"Alex, I need to talk to you about the body that was found at the school today, Dr. Gregory." Charles said to Alex when he arrived to have supper with the Chase's that night, rabbits that Charles had caught most likely himself, if Alex's sense of smell could be trusted and he was sure it could be.

"Hey, dead bodies are one thing, having something dead fall out of a 'fridge is entirely different and to have it be someone you know and like, just makes it that much worse. How's Cordy doing?"

"Pissed, her normal way of handling something like this, give her a target and she'll feel a whole lot better. Thing is, there's a good chance this is connected to why the police were already at the school. I followed though on having the Driving Instructor checked out and asked Principal Flutie to take a better look at the resumes, his Secretary found something. Two identical resumes, one for a retired woman and one for a younger woman who appears to be in her early thirties. On the surface, a case of identity fraud. The police have confirmed the identity of Natalie French as belonging to a 93 year old former substitute teacher. They have no actual identity on the second woman and may not find one. She may have targeted Sunnydale on purpose."

"Because of the reputation Mayor Wilkins cultivated for demons and vampires." Alex guessed. "She may have killed Dr. Gregory to open a spot for her to get into the school to do whatever it is she wants to do."

"That's what both I and the police are thinking as well and the findings on Dr. Gregory support that, the head was bitten off, by something with a jaw large enough to bite a man's head off."

"Only a few animals could do that, except in the ocean and we live next to the ocean so we have to consider it a possibility." Alex decided. "Even if, as far as I know, it hasn't come up before, at least in Sunnydale. Plenty of stories in the supernatural world that make it a possibility."

"True, I just want to put you on alert, she won't be called to substitute for anyone, let alone Dr. Gregory. Not in Sunnydale, anyway. But if she's already here and given he's dead, she is, that means she's gone to the trouble of establishing herself here. A base of operations and if she can pass for human, that suggests a house, than she's not going to just abandon her plans so quickly. The police are checking for recent rentals and purchases while trying to find out if she's worked as a substitute teacher elsewhere. But once she realizes her plan has fallen through, she may try another approach. Whatever she's after, she wants to be near teenagers."

"If the school's not an option for her that leaves the Bronze, the bowling alley and the Mall. The Mall is large, well lit and filled with people, easy to get in and out with multiple exits, suited to a quick grab. The bowling alley only has a few teenagers that go there, it's mostly adults. At the Bronze she could do what the vamps do, lure someone out."

"Her picture shows someone in their early thirties, how easy would it be for her to get in?"

"Vamps use thrall, I think, to get passed the bouncer. Any adults that show up tend to be parents. She's not old enough to claim to be a teenager's parent, on the other hand, we don't know that's her actual human face in that picture. Magic users can make glamours, she might be able to too. In which case, we have no idea what she actually looks like and she could even pass as a teenager herself. We'll have to use other methods to try to identify her if she does show up."

"Smell and hearing aren't so easily fooled as the eyes." Charles agreed. "Mostly because humans rely so much on their eyes that Magic users never really consider trying to fool the nose or the ears. Just be careful, okay? The Bronze is part of your territory and you have the right to defend it, forming a pack at your age is the same as humans forming cliques and is a learning experience for adulthood, but you're still kids, not just members of the extended pack I'm responsible for, but kids that matter to me. So don't get killed, okay? Cordelia will haunt us both."

"Damn right I will." The girl in question informed them as she entered the room. "Alex for being so stupid as to die on me or being too stupid to save me and you, Daddy, because I'll still be a angsty teenager. Supper's ready, Lupe says if she cooks the rabbits anymore they'll turn into rubber and she will never serve anything like that at her table, so get your butts in the kitchen and stop talking shop. Let's discuss something more pleasant, like apparently Willow is learning how to actually dress since she met Buffy. Her clothes no longer seem to come from a Sears catalog and look good on her."

"That's a more pleasant topic of conversation?" Alex asked as he and Charles followed her into the dining room.

"It is for me, I don't want to discuss dead things anymore today, having it fall on me was enough."

"You have a point." Alex agreed. "Can I get away with pretending to be interested in the topic or do I have to actually participate?"

"Just nod occasionally so I know you're listening."

"I can do that." An amused Charles enjoyed the free show these two's antics always gave him as the three joined Lupe, their housekeeper, for the delicious meal she'd made for them.