Family Woodland Retreat

SuspendedMan remained silent, looking less-than-eager to engage with either Sleuth's jab at his collision or her offered display. There wasn't much to learn from his method of movement, either: while it was initially too dark in the hall to get a clear view of the ceiling and determine if there was any way he was (for whatever reason) being manipulated by some unseen puppet-master, it would be clear there were no such slits to make that possible in the living room ceiling. For his part, SuspendedMan didn't have any reaction to her looking for them. Evidently, it wasn't a feature he was self-conscious about. While Sleuth rejoined the party, her guide returned himself to his chosen wallflower position, leaning with his back against the wall and surveying the party with heavy eyelids.

Shoe rolled her eyes at Sleuth's wisecrack, keeping her playful smile on regardless. "I did tell you I was a bit new to the whole detective thing earlier." Finally, she looked as happy to see Sleuth as Sleuth had been to see her. While a part of that might be not having to shoulder the burden of entertainment alone any longer, the other part was obvious from the way her eyes followed the fizzy pitcher on the maid's tray. She graciously stood out of Sleuth's way when she approached, happy to let her partner take the lead again.

The boss's fingers shifted on the arms of his chair restlessly. Although no pupils of his eyes were discernible, she could still feel his gaze traveling back and forth between the drinks she was carrying and the more eye-catching aspects of her body, as though he were unable to make a choice. Finally, with the drink a short distance from him, he reached out to grab it, only to swipe thin air as Sleuth downed the mug herself. "Oho! A woman after my own heart, eh? Don't try and make it a contest, maid... I may be old, but I've still got my pride, and I'm not about to be outdone by hired help!" Thankfully, Sleuth didn't keep the tray away from him for long, since it looked as though he might leap for it if she'd denied him. Instead, he leaned back with the sort of goofier grin Sleuth was probably used to eliciting from her targets, taking in the show. "Hmhm... I don't think I correctly gauged your attitude or your skillset when you first arrived. That's not a complaint." The boss wasted no time grabbing a mug for himself, making half of it quickly disappear between his thick whiskers. "Hm... This is a most entertaining party trick, but I find it a mite precarious to interrupt as I'd like. UnmadeMan...?"

The called spectator stopped rubbing his hands and muttering his seemingly endless stream of chatter to move in and grab his own mug, taking the whole tray at once. He stood glancing around with it a while, seeming uncertain where to place it before finally handing it to Shoe, as though lecherously grinding his palms was something he urgently had to return to.

Shoe took the tray and smirked but didn't complain.

As Sleuth took a moment to steal a glance to SuspendedMan, she'd be disappointed if she expected any similar shoes of enthusiasm from him. He almost looked as though he were falling asleep... Rather, he shifted uncomfortably against the wall, as though his legs were tired. That would be awfully strange, considering he wasn't exercising them at all.

The performer would have very little time to consider that before she felt the boss take her up on her offer, suddenly grabbing the sides of her hips to pull her closer, even going a step further to flip up her skirt and turn the fluttering flashes she'd been offering into an unobstructed view. If she kept as she had been, she'd now find herself bouncing a hair's width from him, just a step backward from turning into a grind. "Please, don't stop on my account," the old Navi chuckled, reclining once more.

Shoe, meanwhile, got into motion to stop herself from becoming a second banana. She grabbed her own mug, taking a hearty swig herself, then set the tray down on the table, carrying the mug with her as well. "Your boss seems to have his hands full over there. Well, mine are full too, but yours aren't... what can we do about that?" she asked UnmadeMan with a flirtatious wink, holding her glasses high.

UnmadeMan looked her up and down, assessing, before finally opening up. "Say, can you do what Sleuth is doing? With the bouncing and breaking it down and the balancing and what not? Or is that something you have to like train your butt for... I mean, like, obviously I think it is, but when I think about it, maybe you can do it if ya get drunk enough?"

Shoe smirked with less humor now, raising an eyebrow at him in disbelief. "What, surely there's some way I can entertain you without mimicry...?" She leaned onto UnmadeMan, pressing her chest against him and wrapping her arms around the back of his neck to stare down into his toothy grin.

"... Well, yeah, I mean, but wouldn't it be funny to see you try and do it? I mean like what if you can do it the same?"

Shoe continued to give him her smirk, but her eyes traveled down to Sleuth, assessing. It wasn't clear if she was trying to study to decide if she actually could, or if she was hoping her partner would think of something to get her out of her predicament.

"If you like a little trick like this, you should see the other ways I know how to serve," Sleuth teased the boss, enjoying saucy banter even with the most unsauceworthy folks. As much as the boss and UnmadeMan seemed to be enjoying the performance, SuspendedMan looked as though he had moved from distaste to actually falling asleep. She'd seen plenty of people turn her nose up before, but rarely did they ever fall asleep on her feet. For a moment, she wondered if he'd decided to settle into his poisoned act... however, he hadn't even touched a fake drink of poison yet. However, she was indeed mostly unable to focus on this, as she felt the boss get hands on with her backside. "My my! I can't hide anything from you, can I, Boss?" she giggled, appreciating the enthusiasm. If he wanted to pull her into an up and down motion on the lap of his pants, she wouldn't object, but otherwise, she'd keep the pace and keep that trick in case she needed to ramp up later.

She could do this all night if she needed to, but it suddenly seemed as if Shoe was in need of rescuing from the very awkward predicament of not quite meeting up to UnmadeMan's particular standards. "Hm. I may have set the bar too high," she thought to herself, wondering if Shoe was considering grinding a pole to be in her back of tricks or otherwise off the table. "I've got to come up with a way to trade partners or share the love... without leaving the birthday boy feeling like he's being jerked away in any but the pleasant way. What is a party without a puzzle? At any rate... I need to think up what Shoe has that will compete with what I've just given the boss."

She'd end up shaking a while longer while she thought. Another thought snuck in as well. "When is SuspendedMan supposed to be poisoned?" she remembered, casting her eyes in his direction again. "Come on, Mister Wallflower, sirrah! Don't you want to have a drink yourself?" she offered, shooting her eyes in the direction of the drinks as though to remind him what he needed to be doing.

Now, back to Shoe's problem. She'd seen Shoe had UnmadeMan wrapped around her finger earlier, but something had changed that made him lose his appreciation. The trick was figuring out how to add the missing element. "What you boys need... while your drinks settle," she told the others, pausing here to take a big swig of drink. She stood up to her feet and passed one over to Shoe, indicating she ought to do the same. "Is some easy entertainment. And after that, you'll be ready for whatever more vigorous pursuits you have planned for later in the night," she told them with a wink. "The good detective and I are so happy for your generosity, inviting us in, that we'll be more than happy to help with that!"

Even with all her wits, Sleuth had no way to give Shoe the relative size she was lacking. On the other hand, the other part UnmadeMan appeared to appreciate, for whatever reason, was movement in rhythm to music. That part, Sleuth could do something with. She reached out to clink her glass against Shoe's, then set it down, beginning to feel as tipsy after a vigorous chug as she hoped Shoe was. She waited for Shoe to do the same, but even if she didn't, she'd grab Shoe's wrists and first of all, lead them to be close to the boss, as she doubted he'd be able to appreciate anything that wasn't right next to him. Next, once she'd gotten Shoe's hands, she'd place them firmly upon the swell of her ass, beneath the skirt, one hand on each cheek. "If you feel my hips, you can match my tempo," she half-whispered, but loud enough for the others to hear. If Shoe kept her hands where they needed to be, she would indeed try to match the music, swishing her hips left and right with generous flips of the skirt. She raised her own hands to add motion to the dance, keeping her fists together and moving her arms in time.

"You're getting it!" Sleuth either factually stated or lied, depending on how well her colleague was getting it. "Now you just continue to... lose yourself, and whatever else," she suggested, searching for whatever easy way there was built-in to remove Shoe's barely-there skirt and expose her sexy panties. "If I can't find this, I need to turn in my detective's outfit and stick to the ditzy maid one," she thought to herself. She'd continue to dance as she did, keeping one hand cupped on Shoe's backside, while beginning to run the other up to her side, to cup one breast in her hand and gently compress. If Shoe was allowing it {or better, was into it), she'd keep the girl's eyes and smile devilishly (and drunkenly). "Isn't it fun to conduct a joint investigation, detective?  And in turn for teaching me how to investigate, I'll teach you how to spit-shine," she suggested, leaning forward her head to try to grab Shoe's lips with her own. If there was no resistance there either, she'd continue... there was a rhythm that could be put to music there too. Sleuth would teach it to her ally, if her ally wanted to learn.

Sleuth wasn't 100% sure the boys would be into it, but she figured she would be, and at the very least it would probably put some ideas in their heads.

