Just so you know, this is a P.O.V. switch. Meet Evea Meraz! Find out who she is next chapter! Anyway, this is during Danse Macabre.

The door swung shut behind me, and the guard waved. I waved back; he knew me pretty well by now. I made my way to the place where the detectives worked. I didn't want to walk all the way down to the morgue if I didn't have to. Plus, the dead body smell gave me the creeps. I looked for Detective Burkhardt; he, Detective Griffen, and Sergeant Wu were the only officers that I knew well. As I turned into the room, I heard a crash, saw Roddy Geiger storm out, and spotted Detective Burkhardt.

"He seemed happy to be let go," Detective Griffen said to him.

"Oh, yeah. I had to stop him from yodeling," he replied sarcastically. "Hey, Evea." He waved to me, and I walked over.

"How are you?" Detective Griffen asked conversationally.

"I'm doing okay, Detective. How are you?" I responded politely.

"I'm doing okay, too," he replied. "Looking for Beyla?"

"Yep," I affirmed. "She down in the morgue?"

"We're going down to see her now," he said. "We'll tell her you're here."

"Thanks," I said with a smile, happy that I wouldn't have to descend into the catacombs of the precinct. "Oh, and was Roddy here because of Dr. Lawson?"

"What do you know about that?" Detective Burkhardt asked.

"Umm, he got eaten by rats? He was my teacher, too, and news travels fast."

"What can you tell us about Roddy? We talked to some other students, but we're pretty sure that we didn't get the whole story. Maybe you can help us out."

"Oh, uhh, okay," I agreed. "He's at Von Hamelin on scholarship. He's an insanely talented violinist. His dad's an exterminator, so people tend not to talk to him. Did you talk to Carter, Marvin, Trey, and Sarah?"

"How did you know?" Detective Griffen asked.

"Well, if you weren't going to hear the whole story, they'd be the ones to hide it from you. Carter has a huge beef with Roddy, which is totally unfair because Roddy is way more talented than he is. He only got the spot because Roddy got suspended. And he only got Sarah because Mrs. Jessup is a stuck-up psycho," I said, candidly revealing more than I'd planned to. "Roddy wouldn't kill Dr. Lawson, though. I still don't believe that he'd hurt Carter, even though he totally would have deserved it."

"That was very revealing," Detective Burkhardt said. "Thanks, Evea. We'll tell Beyla you're here."

"No problem, Detectives. Can you tell her I'll be waiting by the car?"

"Sure thing," Detective Griffen said. "Take care."

"You, too," I replied as I turned to exit the precinct. As much as I disbelieved it, I could see why they had Roddy as a suspect. I'd always liked Roddy; he was at Von Hamelin for the music. I wished I'd gotten to know him better; maybe he wouldn't have been so unhappy. He used to smile, back when Sarah would talk to him. Now he was angry and upset almost all the time. Man could he play, though. What a prodigy! I was insanely jealous of his ability. He was like a surgeon with the violin; every note precise and true. What I wouldn't give to play like that.

I sat down on the back of Beyla's car and waited. It didn't take long for her to come out, and I was happy to see her. "Hey, Beyls!" I said, running over to hug her.

"Evy! Babe!" she said, hugging me back. "Come on; I'm starving!"

I laughed, and we got in the car. "So, what's new?" I asked, turning on the radio, classical music of course.

"Nothing much. Ewan is away on business this week, so it's just you and me tonight. I was thinking about having an intense game of Parcheesi later? You game for that?" she said, grinning widely.

"Hell yes!" I said, already excited. Honestly, I didn't have anything against Ewan; he was an okay guy. He was definitely hot, with bedroom eyes that will make anyone lacking a Y chromosome melt, but I always felt awkward staying over when he was there. He always somehow made me feel like a cock-block even though I wasn't trying to be. Beyla and Ewan having sex wouldn't have even bothered me, but I'm sure I would have been able to hear it, and that made them uncomfortable. Well, Beyla anyway. I think Ewan could've dealt with it. "Oh my God, I got a new cello!" I announced excitedly.

"Really?" Beyla said with a gasp. "What does it look like?"

"Ugh, he's so sleek and badass. Completely black," I told her, envisioning my new baby. "I'm thinking about naming him Batman."

Beyla laughed. "I suppose that is cooler than 'Bilbo,'" she replied. She named her cello after the hobbit. I never really understood why.

"Is that Roddy?" I asked as we approached a guy walking on the side of the street. "His house is miles from here; why is he walking?"

"Let's ask," Beyla suggested. She pulled over as I rolled down my window.

