Page 58 of Tooth and Nail

“Yes. Or if they were involved in—or responsible for—a crime.”

“The answer is yes, there’s a way but in the murder of the homebuilder, that evidence wasn’t present.”

“But there is something,” Ari said.

Eoghan nodded. “Yes. Now, back to Peter Pan.”

“Right.”

“You know how in the Disney movie Tinkerbell used her wand to sprinkle ‘fairy dust’ over the kids to make them fly?” Eoghan asked.

“Yeah. I remember it. I had a massive crush on Tinkerbell,” Ari admitted.

Eoghan barked a laugh, pointing at him. “Nowthatis embarrassing.”

Ari grinned widely. “What? I kind of love her. Did you know Tinkerbell is the second most recognizable cartoon figure Disney ever created after Mickey Mouse? She’s usedeverywhere as a mascot in their branding,” Ari said. “Don’t tell me you never watched Disney’s Wonderful World of Color.”

Eoghan’s jaw dropped open as he glanced over at him. “Yeah, I watched it as a kid but how do you know that information about Tinkerbell? That’s some next level heroine worship right there.”

Ari snorted. “I read up on it. Stuff like that interests me.”

“‘Fairy dust’ interests you?”

“Very funny but no…it’s biographies that do. I read them all the time. When Disney bought the rights to J.M. Barrie’s original Peter Pan stage play, and the novel Peter and Wendy, he decided to portray Tinkerbell differently than her character in either one. In the original play, she was referred to as a common ‘fairy’ who was a tinker, responsible for fixing pots and kettles. In the early productions of the play, the sound of bells was substituted for her voice…thus the name Tinkerbell. The problem with the play was, children were jumping off their beds and ending up in the hospital when they tried to fly, so later Barrie changed the play to make sure that the children in the story had to have ‘fairy dust’ sprinkled on them by Tinkerbell before they could fly.”

Eoghan shook his head, chuckling. “Huh.You are an endless font of totally useless knowledge, Aristotle Brown.” He turned and grinned at him to make sure Ari knew he was joking. Sure enough, the man was smiling.

“So, do these space fairie things leave behind fairy dust?” Ari asked. “Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”

“Not exactly,” he drawled. “I only mentioned it to gauge your level of knowledge on the mythology of fairies.”

“And, now you know it’s basically limited to my seven-year-old recollection of watching Disney’s Peter Pan and my deep dive into the life of Walt Disney,” Ari said.

Eoghan chuckled. “Anyway, you asked how the I.S.R. could detect the presence of a space fairie like Oberon or Titania.”

“Yes.”

“Well, they do leave behind a fine mist in the air, which to the untrained eye, might look like the fairy dust from Disney’s story but in reality, it’s a byproduct of their active sex lives.”

“Oh, God…wait…are you saying they work up a sweat that leaves behind fairy dust residue?” Ari asked.

When Eoghan glanced in his direction, Ari’s eyes were wide. “No. Worse. Their ejaculate contains a glittery substance which resembles it and if they’re very active like they would be during an orgy, the air all around their…activities…is full of it.”

“Oh, God, Eoghan. So we might be walking into an air full of space fairie come?” Ari asked.

Eoghan let out a loud belly laugh. “Why do you think I wanted us to meet up with them at a truck stop rather than anywhere near their house?” he asked. He couldn’t help wearing a big grin.

“Jesus, their poor neighbors.”

All Eoghan could do was chuckle.

“So, before we get there, are you going to fill me in on what happened when you and Gladys almost got killed,” Ari asked.

“Yeah, sorry. I got caught up in all the dirty details,” Eoghan said. “But it was stuff you’d have to know eventually, so I don’t feel quite so bad.”

“Okay.”

“Anyway, once I’d pointed out the fingerprint anomaly to Gladys, she immediately realized the ramifications of the discovery, so we took it to the chief. At first, she was reluctant to tie the homebuilder’s murder to space fairies at all. Glad and I knew that if the chief accepted there was a tie, it would meangetting the I.S.R. more deeply involved in the investigation of the aftermath of the offspring’s murder. Though, technically, St. Clair and Acosta were on it, but once they realized that Oberon and Titania’s rival space fairies couldn’t be found and reported that back to Priest, the case had gone cold. That was exactly what I was afraid would happen and why I kept following any leads I could in the case even though I was supposed to leave it alone.”

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