As the boss continued to enjoy his show, SuspendedMan slowly tipped his head upward at being addressed. His strings swayed as he drifted in a wavy pattern towards the group, likely having picked up on Sleuth’s insistence.
 
Shoe and Sleuth passed drinks around until everyone had one, and nearly everyone was drinking hearty. The only exceptions were Shoe, who appeared to be pacing herself, and SuspendedMan, who simply stared at his drink with a furrowed brow, as if seeing something he didn’t like in the reflection.
 
As Sleuth did her level best to get them drinking, Shoe played along, probably assuming Sleuth had some sort of plan. She clicked her glass to Sleuth’s, taking a bravely large swig of her own. “Naturally, ‘Entertainer’ is another of the many hats I wear. Oh!” she let out a gasp, making sure to hold her mug level as she was led to a new position. “Hold this for me, would you, Boss?” she told him, giving him a wink (a gesture getting plenty of play that night) and passing him her mug to hold. She didn’t look surprised when he downed it immediately after receiving it. Seeing as he wasn’t giving a tellingly mischievous grin, it was a safe bet he was unaware he hadn’t been given it for that purpose.
 
Shoe didn’t have much concern with the fate of her drink, seeing was given something more exciting to put her hands on. At this distance, Sleuth could make out some of the discrete lines in Shoe’s face, at the corners of her smirk and edges of her eyes, that marked her as the more mature of the two. There was a bit of color in her typically pale face now, but it wasn’t clear if that was the situation, the drink, or both. “The tempo, huh? Well, what I’m feeling is certainly something,” she replied, biting her lip in a grin as she helped herself to a couple of performative squeezes. The mix of tobacco and beer was strong on her breath as she spoke. While Sleuth hadn’t seen the detective do much dancing yet, she proved quite capable of picking up Sleuth’s own from close observation. She smiled at Sleuth first, then shut her eyes, looking as though she was getting into either the music or Sleuth’s advancements as she closed her eyes and allowed Sleuth to undo her belt. Shoe allowed Sleuth a bit of time for exploring: she didn’t jump or recoil as the maid’s hands crossed her sensitive areas, simply holding on tighter to what she’d been handed.
 
With the belt and its tools whipped off, the whole skirt became a bit loose. Of course, it was still a tight garment, so Sleuth would probably want the fastening mechanism to accomplish her goals. Thankfully, she found a discrete button on the front that’d been hidden by the belt: with that undone, the tension around the waist didn’t hold, and the entire garment fell to the floor as quickly as Shoe could shake it off her hips, revealing the lacy red boy-shorts Sleuth had gotten a glimpse of before. Again, there was a bit of age on the body, but in general everything remained impressive. In the real world, such nice musculature would definitely be evidence of daily training.
 
Finally, Sleuth moved in to take an aggressive kiss. Shoe didn’t withdraw, and made a game effort to return. In this act, though, Sleuth’s experience in the matter would probably suggest that Shoe was, in fact, putting on a show rather than getting carried away. While she moved her lips hungrily, she didn’t seem to be trying to meet any of Sleuth’s own rhythm when they got locked. Her technique was practiced but professional, with little of the hot passion an outside observer to the scene would probably take for granted. Nonetheless, when she pulled her mouth back to catch her breath, she had a smile on her face, and perhaps a bit of a twinkle in her mysterious eyes. “I love learning new things, Sleuth, but I only hope the boys are getting a nice, hard look…”
 
Both UnmadeMan and the boss seemed to be enjoying themselves greatly, the former stupidly chuckling and nudge-nudging SuspendedMan standing to his left; the boss simply grinned, again scanning his eyes across various points of interest as though he had to see everything on limited time.
 
Unfortunately, while this party was probably just kicking into gear, SuspendedMan still looked like doll whose puppetmaster had gone for a lunch break. He had finally taken a sip of his drink, but just as quickly set the glass aside, coughing loudly. “I’m going to… I’m going…” He started, trailing off and continuing to cough as he quickly glided towards the hallway again and disappeared into the shadows. Whether he went up the stairs or towards the kitchen would be impossible to tell from there, as he made no noise on the floorboards.
 
“Man, hehe. What a stiff. And I don’t mean stiff like having a good time, like getting stiff, you know what I’m getting’ at?” UnmadeMan muttered, still grinning. “But the boss and I are having a good time. Maybe when you girls are nice and warmed up you can show me and the boss some of those techniques, eh? I gotta warn you, I’m a hands-on learner! Tactile, you know? Learning through doing hehehe!”
 
The boss evidently hadn’t seen SuspendedMan leave. Actually, his eyes seemed to be getting a little cloudy in general, his grin a little less hungry and more empty…
 
Shoe backed off from her second smooch and, keeping her smile tight, cast her eyes towards the doorway SuspendedMan had disappeared into. She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
 
Shortly afterwards, a violent, wet-sounding cough came from the hall… then a heavy thud on wood.
 
“SuspendedMan? Are you all right over there?” Shoe called out now, breaking from her partner’s grasp to peer into the darkness. “Anything I need to come and investigate with my cute little magnifying glass…?” She headed over to the hall, keeping a man-pleasing sashay in her walk before she, too, was gone from sight….
 
She didn’t say anything, nor did she return immediately. A light turned on in the hallway.
 
UnmadeMan made a couple of steps towards the remaining maid, rubbing his hands together. “Uh oh! Partner cut out, looking for some company? I’d be happy to oblige, hehehe! Though I’m hoping it’ll mostly be you obligin’ me…” The man looked pretty hungry by this point, and wasn’t paying any attention to whatever was happening in the hallway.
 
The boss continued to stand vacantly ahead at where the action had been a moment ago, his grin slowly falling into a slack-jawed stare. “SuspendedMan… Is the boy about to give his speech?” the Navi finally spoke, giving Sleuth a grin that didn’t mean anything obvious.

Sleuth judged the potent mixture of rugged elements on Shoe's breath, before considering that her own probably had a pretty similar smell and deciding she may as well keep jokes on the subject out of mind. "We may yet end the night with something even more foul smelling on our breaths," she reminded herself, wishing she could share that dirty joke aloud.

Shoe was doing her best to look like a sultry detective making out with a busy maid who was also a stranger, and Sleuth thanked her internally for her efforts. Those efforts seemed to be having the intended effect on their audience, who were all very much into it, except for the one guy she no longer expected to be into it. "Actually, he looks more than a little out of it," Sleuth admitted to herself, suddenly forced to give a harder look.

Her mouth hung open in a teasing smile for a moment as she tried to calm to mind what teasing UnmadeMan had just attempted and come up with a witty retort. "Yes, well, let's get more hands-on and other things off," was the best she could manage, as she gently released Shoe, finishing with another peck on the lips and a genial pat on the shoulder.

Shoe was breaking away at the same time, evidently sharing her concerns. SuspendedMan was either a very good actor (convincing) with very odd priorities (starting to die even before drinking his drink, dying off screen), or, in Sleuth's admittedly vivid imagination, he was actually dying. Her concern for SuspendedMan was growing, but more than anything, the fire in her eyes was growing as she became assured that the mystery here was so much more than it seemed on the surface.

Unfortunately, she was dressed as a maid, not a detective. For a moment, she began to make up an excuse anyway. "Ah, it sounds like there might be some spillage to wipe up with my cute little cloths," she pointed out in mimicry of Shoe, but UnmadeMan and the boss both sounded like they were expecting something (two very different things, apparently). "Bollocks," she swore under her breath, realizing she would have to trust Shoe to investigate the crime scene, or at least not to disturb it before she got there.

"Oh, but sir! I am but a maid and you are an Unmaid. It will never work out," she joked, fully expecting that one to fly over UnmadeMan's 50% of a head. "Well. We can try regardless. But since it's the Big Boss's big birthday, we have to do it right here," she insisted, first taking his glass and putting it on whatever flat surface she could find, then grabbing his hands and dragging him around the front of the chair.

Keeping her front to the boss, she would allow her butt to press against UnmadeMan's front as she lifted his hands to meet her chest. She'd allow him to to do as he liked, while she raised her arms, gripping one hand to her wrist. "Well, let's give the jolly good fellow a show!" she urged him on, swaying her cheeks against the man behind her hypnotically with the music.

Sleuth doubted UnmadeMan would have the patience to make this a very lengthy show, but truth be told, she didn't expect she would be performing much longer. A real mystery was just around the corner, which would require a detective (or two). "And I only hope SuspendedMan survives to give that speech," she sighed internally, hoping Shoe would message her an update quickly.

UnmadeMan chuckled at Sleuth's witticism, although with how much the guy chuckled, that offered little reassurance he'd gotten the joke. "'Do it right here,' eh? I like the sound of that! Mmhmm like it a lot like it a lot," he rambled as Sleuth released Shoe and led him to his place.