"Roddy!" I called, trying to keep up with him. Luckily, no one else was on the road. "Want a ride?"

He looked hesitant, so Beyla called, "It's no trouble! I'd feel bad if you had to walk all the way home. Come on; hop in!"

So Roddy shrugged and got into the car. "Thanks," he said simply. I'd never known Roddy to be verbose.

"For what it's worth, I don't think you did it," I told him, peering over the top of my seat at him.

"For what it's worth, I know you didn't do it," Beyla chimed in. "Forensic, hun. They don't lie. Unless you have a high-class BMW stashed away that no one knows about, you're in the clear."

I smiled with Roddy. "Really?" I asked, and she nodded.

"What about my dad?" he asked.

Beyla sighed unhappily. "Well, he did 'assault a police officer.' He'll have some time to 'cool down' regardless of his innocence with Dr. Lawson," she explained. "Turn here right? Okay. But, yeah, he'll spend a little time in a cell and be released. Is anyone going to be home for you, hun?"

"No," Roddy said, visibly upset. It was a mix of sadness and anger that shone so clearly through his big, blue eyes. Windows to the soul and all that.

"Well, don't worry. Hank is a friend of mine. I'll give him a chat and see if we can work something out, okay? Also, if you need anything, give us a call, alright? Any friend of Evy's is welcome to come to my house and eat my cooking," she said with a laugh.

That's my Beyla. She doesn't even know Roddy, and she's willing to call in favors for him. Say what you want about her biting wit or her rough exterior, inside Beyla was a wonderful woman. "Thanks, Beyls," I said with a smile.

"Hey, no problem! Really, don't mention it," she said, waving a dismissive hand and turning onto Roddy's street. "Well, here you are."

"Thanks," he said simply, but the word sounded strong. He was really grateful to Beyla, and we could both tell.

"Remember, if you need anything, give us a call, okay?" she said. He nodded with a smile.

"I'll see you soon, right? Your suspension is almost over, isn't it?" I asked before he had a chance to shut the door.

"I'll be back next week," he said.

"I'll see you next week, then," I said, smiling.

"See you," he replied and shut the car door.

Beyla waited until he was inside to say, "What a shame, huh?"

I looked at her, waiting for her to specify what about Roddy was a shame. "What in particular?"

"How clueless you both are," she said with a devious smirk.

"What?" I said as she pulled out of his driveway. "What are you even talking about?"

"Hmm, nothing," she said with indignant sass. "So, did Nick and Hank ask you any questions when you came in?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding. "Just about Roddy and Dr. Lawson."

"I'll get it!" I called upstairs, hopping up from my seat at the kitchen counter to answer the door. I wondered who would be knocking on Beyla's door; it was pretty late. When I opened it up, a very tall man looked down at me. "Hello."

"Uhh, hi. Is Beyla here?" he asked, looking around inside a little.

"Monroe!" I heard Beyla yell from upstairs. She ran down to us. "I didn't think you'd actually come! It's late!"

"You said I could pick up my book," he said, seemingly oblivious to that fact. "I was already out, so I figured I'd just stop by."

I coughed expectantly, painfully aware that I had not been introduced. "Oh!" Beyla exclaimed, a little embarrassed. "This is Evea. Ev, this is Monroe. He is not a kidnapper."

"Umm," I said with a short chuckle. "Hello, Monroe. I'm glad to know that you're not a kidnapper."

"'He's climbing in your windows, snatching your people up,'" Beyla sang with a chuckle. "Want a beer?"

Monroe chuckled now, too. "You take that very seriously." He came inside.

I sighed. "Yes, she does," I said, sighing. "So, how did you guys meet?" Monroe and I sat in the living room as Beyla went to get some beers and a soda.

"Well," Monroe said awkwardly, trying to find the right way to explain circumstanced that I assumed to be unorthodox.

Beyla was not nearly as tactful. "We had him as a suspect for a kidnapping. As I said before, he didn't do it. Forensics don't lie, brutha. Then I thought he was trying to kill Nick's aunt as payback, but he doing that either. Two cell phone misplacements and an awkward clubbing encounter later and here we are," she said with a chuckle.

"That's practically a fairy-tale," I said, shaking my head at that impossible turn of events.

"Speaking of!" Beyla said. She was acting uncharacteristically scatterbrained tonight. Was it because of this "Monroe" character? She ran off to grab a book off the bookcase. "Here you are."

Monroe took the book: Grimm Fairy-tales. Odd, but okay. "Want to play Parcheesi with us?" I asked him, knowing that Beyla wouldn't.

"Sure!" he replied. "I love a good game of Parcheesi."