardrobes, seeing as how we didn't have time to pack."

"That won't be necessary bro. Mai's already got fresh clothing for you both at the manor. She and Kisara had to do some last minute shopping for the Ishtars, Mana, and Mahad."

Shizuka's eyes lit up. "Mana's coming too - and Mahad?"

"You didn't think that the two of them would let Yami run loose without chaperoning now did you, sis?"

"No," Shizuka admitted. "It's just that they usually stay in Egypt when Yami visits."

"Well, this isn't exactly a social call, Shizuka."

"I know. Regardless though, it will be good to see them again, especially Mana and Ishizu."

Honda grinned. "In other words, she's anxiously awaiting female companionship. I guess that's what happens when you spend two weeks in Kyoto with just your husband."

A blush colored Shizuka's cheeks. "It's not that I didn't enjoy your company, Honda; it's just well…"

"I know. For your sanity, you need to have girl talk. I was only kidding Shizuka."

"Yeah, well, this isn't exactly a slumber party Sis. Mana and Ishizu are going to be here for other and more pressing reasons than gossip with you, Kisara and Mai."

"And what reasons might those be?" Shizuka inquired.

They walked over to the waiting vehicle. By now the porters had moved Shizuka and Honda's personal belongings into the sleek Terrain. Jounouchi held the left-side rear door open. "Get in, I'll tell you on the way to the manor."

Get in," Jirou told his sister.

Jade slid into the back of the Camaro, but not before giving her brother a look of curiosity. On the other side of the car, Anzu had already positioned herself in the passenger seat. Once Jirou was securely inside the vehicle and had started the car, Jade spoke, "What's up?"

Jirou signaled her to wait. Both of the girls put their seatbelts on and watched as he put the car in drive steered out of the parking lot.

"Siegfried Von Schroeder has been murdered."

"What?" Jade gasped, at the same time Anzu's eyes went wide.

"Wait - isn't Siegfried Von Schroeder one of the financial powerhouses of The Order?" Anzu asked.

"Yes."

Jade's jaw twitched. "That explains your trip to the Jiang Shi then." Her eyes caught Jirou's in the review mirror. "Any leads?"

"Just a shaky eye-witness account and some hair and saliva traces found where the body was – and no Anzu. I don't need an assistant for this one," Jirou cut the aforementioned girl off. "As we speak, Doctor Po has the samples at her lab and is running analysis on them. We should have the target in no time."

"So, if you didn't pick us up for 'Zoo's specialties, then we must be going on a field trip to see the good doctor."

"I'm going to see Sally. You and Anzu are going home."

"Huh?"

"What? What do you mean we're going home?"

"It's just as I said. I am dropping to of you off at the house –"

"Why?"

"It isn't safe on the streets for anyone. Whatever killed Siegfried is still out there, and I won't take any chances."

"But Jirou –"

"No, Jade. I am taking you home and that's final! Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Anzu?"

The brown-haired, blue-eyed girl said nothing and Jirou wondered if she'd heard him. He looked over at her.

"I understand." She rested her chin in her hand while gazing out the passenger window.

The rest of the car ride was silent.

To be continued…