"Haha! She's gettin' pretty worked up, boss," UnmadeMan spoke around Sleuth's shoulder, probably attributing too much to himself and not enough to the imminent arrival of a mystery. The words were wasted, anyway, as the boss seemed to be gone on another trip regardless. While the apparent brain power in the room had sharply fallen, Sleuth would be made immediately aware of other ways UnmadeMan could make up for that failing. Up against him, Sleuth would learn one of the gifts the man had to make up for the missing part of him. From the state of him, she could also judge her performance as a rousing success.

As Sleuth had expected, the boorish Navi didnt waste any time before getting handsy. UnmadeMan's powerful hands searched Sleuth's mostly exposed body, testing moving to a variety of points before he invariably decided he shouldn't do that in front of his boss, or at least, not yet, Ultimately, inevitably, they ended up at the breasts, handling them roughly. It didn't look like he intended to solve the puzzle of how to unfasten the garment: anyone who felt the heavy presence of the Navi's breathing, his sharp teeth now gently nibbling on her neck, or the barely restrained power in his muscles would probably know he intended to simply tear it to pieces.

Although that had ramped up quickly, as Sleuth had expected, Shoe came back to interrupt before it went very far. "Sleuth, looks like you have a lot of maid work going on, but do you think you could join me?"

"Or you could join her!" UnmadeMan piped up, removing his mouth from Sleuth a moment to speak. "And join me! Join us. I can make room, heheheh!"

"I think its be best if we could get a second in the hallway alone... you know, a little girl talk," Shoe recommended again. Notably, while she was insisting, she wasn't making any expressions or gestures of urgency.

If Sleuth agreed to Shoe's proposal, the sexy detective would lead the sexy maid to the hallway. If Sleuth instead agreed to UnmadeMan's proposal, Shoe would instead let out an awkward cough, waiting for Sleuth to demonstrate how they might have a private conversation in this situation.

For what it was worth, the boss was shaking his head, glancing around and beginning to mutter to himself, occasionally glancing at UnmadeMan as though struggling to recall him.

"Come now! Who's worked up here, you or me?" Sleuth teased, unrelenting in her teasing against his lap even as she realized how fully she had already captivated her target. "Mm hmm hm. I suppose it was UnmadeMan in the parlor with the candlestick, then?" That joke was unlikely to make sense to anyone but herself. The fire in her eyes was a little redirected now, accompanied by an impish grin and quick, heavy breaths.

Speaking of people who seemed in the dark, the show seemed like it was being wasted on the boss, even has her gargantuan breasts were rubbed and pulled. The monster wanted a better look (and Sleuth was game to give him one), but before such an event could transpire, Shoe returned and begged her attention.

As tempting as it sounded to stay and see if UnmadeMan could expand any further, or to learn whether he could figure out the secret to pulling off her bra, Sleuth needed the mystery more than the stimulation at the moment. In other words, Shoe's promise of information to her was about as irresistible for her as her own invitation to jiggly boobs had been to UnmadeMan a moment ago. "Pardon me for a moment while I assist the detective, Sirrah, and I will return with the kind of premium service you would ordinarily pay a maid for, free of charge~" she tempted the goon.

Of course, even fit as she was, she would have no way to break free from him physically if he decided he would rather keep going as he was. If that was the case, she had a backup plan. "Dear Sirrah, I feel as though I have something swelling up in me, like an animal in heat, but I also sense that it will only be coaxed forward by the proper music. If you would, please, find something else go play me on that darling nickolodeon of yours," she insisted, putting on her best pleading face.

If one or the other worked, she would giddily bounce over to Shoe in the hallway and inquire what had been the source of the noise moments ago. If it still didn't work, she would have only a moment longer to figure out a plan C before the man fondling her realized he could just use a token effort of his great arm strength (or jaw strength, whichever) to relieve her of her top whenever he chose.

UnmadeMan gave a low growl, sounding less than eager to take his hands off Sleuth now that he had her where he wanted her. Ultimately, though, she didn’t have to physically break loose or trick him; still growling, he ran his hands back to her shoulders, tugging on a strap with his thick finger as though having a hard time getting his hand completely free. “Don’t you ladies stay gone long, now! One or the other’s okay, but me and the boss got nothin’ but unfinished business while you’re outta the room, and not the kind of unfinished business two guys normally talk to each other about, even guys as close as us, if ya catch my drift…” He watched Shoe’s exit (business-like, professional detective) and Sleuth’s exit (business-like, adult entertainer) appreciatively.

As the two stepped into the hall, they’d quickly come upon the scene of an apparent incident: the lamp on the small table cast light on a slick pool of someone’s regurgitated data on the floor, but no sign of who’d coughed it up.

Shoe lowered herself to crouch beside it in her underwear, indicating for Sleuth to come in close for a chat. “I’m going to assume you’re the type with enough experience around this that you’re not going to start a gag reaction.” The woman was whispering and had shed her ditzy detective persona, all unamused business as she continued now. “I made it here in time to see SuspendedMan sprawled out on the floor. Of course, you and I aren’t doctors, so my first question was ‘what happened’ before ‘how can I help’… All I got out of him was ‘Carry on the show.’ I asked him ‘who did it’ next, because you and I both know poison feels a lot more likely than random illness here… He only shook his head, then activated an emergency jack out routine. The guy was in a bad way.”

She turned her eyes up to Sleuth’s (whether Sleuth was standing or crouching, unless she’d actually gone all the way to the floor, she’d probably still be over Shoe’s low crouch), raising an eyebrow. “We’re whispering because I don’t want to be overheard. Pretty sure we have an audience of at least one…” she added, tilting her eyes to the lit doorway of the kitchen.

“What do you want to do?” Shoe asked, raising to stand (and putting her toned legs close to Sleuth, if she was crouching and the type to appreciate such things). “Frankly, I’m not interested in doing any detective work I’m not getting paid for, especially when I’m not even allowed to smoke. As far as I’m concerned, this only accelerates us to where we planned to be later in the night. I saw the guy jack out, so I’m sure he’s resting it off; if there was some attempted murder, the perp came up short. And anyway… you kind of look like you’re already heated up,” Shoe observed blandly, tapping the fingers of one hand on her other forearm restlessly.

For a moment, Sleuth was forced to remember that she was in the company of some pretty dangerous individuals, at least one of them, physically, pretty darn imposing. Of course, that never particularly dissuaded her from acting however she cared to act... so she gave him a taunting kissy face as she swaggered out of the room. "Unfinished business, eh? Can't have that! But try not to close up shop early while I'm out the room, hm hm," she chuckled.

The sight of someone's spilled data on the floor ought to have set her out of a sexy frame of mind, but all it did instead was excite her; even gross mysteries were still mysteries, after all. To her surprise, however, there was no body accompanying it. She had expected to see the oddly stiff body of SuspendedMan spread out there. Shoe quickly explained the absence, which only served to fan her flames higher... Frankly, not seeing the body here only made the mystery more intriguing. Now, she had only Shoe's hearsay to go off of, as far as SuspendedMan's parting words; the prospect caused her to shiver. A potential web of deceit was spinning out in front of her... but who was the spider?

A big smile was spread across her face as she considered the new details. If those words really were SuspendedMan's, they were reassuring... it certainly lent to him just being a fantastic actor instead of actually poisoned. It was hard to imagine what could be so important about the performance that it would overtake the present danger of a poisoner, after all. It was much easier to imagine that he was using this little ruse to get them serious about entertaining the boss. This might just be an expression of his loyalty. Her smile was almost challenging; she wondered if Shoe was thinking the same thoughts she was.

The maid-outfitted detective allowed her eyes to flit briefly towards the kitchen, then half-lowered them. Just as she crouched to closer examine the blood, Shoe rose; she ended up watching her fellow detective's legs excitedly. The sexiness of crime was mixing with the sexiness of eroticism to become her favorite cocktail. "My dear, I am always interested in doing detective work, even if I'm not being paid for it, though don't tell my clients that little tidbit. I've never seen a suspenseful tale that I didn't want to see from its origin to its conclusion. Whatever is hidden from me will be unveiled in time," she giggled. "At any rate, right now, it sounds as though all we have to go off of is our unfortunate friend's parting wish. Given that, and also relating to my earlier notion of enjoying seeing everything from tail to tip, perhaps we should return and finish up business with our friends?"

