Chapter 11

Rachel's house was only about a couple of dozen blocks from the beach, so we decided to walk. At first, she almost insisted on the bus; she was worried about my morphing time limit. I just laughed easily and told her that since I wasn't going to be overly worried about morphing today, neither should she. I had already mentally committed myself to as many human-to-hawk-back-to-human morphs as it took to make Rachel's day. She had just smiled and grabbed my hand, swinging it back and forth as we walked.

Holding hands is, as far as I know, uniquely human. Maybe monkeys do it, I don't know; they're the only other animals on Earth who could, if they wanted to. I assume, if monkeys do hold hands, that it doesn't hold the same significance for them. Maybe that sounds like an elitist way to think, but I learned a long time ago that giving human qualities to an animal when they aren't really there is a stupid and possibly dangerous thing to do. It was Cassie who taught me that.

It was hard to believe that such a small thing could elicit such a strong reaction, even out of my own, human body. If kissing is the physical manifestation of love, then hand-holding must be born out of comfort. That was the feeling I got more than any other as Rachel and I walked through the sunny weather – comfort. I don't get a whole lot of that out in my meadow, and it was very, very nice.

We talked about a lot of things on our walk to the beach, but for once, there wasn't any mention of the Yeerks. We talked about her classes and about the other Animorphs. She told me about the new, annoying habits her sister Jordan was picking up now that she was moving into the Land of Being a Teenager, and I laughed and sympathized at all the right places. She told me about getting back into gymnastics; she complained and deprecated herself nonstop, but I could tell from the way she talked about it that she really loved the sport. I was glad that she was at least giving it another go.

When we were close enough to the beach to see the first thin sheets of sand blowing across the road, she seemed to realize something. "Crap! Tobias, I've been totally talking about myself this whole time. How annoying," she shook her head, and she really did look annoyed with herself. My laugh at this one came even more naturally than the others.

"Get real. What else are we going to talk about? My favorite spot to find mice? Ax's take on the morning news? Don't worry about it – hearing you describe some normalcy makes me feel normal, and it's great." I was being completely honest, too.

She grinned, and it was somehow both thankful and rueful at the same time. "Yeah, I guess. Only I do want to know what's going on with you, Tobias. Even if you think it might be boring for me, it's your life. I want to know about it."

I grinned back, worried that I might be doing it wrong and showing too many teeth, but her smile never changed. "I'll make you a deal – if something more exciting than picking off rodents for breakfast ever comes up, you'll be the first to know." She laughed indulgently and squeezed my hand.

I was still focused on her voice as she described a T.V. movie she'd seen recently when she abruptly stopped. She stopped talking and walking and even dropped my hand. Belatedly, I looked up and ahead of us as she said, "What the heck is going on down here?"

I hadn't noticed before, because human eyes are awful. I tend not to focus on things more than twenty feet away in human morph, because straining to make out detail would give me a headache. I might compare the difference between hawk and human vision like this – it would be like somebody who's worn corrective glasses for years suddenly losing them. No, that's not extreme enough. It would be like an able-bodied person waking up without any arms or legs. I really felt that crippled in my human morph, in terms of eyesight.

Now that I was paying attention, I could see the blue-painted sawhorses strung up with yellow police tape. The barricade started before the wood of the boardwalk, and there was already a large crowd of people gathered against it. Lots of cameras. I instinctively grabbed Rachel's hand and led her along the length of the barricade without ever getting too close; she let me lead, but she also had her head craned to try and see through the throng of people.

Eventually we got far enough down the beach to where they were letting people back onto the boardwalk. I started walking for a crowded outdoor café that was settled a few feet from the sand, and for the first time Rachel actually tugged back. She'd realized that I meant to take us away from the crime scene, and she bucked. "No, hold on. I want to go over there and see what's going on – it might have something to do with the – the you-know-whos," she cut herself short of the word "Yeerk" as she realized how crowded the boardwalk was.

"We are going to find out what's going on – come on," I urged her toward the crowded eatery. "We don't have to get so close – not that we could. Too many people, too many cops. I'll bet you my tail feathers the waiters at this place can tell us more than the cops ever would." That was one thing you could count on – if something out of the ordinary happens around someone's job, they'll 1) know all about it, and 2) be more than willing to tell anyone who will listen.

She looked at me almost admiringly. "You know, you're pretty smart sometimes."

I blushed, taking a stool at the counter as Rachel sat in the one beside me. "Nah, I just pay attention."

I didn't even pick up the menu as the waitress came over to get our order. I knew exactly what I wanted – a big, fat salad with everything on it. Hawks can't eat vegetation, they don't need it and they can't digest it anyway. There was a part of me that missed big leaves of crunchy lettuce, crisp tomato slices, and onions. Not to mention the bacon bits, croutons, dressing, and whatever else I could pile on to ruin the innate healthiness of the meal. After I got done ordering, Rachel just asked the girl to make it two of them. She was looking at me like she was seeing me for the first time today. "You really are falling into this pretty nicely, you know."

