Chapter 14
After the meeting broke up and Rachel's mom picked her up, I used the remaining daylight to go back to my meadow and hunt. After I ate, even though the sun was setting, I decided to go for a flight. I didn't really have a destination in mind, and the rapidly-cooling air made flying seem like more of a chore than a joy. I noticed that along main roads, especially the ones closest to the beach, the police had set up roadblocks. 'And just what do they think that is going to do?' I thought. 'Do they think they're going to catch the killer driving around with dead bodies in his backseat?' I didn't know a whole lot about the inner workings of the mind of a serial killer, but I assumed that most of them were smarter than that. After all, most of them got away with their crimes for a long time before being caught. The cases I actually knew about – high-profile stuff like Ted Bundy – made it seem like the killers let themselves get caught, maybe out of sheer boredom.
Because I wasn't tired yet and because the chill had made aimless flying nearly impossible, I swung by Ax's. To my surprise, he already had a visitor. He and Marco were completely oblivious to my arrival as they fooled with an ancient-looking personal computer in the corner of the scoop.
If I were human, I would have cleared my throat. (Hey guys. What's up?) I asked.
Ax continued to concentrate on the guts of the computer tower. Marco turned and gave me a nod. "Not much. I think I've managed to scrounge everything Ax needs for an internet connection. We're just trying to get it to work."
(Cool,) I said, thinking it would be convenient to be able to get the news online. And, not to mention, for free – I was assuming that an Andalite with knowledge of the finer workings of Z-space could manage to pirate a free internet connection.
"I'm too worked up to sit around at home," Marco explained without me asking. He really must have been, too, because he almost never chose to spend time with Ax, just the two of them. Other than their love of technology and its applications, the two just didn't have anything in common. The fact that Ax didn't get his jokes most of the time would have been enough to keep Marco out of his space.
Marco wasn't my favorite person in the world. Don't get me wrong, I respected him plenty. I think what used to bother me most about him was, even though he complained the whole time, he was able to deal with the whole Yeerk situation better than me. If any of us had a shot at coming out of the other side of this war still normal, it was Marco.
On the other hand, Marco was the one most likely to figure out abstract puzzles. Puzzles like the one involving a disguised Chapman at the scenes of some serial murders. While I hadn't wanted to pile my general uneasiness about the situation on the others, I thought that maybe with Marco's help, I could pin down why it seemed like such a big deal. Without consciously deciding to do so, I told Marco the whole story about what Rachel and I had observed earlier that day.
He listened thoughtfully and didn't interrupt me once. Like I said, Marco can be a major pain in the butt. He can also surprise you with his businesslike manner right when you need it the most. After I finished with my story, he leaned back in the wicker chair in the corner of the scoop and put one finger on his chin, deep in thought. I gave him a minute before saying, (So? What do you think? Am I just being paranoid, worrying about this right now?)
"Nope," he replied instantly. "It means something. You're right to be worried." He got up and paced – something Marco did when he was really working through something. He seemed to think better on his feet. "The Yeerks have no angle on this," he said, mainly to himself. "So why was Chapman there? And why did he switch cars and wear a ballcap?"
I felt a sense of relief when Marco said that – it reinforced my belief that that was the part of the mystery that was important. Chapman had wanted to see, but not be seen. There was a reason for that.
Suddenly, Marco stopped pacing. His expression looked like he was maybe on the verge of figuring it out, but he couldn't quite get there. He couldn't have been any less interested in Ax's computer project anymore – I'd given him a much harder and more real problem to deal with. "Do you have an owl morph?" he asked me suddenly, and I replied in the negative. "Let's swing by Cassie's barn and get you one – I saw that she has two of them at the Center." He was already shrinking, with feather patterns starting to outline themselves on his skin.
(Okay, sure,) I agreed. (But why? Do you know something I don't?)
Too far along in his morph to make actual speech, he switched to thought-speech. (No, I don't know anything…but I've got a strong suspicion about what might be going on. We need to check out a few things before I'll feel comfortable saying it out loud, though.)
Ax had been halfway paying attention to us while we talked; now, he turned both stalk eyes to us. (Will you need backup? I am willing to go, too.) His "tone" suggested he'd rather stay and work on his computer, and Marco picked it up, too.
(Nah, it's cool,) Marco told him. (We're just doing some outdoor recon. We won't get close enough to anything for anyone to be in danger.) Fully Great Horned Owl, he spread his impressive wings and got airborne. (Let's go figure this out, Tobias.)
A/N – Just want to make sure to thank Theanimorpherz for their detailed feedback. It really goes beyond helping the story, to the point of helping the writer, lol. Thank you for your input, it makes writing this story fun again. If even a quarter of the people on ffn would do this simple, simple thing, it would make the site a much better place…*sigh.* And if fish had bicycles, every river would be the freaking Tour de France. Anyway, thanks again, Theanimorpherz!