She rose back up to her feet, then pressed a finger to her cheek, still giving that same annoying smile. "Oh, I wonder though. You say our friend is... listening, in the kitchen? Is that all she's doing? Her, let's say, 'brother,' collapsed out here and then disappeared, and you really think all she's doing is standing behind the door, trying to listen in?" she asked, still keeping her voice quiet. "Well, if she is, then she's in on the act, and that's all it is: an act. If so, good for us. If not, well... all I'm saying is, I can keep this party in line. I'm more than enough woman for two. Perhaps you should go and check on our spiny friend and make sure all she's doing is eavesdropping, not sharpening knives or poisoning anything? And... do step quietly, fearless detective," she finished, leaning in to give Shoe another unwarranted peck on the cheek, which clearly communicated how horny she was feeling at the moment.

Just moments after leaving, Sleuth returned to the others, waving both hands into the air and making a "give me more" gesture with her hands, indicating the audience ought to clap. "Sorry about the disturbance! I did promise you that I would make your wait worth the while, didn't I? It's my duty as your well-indebted, well-endowed maid for the evening," the busty attendant reintroduced herself, gesturing towards her bosom again. While fluttering her eyelashes, she picked up the serving tray from earlier and set aside the glasses on nearby furniture. She put on her most flirtatious grin, while resting the platter beneath her bosom. "I've brought you a feast, Sirrah! And to the birthday boy, I offer another choice portion," she giggled, sticking out her bottom and rubbing it against the serving tray. She ran her tongue across her teeth excitedly.

At this point, she knew enough about UnmadeMan to figure that, probably through brawn and not brains, he'd make his way through her top once prompted; the boss was the one that was going to need her to help him along. She searched for the means to disconnect the skirt, which amazingly, she hadn't lost yet, then fiddled it open, so that all he'd need to do was yank on it to get it off. Once that was done, she backed it up, moved the tray, and stood over his chair, spreading her long legs and leaning forward with the tray beneath her breasts. "Bon appetit, boys! You said you had some unfinished business, right, UnmadeMan? You'd better get right at this, then!" she insisted, bouncing her top with the tray a few times. "I'm only worried they're a little too big for you to know what to do with them..."

At this point, she'd take a quick look around to make sure nobody looked poisoned (well, more than usual, considering the boss's usual state). Seeing them look poisoned would be great for advancing the intrigue of the mystery, but she had to admit, she was sort of looking forward to UnmadeMan being healthy and vigorous at the moment, so if he was writhing on the floor poisoned, she'd be pretty disappointed.

Shoe gave a nod in response, agreeing they should get back to business. The Navi’s unexpressive face made it hard to imagine she’d be enthusiastic about the night’s proceedings, but she at least seemed amicable to bringing it to an end and getting paid. She frowned, glancing over at the kitchen door as she shifted on her feet. “Strangely, it seemed like the sister kept on with her business in the kitchen. I had figured the music and the distractions would keep them from reacting, but it’s not so noisy in there…” The off-duty detective shrugged, then ducked back to dodge Sleuth’s uninvited gesture of affection, smiling all the same. “Anyway, I’m all for you doing the dirty work while I investigate. Maybe sneak in a smoke break, while I’m at it… Just kidding,” she reassured, not sounding terribly convincing as she strolled over to the kitchen. “I’ll work for my pay. Be back soon.”

Once Sleuth had enjoyed the sight of Shoe leaving to its fullest, the lusty maid sauntered back to her waiting audience. For his part, UnmadeMan had evidently been watching the door in anticipation of her return. The Boss, on the other hand, jumped in his seat as though startling awake, but quickly reset his face to a genial smile, even as he wiped around his bearded lips as discretely as possible. She had their full attention as she found the zipper that matched the one Shoe had undone earlier… apparently, the designer emphasized convenience over creativity.

As Sleuth took position, she’d find her patrons were only showing natural effects of booze and testosterone, no apparent illness. UnmadeMan looked just as she’d left him, still grinning broadly and rubbing his hands together. “If I fill up now, I’m not gonna have room for Sis’s cooking later, hehe…”

“A man has different stomachs for different appetites,” the Boss spoke over him, returning his hands to the comfortable resting position of her hips and pulling off her skirt with little fanfare, whisking it aside and draping it over the arm of his chair like a cloth. He smiled appreciatively at the offering, which the sheer pantyhose and undergarment did little to obscure, eyeing the apron knot and ultimately fiddling at it with the fingers of his right hand while running the other across the entertainment’s thigh.

“Well, you heard the man! I’m the kinda guy who finishes his favorite parts first, eheh!” UnmadeMan laughed with the remains of his head tilted down, running his hands up Sleuth’s waist, her ribs, briefly cupping the sides of the focal point, then continuing up and around to finally land on the buckle of Sleuth’s bra. His grin broadened, Sleuth felt his muscles tense, and there was a sound between a click and a crunch. It seemed like he’d simply destroyed the mechanism rather than figuring out how to open it. “Whoops! And y’know my arms ain’t even my strongest appendage, hehe! By which I mean if that gets you excited, I got power to spare in other departments as well. By which I mean…” he finally trailed off, whipping aside the undergarment and tossing it to the side much less carefully than his boss had handled the skirt, revealing the other Navi’s assets now hidden only by the pasties. “You give my this a little of your those,” he said, still glancing downward; “I give your that a little of this,” he added, nodding lower as his smile curled up; “Maybe we’ll both end up satisfied, heh? You got a way to make it happen, show me some of that gratitude and generosity?”

It looked like Sleuth would be left to entertain two guests alone for the moment, as the lack of footsteps indicated Shoe was either taking a while in the kitchen or taking a smoke break after all.

In a flash (pun intended) Sleuth was divested of her bra and skirt, with the apron soon to come, as the boss and his underling helped themselves like dinner guests picking apart a turkey at a feast. The wrist cuffs, apron, and hairband were probably the most modest pieces she had left, ironically the only ones that identified her as a fetish maid, with the rest being pasties, pantyhose, and thong underwear. None of them designed much to the benefit of hiding anything more than the naughtiest bits. The wrist cuffs had turned out to be a pretty good place to hide the vial Shor had given her, seeing as they were among the few items that were sexier to leave on.

Sleuth raised her eyebrows, more engaged with UnmadeMan now than the Boss and gauging to the best of her ability what "this" and "that" and "those" he meant to refer to. It sounded a lot like he wanted to be face up with her inverted on top of him, which... "I think that could be arranged," she responded with a wink. "Lie on the floor and your this will be promptly that-ted. Head, such as it were, towards your boss, please. Face, such as it were, toward the ceiling, please. If you don't like the way the ceiling looks, don't worry, as you won't have eyes on it for long."

The detective turned her head and peered over her shoulder at the old man, fluttering her eyelashes. "While I give this greedy henchman of yours what he wants, you can work on that pesky apron knot! And then, why, however long I take, I would recommend sirah punish me by tearing my pantyhose and spanking my bum, until such a time as I give you the attention you deserve," she suggested.

If UnmadeMan did what she asked, Sleuth would assume the position, placing her bust at his groin and her own groin over his face, allowing him to make as much or as little contact as he wanted by flexing her hose-clad toes against the floor. "Let's see what you're unmade of..." she murmured, arching her elbows and pressing her chest against the front of his pants, then pushing herself forward in a cresting motion to sandwich any elevated part of him fully between her massive breasts. She repeated the motion steadily, causing the apron to flap against his half a face, if the Boss hadn't managed to relieve her of it yet. "Are you going to tickle me with that unusual noggin of yours?" she taunted him. "And more importantly, do you have a change of pants, sirah, if I cause you to ruin these ones? Should we get you out of them?"

Luckily, her physical conditioning was pretty good, since doing this was a little like doing a slow set of pushups. She felt a little guilty for funning around while SuspendedMan was, er, potentially dead somewhere, but this too was part of what he requested of her. In giving UnmadeMan a boobjob and tempting the Boss to smack her big, round bottom, she was honoring his memory.

UnmadeMan kept grinning, but seemed to be a little slow following what Sleuth was instructing him to do, mouthing the steps as Sleuth had said them for a moment before complying. “Oughta let you know there’s a perfectly good guest bed in the upstairs, but upstairs is a way’s away! Let’s do it your way, and right away, heheh… Uh, I’ll be down here, boss, but it’s still your party, you know? So you know, do what you want, or tell me to take a hike if I’m killin’ the mood…”

“It looks like there’s plenty to go around,” the Boss replied with a winking grin, helping himself to a smart smack on Sleuth’s behind that had perhaps surprising vitality behind it. “Since when have you known your Boss to keep such spoils to himself?”

UnmadeMan chuckled a little awkwardly. One might wonder if he was especially comfortable sharing this portion of the spoils with his Boss, but he wasn’t going to be the one to step out. Sleuth wouldn’t have much trouble locating the truth of his excitement: the monstrous man’s boast was clearly not just hot air, even though the item itself was still concealed. “Rrrrgh! Not one much for tickling or using my head. You stick around, though, and I’ll rrrshow ya what I can do…!” The man was growling in a way that was clearly beyond anything ‘primal lust’ could explain, although his health certainly didn’t seem to be failing him.

