to Brie. "And your level-headedness has saved me much turmoil."
Meryn snapped her fingers. "If we got Kari and Beth here, we could probably take over the world."
Aiden just nodded and grabbed more bacon.
Even Portia looked a bit more steady on her feet. "If we could get evidence that time of death occurred weeks ago, most of the concerns centering around the case of No Confidence would evaporate."
"I'll call River. He is a vampire that has been working as a Vanguard in Monroe. He is currently heading up the forensic side of this case. I'll see if he has an update," Brie volunteered.
Portia winced. "Could you do it in the next thirty minutes? That's when we go to Tribunal."
Brie pulled out her phone. "Calling now." She sent off a text first, to make River aware she was calling from the queen's chambers and that he would be on speaker. He sent back the devil emoji and answered his phone.
"Hello, Wilson."
"Got anything?"
"Not much, but I do have some information I can pass along."
"Shoot."
"After you requested method and time of death, you piqued my curiosity. I spent all last night running panels."
"Please tell me you got some sleep."
"I will be fine. Anyway, you are on to something. Now, my equipment is nowhere sensitive enough to track rate of decay down to the hour, but I can tell you that, for sure, they all died the same day."
"Any idea when?" That was the big question.
"That is a little more tricky."
"Why?"
"The dead fae look weird under the microscope."
"Is that the technical term?"
He exhaled. "Look, science and the paranormal world are not the best bedfellows. If I had to determine when a human died, I could easily give you a time, down to almost the minute, because humans decompose the same across the board. Circumstances and environment may change up the numbers, but for the most part, they are identical. Paranormals, on the other hand, are a shake-n-bake bag full of different herbs and spices."
"I like him," Meryn whispered.
River laughed and continued. "If it were a group of vampires, I would just tell you that it was a lost cause. Vampire decomposition times are wildly different due to varying levels of transition. We are in luck since the group was all one race, and they were fae. Now, here is where it gets weird, like I told you. They are decomposing way slower than a human, but faster than any fae I have seen under a microscope."
"How?" she asked.
"You tell me," he countered.
She looked around and saw varying degrees of confusion and consternation. "Shit. Can you give me a ballpark for time of death?"
"Over a week for sure. Any more detailed than that, I am not going to be able to help you without brand new equipment."
Meryn leaned forward. "What kind of equipment?"
"Oh, gee, I do not know, how about the XB540?"
"The one with nanoscale and 3D imaging?" Meryn asked.
"How in the hell do you know that?" River demanded.
"Muwahahaha! I just arranged for some of those to be delivered to Noctem Falls for Magnus' center of healing. How quick can you pack a bag?"
"Fuck clothes! Get me to that workstation," River begged.
"Only if you promise to loop Dr. Rheia Bradley-Albright in on your findings. She has been working on a project documenting different rates of decay regarding ferals and reapers."
"Seriously? There's an existing project working on that?" Brennus asked, looking impressed.
Meryn turned to her uncle. "Unit warrior mates aren't slacking."
"Please, get me to Noctem Falls! I am packing specimens now," River’s voice had taken on a desperate tone.
"I will personally call Magnus and request you be given any and all materials you need to get as much information regarding these murders as possible," the queen promised.
"Your Majesty, you could bend me over and spank my ass as long as I got a chance at that microscope," River said, then went quiet. "Let us all forget I said that; I have been alone in my lab too long."
Meryn was laughing hysterically at her aunt's expression. "That was awesome!"
Darian was chuckling as he used his ring to open a portal. "Keep your pants on, River, I'm on my way," he teased.
"Gods above, shoot me now," River whispered.
"Update me the second you get something," Brie said, putting the man out of his misery.
"Sure thing, Wilson. Gotta go." River disconnected before she could say anything. She turned to the queen. "He didn't mean anything by it."
The queen simply waved off her concerns. "Being around Meryn, I have learned to value