"Falling into what?" I asked as I sipped the Sprite the waitress brought me, and I was transported to another planet by its coldness and sweetness. Transported to another time, at the very least.

She waved a hand at the crowded café around us. "This. Being normal. You're better at it than you think."

I smiled – that was very nearly the whole point of the day. "Hey, just because I spend 99% of my time with feathers doesn't mean I'm not a real boy."

She grinned and lightly poked my nose at the Pinocchio reference. "I know you are. I'll always know who you are," she said, maybe a little more seriously than the situation warranted. I leaned back as the waitress set our massive salads in front of us. As she went to leave, I caught her sleeve.

She turned back with a "what, now?" look on her face, and I couldn't help it. I laughed at her. "No, everything's great, the service especially." She relaxed and even smiled, now that she knew I wasn't another jerk customer with an unreasonable demand. I cocked my thumb at the bustling scene behind us. "I was just wondering if you heard anything about that."

As I'd known she would, she launched into the tale of what she knew of the situation. She even sat on the empty stool beside me to tell me. I thought I felt Rachel tense up beside me when the girl sat down and put her hand on mine to tell the story – but that was stupid. Rachel knew way better than to be jealous, and I was only getting the information we both wanted.

"I can't believe you guys don't know, yet." She spoke like she was talking to both Rachel and I, but her eyes didn't leave mine. She lowered her voice, for effect, I guess. "They found a body on the beach earlier, buried in the sand. They also found another one, about five miles that way," she pointed north. "They think it's a serial killer."

"Why do they think that?" I asked. I didn't know a lot about serial killers, but I knew that two murders was a little premature to slap the label on it.

"Because the girls that were murdered could have been twins. Sisters, at least. Both young, white, blond, pretty…" her eyes flicked to Rachel as she described the victims, then back to me. "The police have already spoken to the girls who work on the boardwalk," she gestured so I'd know that included her. "They're telling us not to work past dark if we can help it, and to go home in pairs. They wouldn't do that if they thought it was just a one-time thing, would they?"

"No, I guess they wouldn't," I agreed. I let the girl get back to work and turned to Rachel. "Nothing to worry about," I assured her, and dug into my salad.

She didn't start eating, which made me stop. She was just looking at me. "Nothing to worry about?" she repeated.

I flushed as I realized how I had sounded. "You know what I mean – nothing to worry about for us. It's not the you-know-whats. Just a human thing."

"Just a human thing?" she repeated again. "Tobias, how can we not do something about this?"

Now it was my turn to stare. "You know what we have coming up, and how crazy it is. You want to add something else on top of it? We're not detectives, Rachel, and we're not the cops. Let them handle it."

She grimaced, like the thought of leaving it alone made her sick, but she slowly started eating. I tried to spark the conversation a few times, but she was off in her own little world. I sighed, because I knew where this was going. I had to remind myself what the day was all about – making Rachel happy. If investigating some murders would make her happy, who was I to say no?

I pushed my bowl away after I was finished. I looked at Rachel, who was still lost in thought. "When you're done, what do you think about getting some wings? Maybe we could float over the crime scene, see if we see anything the cops missed. Maybe we can help."

The smile broke out of her pensive expression like wildfire. "You mean it?" she asked. "Yeah! Let's definitely do it!" She seemed to temper her own enthusiasm for a second. "Unless, you know, you had big plans for today or something…"

I instinctively leaned toward her and kissed her cheek. She was surprised, but still quick – she turned her head and caught my lips with hers. The kiss was short, almost perfunctory…but it was also one of the greatest things I'd ever experienced. Her eyes were electric when she broke away from me gently. She seemed to consider me, then laughed. Loudly. Two guys behind us turned to see what was so funny.

"Just when I think you're going to keep making things harder than they have to be, you go and surprise me. Thanks."

"Thank Ax. He's the one who convinced me to break out of my shell and spend some human time with you," I said, unwilling to take the credit for the amazing way things were going.

"I will." She leaned in for another kiss, and pecked my lips with hers again. There was no obnoxiousness about it, no overdone passion, but in a way, that made it all the more real to me. "I'll thank him and anybody else who might have had anything to do with today."

I laughed again. "It's not over. We still have a crime to solve – how could the day get any better?" I was joking.

"Yeah," she agreed.

She wasn't joking.

A/N – Just want to say thank you to everyone who is reviewing! There are a lot of guest reviews coming in, and I wish I knew how to message you so I could thank you guys personally. I guess this will have to do – thank you! I hope everybody continues enjoying!