For that matter, the boss seemed to be in a better mood, having easily removed the apron, cast it aside, and taken Sleuth up on her offer, smirking as he paddled enthusiastically. “What a disgraceful display for a maid! Disgraceful – and yet very impressive! What a tremendously impressive disgrace!” he laughed. Sleuth would feel him let up for just a moment as he rose to his feet, then begin to feel the force of him thrusting against her, occasionally placing another hard hand to her bottom as he did so. It seemed like he was still muttering to himself, but mostly just laughing now.

Sleuth would hear a slam followed by footsteps from the hall, with Shoe stepping back into the room, breathing hard and leaning against the doorframe. “Sleuth! Let’s split this up, okay? One of us can keep the boss happy here, but one of us needs to give UnmadeMan a little talk in private. Talk about-“ she cut off, making a quick gesture using her left hand as a though manipulating a puppet, then running two fingers of her other hand as scissors beneath. “I think Sis is going to kill us if we don’t take care of this before she gets out of the kitchen with her strong drinks,” she added, with a few violent slams in the distance punctuating her remark.

The boss finally gave a pause in his punishment to turn his head and acknowledge Shoe was there, though he seemed to have missed most of what she said. “Mm! So there’s a part two. Who’s your charming friend?” the boss asked, turning to Sleuth with an intrigued smile.

Things got a little awkward for a moment, but surprisingly, Sleuth got some mood-making support in the form of the boss, who didn't seem to mind sharing at all. Perhaps he was an ass-man after all, because he went to town on Sleuth's backside like he was seeing it for the first time. In fact, it really seemed like he was seeing many things for the first time... and, based on the fact that it felt as though she was being dry-humped now, it seemed like he had woken up in more ways than one. By the sounds of it, UnmadeMan wasn't much of the foreplay type himself, which made it a little surprising he'd managed to keep it in his pants so far.

On that note, his growling was starting to sound a little unhealthy- if not for him, than perhaps for her. Between his girth, his presumed profession, and his appetite, the average actress might be getting a bit frightened, but Sleuth started to think that this was sounding like her kind of dangerous adventure. That said, as fit as she was, and as game as her ass was for the task, she had to admit that the boss's sudden affections were not altogether comfortable. He'd begun to go at it with a zest for life that was, frankly, a little inconsiderate. "I guess I should take it as a compliment!" she reassured herself, trying not to wince. Although, even if she did, at least her face was away from both of them right now. UnmadeMan would be able to feel her thighs beginning to twitch a bit as an unconscious reaction to the spanking. At least the old guy sure seemed to be enjoying himself, if he was indeed celebrating his birthday.

A series of noises caused Sleuth to crane her head around as best she could, to focus on the doorway. Shoe had reappeared and her words were a bit difficult to put together, even for a master detective like Sleuth. "I love questions, but this is bloody ridiculous, isn't it?"" Sleuth thought to herself with a dry-humored smile, as she tried to listen through the sound of her own spanking. First off, did this mean UnmadeMan knew something about SuspendedMan's disappearance? Secondly, had Sis also finally reacted to the disappearance? Third, did this further mean that Sis was planning to indiscriminately attack them all in retaliation? Finally, what kind of "strong drink" preparation could cause such a ruckus in the kitchen? Oh, and one last question: was she really supposed to resolve this mess and drill UnmadeMan before Sis got out of the kitchen?

Whatever the case, it would only benefit from her moving quickly. "You heard the lady! She is the detective, after all; there could be legal repercussions if a disgraceful maid like me doesn't follow her orders," she chuckled, rising to her feet and trying to look sexy, ignoring the redness of her bottom. "You stay here and entertain the Boss- think of her as a fine wine freshening up your cup, Sirrah- and perhaps UnmadeMan will show me that lovely guest room he was talking about," she explained, looking down between her legs at the half-headed man beneath her. "Oh, but a little warning..."

She walked over to Shoe, ran her hand through the other girl's hair briefly, then whispered to her. "I've set the bar high. We were informed earlier that the bar would be pretty low, but it's actually a little high right now, my dear girl. So what I'm saying is, between balancing your entertainment, which must meet my deliciously disgraceful standard and the boss's not particularly large but still undeniably present bar, you're going to be doing your sexy catwalk strut over a finer line than we were perhaps expecting," She drew back a bit, still smiling, and patted Shoe on the shoulder. "Now, do the detective name as proud as I've done the maid's!"

She turned and gave a "come hither" sort of finger gesture towards UnmadeMan. "All of this repayment for the kindness of your family has made me terribly tired, Sirrah. Lying down on that guest bed would do me wonders right now, if you'd show me to it. And if you'll lend me your ear," she joked, "I'd be most appreciative." With that, she began a tittering skip up towards the staircase she'd seen earlier. One might wonder why she didn't simply keep the same sexy strut she'd been using, but the easy answer was that the urgency of the situation didn't allow it any longer.

Once she'd gained a little distance, she shot a message to Shoe.

Quote (Sleuth)

Miss Detective, did you forget that we can communicate in secret without whispers and veiled messages? Simply tell me what the blazing blue devil is going on. What am I trying to get out of UnmadeMan, besides what he wants to give me? What set Sis off? Is Sis after everyone? And finally, what are these strong drinks you're referencing?

Also, friendly advice: try to offer the boss something other than spanking. Once you've gone my back, you never go back, you know?

Or rather, you'll be happy you avoided going down that road the next time you have the opportunity to sit.

It was an open question as to whether either of Sleuth’s charges had, in fact, heard the lady, but at least both had recognized her appearance, so the two were willing to let her slip away. This wasn’t a guaranteed prospect when it came to UnmadeMan, but he quickly rose to follow her with a widened grin on his face as he learned he was being invited to join. “You’ll love Shoe, boss. And she’ll love you! You two love each other and I’ll show Sleuth the bedroom, hehehe.”

“Shoe?” the boss asked, raising an eyebrow. “What’s this about shoes now?”

“The detective, boss. The sexy one with the mile long legs right there in the doorway for ya,” UnmadeMan explained patiently, gesturing at her.

“Detective?!” the boss jumped with an immediate change in demeanor, before laying eyes on Shoe and quickly calming down again. “Oh! Oh. You meant like a sort of, mm, detective-themed stripper.”

“Quite so,” Shoe replied, obviously forcing herself to display the same patience. “Well, I may be a mystery, but I think you’ll solve it quickly. Let me come over there and give you a big hint, Boss,” she said, sighing at a quite volume before putting her seductive smile on to saunter his way. She had climbed on the lap of his chair to straddle him again, but in her hurry out of the room Sleuth wouldn’t catch much more.

While Sleuth had moved quickly due to the urgency, she’d find UnmadeMan had no intention of giving her breathing room. Apparently, she wasn’t moving fast enough for his tastes. Even as she composed a message, and even in the dark stairwell, the hulking man easily scooped her up into a princess carry and was practically skipping up the stairs himself. He didn’t even bother to turn on a light, leaving Sleuth in the dark as to the layout of the upper floor. UnmadeMan continued to barrel forward until he had deposited her onto what felt like a made bed.

Now that she had a moment to look around, she’d note a window with blinds but no shutters let a bit of light into the room. She’d be able to tell it was a bedroom of little note compared to her current situation. The mattress was a bit stiff: it felt like it wasn’t used frequently, but it must stay well kept, as there was no smell of dust.

More importantly, she’d find UnmadeMan’s silhouette looming in front of her, still standing. She’d note that he had found a good way to avoid any accidents on his suit: he’d, at some point, removed the whole thing, leaving his dark body full exposed as his white teeth caught light from the window. “If we’re gonna have a conversation, we’re gonna have to make it fast, Sleuth. Course I’m up for some talk after, if you want, but not a lot before. Heh…hrrrRRmmm,” he finished, causing the floorboards to creak as he leaned forward to grab corner bedposts.

Sleuth would get a response at about this point, which she’d have to manage along with her current situation.

Quote (Shoe)

I don’t assume Navis will check their messages while they’re as occupied as you were, and I needed your attention. When I asked her about SuspendedMan and told her he’d jacked out, the sister immediately attacked me. Kept saying he was dead, even though I said he’d only jacked out. I had to stun her to leave the room, but I don’t think she’ll be down long. In order to keep things moving smoothly I think we need to let UnmadeMan know what happened to SuspendedMan and get him to explain the situation to the sister. Until we do, definitely don’t drink anything she offers. She uses poison to fight.

Also a little late on the advice. The guy clearly suffers from short term memory loss but he definitely picked up where he left off there. You owe me one for picking up all the hard parts.”

Ironically, Sleuth was about to find herself in the middle of one of the hard parts immediately if she didn’t interrupt it herself. A persistent creaking sound would reveal UnmadeMan was practically bouncing on the heels of his feet in his excitement… and, as her eyes adjusted, Sleuth would discover she definitely didn’t need audio cues to tell how excited he was.

"What sort of silly man carries his maid around, hm? Oh, are you so kind that you shall not allow me to dirty the floors, so that I will not have to clean them? How very generous! But that all amounts to bollocks when I consider your intentions for the bedroom sheets," Sleuth giggled, managing to fire off a few more zingers on her way upstairs. She wasn't a lightweight lady, but UnmadeMan didn't seem to be having any trouble hoisting her.

Sleuth's detective mind told her that the fact that the lights were off now would probably mean that the structure of the upper floor would be important later. Even as she was plopped upon the bed, moments before dirty deeds were set to occur, she couldn't stop thinking about new and developing elements of the mystery around her. "Honey-poodle, switch the light on, would you kindly? I prefer the dark for sleeping and the light for playing~"

Presumably, whether he did or didn't, events would continue to unfold. "Hm hm. Seeing as you and I are both in on the act, allow me to break character for a moment and speak freely," she spoke up, giving the sort of challenging smile that only one inconsiderate enough to withhold affection for this long could manage. "What is all this? SuspendedMan vanishes and your 'Sister' doesn't act like she is in the know, as we are? From what I understand, the good lady Shoe has knocked Sis for a loop in the kitchen and everything is operating on borrowed time. You need to set things straight with this 'Family' of yours," she informed him, sitting up against the headboard and leaning both arms across it, one to each side.

"Oh, do not abandon your rigor! I am not asking you to interrupt things here and go tell her. Simply send her a message, tell her wot wot, and then we get back to messing these sheets good and proper. Act now and I shall even throw in a 'vacuum cleaning service' after the fact, hm hm hm. You will step back into that skin suit clean as a whistle, Sirrah~" she encouraged UnmadeMan, fluttering her eyelashes and spreading her legs, while teasingly covering her center with one hand and shaking the finger of her other to indicate, "not just yet."

Of course, this guy was some kind of criminal, presumably, and even if he wasn't, he was at the very least impatient. If he showed a desire to plow ahead heedless of her wishes, she readied her Elementary Counterattack to roll to one side and push him half-a-face-first into the bed-post; it would have to do, in place of her cane.

“Hehe… Lights, huh? All the better to see you with my dear! See, I’m like the wolf and you’re the cute little girl, only you’re not that little, are ya? Hehehe!” As the hulking man flipped the light switch, what was originally a subtle shape in the dark became immediate and alarming, every dark angle of his anatomy highlighted by the lamps in the room. “I’m plenty hungry, though, and I can’t promise you aren’t gonna get-“

As the man rambled on and on, Sleuth could spend more time admiring his physicality, or she could take stock of her surroundings. Unfortunately, if she was expecting to see anything like a closet full of skeletons or a smoking gun, she’d be disappointed: the room looked very much like a cozy cottage bedroom for an old man, sparsely decorated. The only personality she might take from it was framed, highly sentimental photos set up on a bedside table, individually showing SuspendedMan, UnmadeMan, and their sister in quaint but attractive portrait shots as though he’d forced them to sit for a professional. Unless she was going to get up and open up the closet, start opening doors, or check under the bed, there wasn’t much else to see.

In any case, she had more important things to talk about with UnmadeMan. Interrupting his rambling foreplay, Sleuth tried to focus on business for a moment longer. UnmadeMan’s grin immediately fell to a frown as he was forced to process some new information. “What huh? I didn’t even know SuspendedMan had left, although since the party got kicked off without him I kinda figured we were just giving up on the murder and just, y’know, boning. Which isn’t really his scene. On account of his preferences- Wait, what?! The f*ck did you say?!” the Navi roared, lunging forward and grabbing the bedposts tightly again. “The broad did what to who?!”

The Navi climbed onto the bed, now looming dangerously over the detective as his muscles tightened. Just as Sleuth was probably thinking she’d need evasive maneuvers after all, he stopped short, sitting on his legs. “RrrrRRRRRRrrrmmm… Help me get this, because I’m completely lost. Even though you’re acting like a bimbo tonight, I know you aren’t one, so you aren’t dumb enough to go rubbing it in my face if you’re trying to take on my Family. When I’d turn you into a sexy smear on this bedspread, then make you use the last of your life to clean it out, heh. Let’s swap info. Sis isn’t in on this, any further than she knew we were doing a sexy show and she was supposed to stay in the kitchen, so she’d be kept out of it. If she’s attacking, I’d assume she thought something actually happened to SuspendedMan, but we did tell her enough she’d know SuspendedMan was gonna play at buying the farm. If she attacked, something’s gone wrong. Way wrong.”

UnmadeMan rubbed at his lip, working his teeth. “Maybe I’m thinking with my second brain, here, but I don’t think you’re jerking me around. Least, not any way I don’t wanna be jerked around, hehehe. But that Shoe… How much you really know about her? I trust my Family implicitly. If Sis attacked her, there’s gotta be a good reason. I think we ought ta talk to her first. Leave your partner making friendly with the boss in the meantime. I’ll message her now… Well, whether I trust you or not, this is probably my last chance to tap that before things get busy in the less exciting way. Like the way where I probably can’t do what I want like I want. I’ll multitask a little!” The Navi spread his arms wide and grinned again, making himself available as he presumably composed a message.

Sleuth would have a chance to engage him in whatever sort of fun she liked for a brief moment, before he would suddenly freeze up, his aura becoming immediately dangerous again. “Sis says SuspendedMan was deleted…?” UnmadeMan would wait for a response, his tension making it clear what Sleuth might want to dispense with any innuendo and choose her words carefully.

In hindsight, Sleuth realized that she probably should have been more forthcoming with certain information so that UnmadeMan hadn't gotten only a partial picture. Whoopsie! Perhaps her own brain was also too occupied with thoughts of her immediate task. "Good sir, would I really venture to agitate you so, when you're holding me at gunpoint like that?" Sleuth couldn't help but chuckle unhelpfully, her eyes gesturing down toward the newly illuminated gun in question.

The man had a number of other revelations for her as well, including, most tellingly, that Sis had already known SuspendedMan was going to take a dive as part of the show. What reason had there been to overreact and attack Shoe, then? It could be she was a bit of a hothead- like UnmadeMan here- or perhaps had been feeling jealous of the other party girls, but neither felt quite right. She smirked back at him. "How good at multitasking are you? For I still have an array of questions I would like to propose myself."

Seeing as UnmadeMan was amazingly not backing down or otherwise affected yet, she would oblige, turning and tugging over her remaining garment aside so that he could get in if he wanted. Unfortunately, she was also the type to talk during, it seemed, and questions began spilling out immediately. "I'm beginning to doubt that detective myself. But tell me about this Family of yours. What is your business? What are these bonds of trust between you? And do you really feel like your boss is safe with Shoe, if we are to truly suspect her?" she started off, while physically, she braced for penetration by the massive object she had seen a second ago.

Before either of them could really get started, or she could get any answers, UnmadeMan gave her a startling revelation. Thankfully, her face was turned away from him, or else he would see excitement flashing in her eyes. Now it was a real mystery! "There is an unexpected twist..." she spoke aloud, while she pondered events so far.

The more she thought about it, the more her thoughts turned back on Shoe. She didn't know a thing about the detective, other than that she, for some reason, had offered herself up to this illicit party and claimed to be a detective. So far, she had spent a lot of time alone, away from Sleuth's eye. She had warned Sleuth not to go to the kitchen and talk to Sis. She may have even subtly guided the conversation to ensure that she was alone with the boss. Wasn't her assassination of the boss the most dangerous outcome of all?

Then again... this "Family" had their own torture cell, seemingly. And wasn't it weird that UnmadeMan was able to speak to Sis freely now, even though she had supposedly been knocked out just a moment ago? She wondered if she was being too hasty turning her back on her ally... She didn't know Shoe, but then, she didn't really know the rest of these mooks either. Was it possible one of them might kill their own and frame the detective for it? Although, if so, who was the act for? Certainly not to deceive her alone, given her status as an outsider... Unless, of course, her acting as a witness outside the Family was exactly the point! It was plenty to ponder and excited Sleuth about as much as the thought of the sex she had just foregone.

"I don't think we have time to fool around here, my bald-faced friend. I think that we ought to head down and check on your boss, immediately," she suggested. They would need to go together... if Shoe really was going in for the kill, she needed the backup of another fighter. "And I think it may be best if we disguise our approach. Tread quietly and I'll deceive her a bit..." Part of her wanted to leave him behind... but part of her also didn't expect he would want the boss to be alone with two unknowns now.

Presumably, UnmadeMan was either still in shock or full of anger. It would be somewhat amazing if he was still randy enough to go at it. Whatever the case, time was of the essence; Sleuth climbed up to her feet and reset her panties, then began to move as quietly as she could manage on the creaky floors back down the stairs.

As she approached, she sent a misleading message to Shoe. She would have to trust that the girl didn't know the house well enough to know that if Sleuth was telling the truth, she ought to hear the upper room shaking.

Quote

"Shoe, I wanted to apologize that you got the leftovers. I'm being unmade right now in a way that's an absolute travesty! I'm being pounded into a sex smear upon the boss's sheets. I'm a dirty dirty maid

Hopefully, the message would throw Shoe off and the detective wouldn't see them coming.

UnmadeMan got himself into position with a grin, eagerly grabbing the other Navi’s hind quarters and beginning to move into position. Sleuth rattled off a list of questions, though, and it didn’t seem like he was eager to entertain them while he was entertaining himself. “Rrrr,” he growled from his throat, rattling off his answers in a terse stream as he loomed behind her. “We pull jobs on the NetMafia and NetPolice. All of us were rescued by the Boss! And the Boss can take care of himself… least, he ain’t gonna go down to a hired stripperr, prrretty surrrRRrre!!”

Sleuth was spared one kind of excitement for another. It seemed that what UnmadeMan was now being told was enough to finally kill his mood, his pressure emanating clearly even without seeing his half-a-face. “Rrrrgh, you’rrre rright… Shmuckin’ around up here while some broad’s f*cking around with my Family! You do what you’re gonna do, I’m gonna go give her my thanks, hehehrrrRRR-!” the man growled, stalking out of the room with his suit on once more, his fingertips formed into sharp razors and his tent still quite menacingly pitched. Sleuth would have to hold him back to convince him not to storm off immediately. He got the message, though, and stalked quietly through the dark to make his way downstairs. Hopefully Shoe was occupied; otherwise, the man’s weight on the creaky floor would make it impossible not to sense him coming in spite of his best efforts.

The two would arrive to peer back into the main hall, allowing them to peer into the family room, where UnmadeMan’s cheesy mood music was still playing. However, their eyes (Sleuth’s, anyway) would fall upon a scene of gruesome violence:

The boss was still seated, but Shoe was relocated so she faced away from him, her legs straddling either side of him to rest on the arms. She had propped herself up on her arms (using cushions from the chairs placed on the floor), presenting her behind to him. Evidently, he’d been helping himself, still wailing on the detective’s red backside with alternating open-palmed slaps, eliciting muffled cries as the detective buried her face in a pillow.

Continuing the theme of raunchy antics juxtaposed with menacing mobsters, glancing instead down the end of the hall would reveal purple gas now rolling out of the kitchen as the Family’s sister staggered out, the purple lights of her lenses glowing from the darkness. “UnmadeMan… SuspendedMan’s gone… The detective murdered him. It’s up to you now… Capture them, and we’ll show them the Family’s justice…!”

“Uh… Hold on, Sis,” UnmadeMan replied, holding up a hand. “Sorry, I mean, if SuspendedMan was here, I’m sure he’d be right on it, but I’m a little slower, and I’m way way more confused. I was expectin’ to come down here and see you and Shoe tearin’ each other up. Instead, she’s back to getting’ her *ss paddled by the Boss. Is SuspendedMan-“

“SupsendedMan was murdered!” the other Navi screeched again, her voice breaking. “The d-d-detectives! Bro, we’ve gotta avenge SuspendedMan if we’re gonna be taken seriously as a family!! Grab her, now!”

Sleuth might want to investigate more, but it seemed she’d need to start putting out some convincing theories fast. Regardless of whether Sleuth found the poisonous Navi believable, UnmadeMan was clearly rattled. It looked like unless he was convinced in short order, Sleuth was going to have to defend herself physically as well as intellectually, as he began moving towards her with a grimace on his face.

“What’s going on? Sleuth!” Shoe shouted, wresting herself away from the boss and sliding onto her side. “Why don’t I get the feeling you wrapped this all up neat for us yet…?” Shoe seemed like she’d need a moment to gather herself before she’d be back on Sleuth’s interrogative level.

Sleuth and UnmadeMan exchanged some decidedly work-focused bedroom talk while Sleuth quickly processed the answers, seeing as she could be receiving a big interruption any time now. "Rescued? What does that mean? It calls to mind unoperated navis that have been abandoned by their operators. But who is this 'Family' that goes after both the NetPolice and the NetMafia? And is he saying they target the resources of both groups? That's ballsy... enemies in high places," the lady of the two mused, thinking that perhaps UnmadeMan wasn't being overconfident about the Boss's survival chances after all.

Still, UnmadeMan finally yielded and led the way back to the boss, with Sleuth following close behind to make sure that he didn't jump the gun, nor pull the gun either. "Ooooh deary, murder, she wrote," the detective commented with a quick "tut tut" that seemed neither properly sympathetic towards Shoe nor properly apologetic toward UnmadeMan for wasting his time. "That will certainly put some red in the cheeks."

This was hardly the time for joking, of course; it wouldn't take a master detective to suspect that Sis's warpath would reach this room soon. For her part, she waited as late to step in as she could, smiling in spite of the grave situation. That smile was one of genuine pleasure, but also taunted more and more out of those still speaking. Her reasoning was simple: the longer they talked, the more information she could gather to form her hypotheses. With every word, certain possibilities became more plausible and floated to the top. Her focus became narrower...

She danced backward and away from UnmadeMan, then, either recognizing the chaos of the room or otherwise not wanting to talk over the music, silenced the boombox with a quick tap of her finger. "Sorry to interrupt your drum solo, Birthday Boy, but as it so happens, I am ready to put a bow on this strange caper. A necessary present, delivered to us, one and all," she chuckled, suddenly seeming to become every bit a detective despite her wardrobe, which was barely fit for a sexy maid any more. "Ah, but today's mystery has been a gift delivered unto me and I thank you all very much for the opportunity."

She began to rush along, sensing that either UnmadeMan would act on Sis's advice or the dangerous drink mixer would handle things herself if he took too long. That said, she couldn't lead with her hypothesis... not only would it cause Sis to immediately begin to counteract her, but also, it was just very bad form for any mystery's solution to begin with the answer. "First of all, I'll address the elephant in the room, or the puppet not in the room, as it were. It is my belief that SuspendedMan has, in fact, not been deleted. I assure you, I come upon this conclusion based upon far more evidence than that SuspendedMan informed me he planned to act out a false death tonight," she informed them, cutting that suspicion off right away.

"My reasons are primarily in study of Sis's and Shoe's behavior. Sis, your anger appears to have been triggered by knowledge that SuspendedMan has been deleted, but this smells fishy from the start. How do you know that SuspendedMan has been deleted and not simply ejected? Does he return to your same PET?" she asked, pacing the floor slowly, with her massive breasts heaving distractingly at each step. "Did he simply cease returning your messages? Did he deliver you dying words, after leaving us with a paltry note to carry on the show without him?" she asked, tilting one eyebrow. "In fact, there are only a handful of ways for you to know SuspendedMan perished at all. The stretch, that perhaps you share a PET with him. The likely, that you received a message from him. The most likely? Actually, there is another even more likely, but we will return to that point."

"More curious, in Sis's 'Shoe is the culprit' theory, is Shoe's behavior. To match your scenario, her behavior would have to have been thus: Shoe kills SuspendedMan. Shoe then reports this to Sis, who did not see SuspendedMan fall and thus could have been kept unaware, unless she received some sort of message. Shoe then attempts to knock Sis out- doesn't delete her- and the result of that knockout lasts only a few minutes, as UnmadeMan and I scamper upstairs to the boudoir. Ah, you might say, Shoe didn't murder Sis in this scenario because of a sharp focus on undoing the Boss, her real target!" she gasped, pointing at her partner, then wincing and holding up both hands, realizing UnmadeMan might react to that. "But no, does that make sense? Shoe didn't exactly wear out her heels getting over here, did she? No, when we encounter her here, she is still entertaining the boss. Not only entertaining him, but doing a bang up job of it, in a way that sacrifices all of her physical faculties by tying up her hands, her legs, even her eyesight, while making the very act of sitting very uncomfortable for the foreseeable future! If that is not enough fishy evidence to turn your nose up, then consider this as well: that supposed knockout that Shoe says Sis gave her lasted merely long enough for us to run upstairs and run back down. In short, there seemed to be no sense of urgency to eliminate anyone on Shoe's part, especially strange if we harbor any suspicion that she may have just murdered SuspendedMan in view of his family!"

Here, she realized she was getting thirsty... she nearly decided on drinking one of the drinks from earlier, but stopped her hand as it touched the glass. She still hadn't fully decided if there was real poison at work here. Sleuth tried her best to put UnmadeMan and whatever furniture she could between herself and Sis as she spoke. "Let's revisit that earlier hanging note. The most likely possibility of all is that Sis assumed SuspendedMan was deleted because that was her own narrative," the detective smirked. "That's not all, of course. You're likely wondering about a motive and furthermore whether Sis would really go so far as to delete her own Family member. The answer, of course, is no: SuspendedMan is not the sacrificial pawn here. The Family is, by all observations, close knit. Just look at that wonderful portrait!" she cheered, raising both hands with a massive bounce of her bosom, gesturing towards the painting above the sitting area. "Miss Shoe, however, would make a fantastic sacrifice. And the motive? Well, I'd been racking my brain over that one, but I believe Sis gave us a hint of that herself when she said 'for the family to be taken seriously.' "

"Let us remember- this is all a performance for someone. There is a plot at foot which someone is meant to see and take something from. Here, we are on your turf. We are but two detectives, women at that, despite our physical abilities. You have an able bodied male, a very spiky lady, and a boss who I've been assured is more than capable of handling a stripper or two. I've already explained several reasons why Shoe is not a likely candidate to be a murderer, but why would she risk this, surrounded by hostiles? If her goal was only SuspendedMan, would she not have jacked out after deleting him? If her goal was all of you, why only 'knock out' Sis, if she even did, and why prostrate herself before the boss instead of taking him out?"

"So why? What's the endgame? I am a detective, but in the end, as long as there are theories left opposing and not eliminated, I can only speculate. Allow me to offer some options, however, for your edification," she faked a curtsy towards the two gentlemen in the room, and Shoe, who had hopefully been released by the boss by this point. "Supposition number one! Let us suppose that SuspendedMan was not in on it. I still don't believe Sis would delete him- because I don't believe he's been deleted- but if he was, the theory becomes almost too cliche to consider. Perhaps Sis saw an opportunity for advancement with one figure, SuspendedMan, off the board and used this opportunity to remove him? Framing Shoe and myself would allow her to get off scott free. It sounds as though SuspendedMan was prepared to make some sort of 'speech' later in the night, so certainly, he must be close to the top of your charming totem pole. One less competitor, hm? But no, no... I sense this is not correct. Lovely family such as yourselves wouldn't want to harm one another."

"Supposition number two, and I believe this one is a right crafty flight of fancy: what if SuspendedMan was in on it? He said this was a 'murder mystery' for the boss. I gather you all, the Family, are the, eh... deviant type, based on what I saw caked to the walls out in the shack and based on, you know, you all being a rather intense and imposing bunch besides. Again, I reiterate: whoever is doing this wants some visual flair out of it. Wouldn't it be just a rib tickler for the boss if SuspendedMan feigned death and it became a real who-dunnit, culminating in the pointing out of the culprit- either Shoe or myself, or both- who would be 'ousted' to put it nicely. Later, after the dirty deed was done, SuspendedMan would reveal himself to be alright and everyone would applaud this drastic, cutting-edge new form of theater! Everyone would share a hearty chuckle. Sounds a little far-fetched? I will tell you what's really far-fetched: that Sis sent the message to be wary of Shoe only to UnmadeMan, not to her Boss, the one who would, theoretically, be in the most imminent danger from Shoe's attacks. Why would that be the case? Well, as good a reason as any I can venture: to preserve the Boss's role as the audience, while UnmadeMan was tricked into attacking one of us hapless detectives."

"I do have a third supposition!" she offered, speaking very, very quickly now to avoid being attacked by... anyone, she really couldn't fully anticipate who would be comfortable with her continuing. "Perhaps a bit juvenile. Sis said she wanted the family to be taken seriously, right? What if this whole concept of strippers dancing around the boss in their finest cupcake wrappers upset Sis here? Perhaps she feels as though it reflects poorly on the whole Family. Maybe she's even a little smitten with SuspendedMan... or UnmadeMan, strapping gentleman that he is, half a good head on his shoulders and very full head elsewhere... or the Boss, virile and experienced chap. For whatever reason, she doesn't like seeing floozies like us give them lap-dances! Easiest thing in the world to simply send SuspendedMan not a lethal poison, but something that will take him out of the picture temporarily... or perhaps feed him a line about staying away... while concocting a scenario that will have UnmadeMan unmake the two of us. We'd be gone and when SuspendedMan returned, she'd explain that we were the ones that poisoned him, but gosh, good thing he managed to pull through it! I like this one. It makes me giggle," she giggled, grinning annoyingly.

In all of this, one might get the idea she greatly trusted her partner, casting no suspicion upon Shoe. In truth, the only reason Shoe was not on the chopping block right now was the position she'd assumed. In Sleuth's mind, no way, no how would a guilty person with their mind on escape, on crafting some elaborate scheme, on defending themselves from some righteous attacker, or especially with their mind on another kill, choose to set themselves onto their hands, stick their ass in another man's lap to be spanked to red meat, and also bury their face in a bunch of pillows. It defied all reason. That simple fact alone was enough to eliminate any possibility of Shoe being the mastermind.

"Ah, but I've rambled on. Does anyone want to be a dear and tell me if I've gotten this correct? Perhaps fill me in on a few more details and let me have another sporting crack at it?" Sleuth asked with a shrug, as though anyone was going to be willing to listen to another three or four such suppositions. "Boss, you know your family. What do you think? Any of this ringing a bell?"

Although Sleuth was settling naturally back into her true role as a detective, it was perhaps understandable that her audience was stumbling to keep up. Shoe was still rising gingerly to her feet, looking like her mind was on something else; the whereabouts of the Boss’s mind were anyone’s guess, as he gazed first curiously at Sleuth, then severely, then turned that severe gaze to empty space before him; the Sister regarded her warily, continuing to take cautious steps towards the action; UnmadeMan, the most pressing concern, maintained his taut posture as though preparing to catch anyone who made a run for it, his clenched teeth bared in his grinding jaws.

With Sleuth’s first declaration, Sis took a few more urgent steps forward, the colorful fog still rolling behind her. She started to sputter a loud objection immediately, but it was clear her stuttering speech and manner was going to be antithetical to her ability to undercut Sleuth’s presentation. She clammed up when she realized Sleuth’s train of questioning, but it was impossible to tell why. Was she feeling cornered, or was there another reason? Regardless, she did snort and tilt her head as Sleuth continued her presentation. “Of course your partner’s gone all out to make herself f-fe-helpless! All your so-called clues fall into place, huh?” This was the only part she raised any immediate objection to, fuming silently.

Sleuth was forced to backpedal silently as UnmadeMan took rapid, lunging steps towards her. The beast-like Navi came to a sudden stop, however, as it became clear he’d just come for the drinks she’d passed on. He grabbed a mug, still growling low without anything to add, pausing only to take deep gulps that’d probably make Sleuth envious if she really was thirsty. “Sis, kill her brother?” he finally interrupted, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “Not possible.”

“Our family is an unbreakable unit,” the sister agreed, flexing her fingers dangerously.

“It is quite a lovely portrait, but not so lovely as the Family that it portrays,” the Boss mused fondly, sighing and slouching into his chair. “You know I’m so terribly proud of those boys and girls I raised.”

“Well, besides the one bad apple,” Shoe muttered, sitting gingerly on the cushions she’d set on the floor before. “Obviously, I’m the scapegoat here, right? I’m probably not getting paid enough for this, but I’m definitely not getting paid enough for this!”

“I’m hearing nothing but conjecture,” the sister responded in a hiss. “Slip in just enough holes in your plan so it looks like there is no plan, r-right? None of us are dumb enough to fall for that!”

All eyes stayed on Sleuth as she began listing her suppositions. Into her second one, UnmadeMan held up his hands, face twisted into a disgusted grimace. “Woah, woah, woah, uh, I’m lost. I know we’re in the woods, but uh, this is way lost in the woods, and I ain’t seeing the forest for the trees. I know the dude has-“

“Had!” his sister reminded him, pointedly.

“Had, has, whatever, weird tastes! Anyone who walks around lookin’ like that’s got to. But some kinda murder dinner theater? Don’t think we’ve ever had anything like that around here. Don’t think the Boss has ever had any interest in it either.”

“On the contrary, it’s all been very interesting,” the boss contradicted him.

UnmadeMan waited a moment to see if the boss was about to make a surprisingly lucid interjection and then, deciding he must have only half-heard the conversation, continued. “Also, uh, what message? Did I miss the message somewhere? Cause I ain’t getting’ what message.”

“Sleuth’s reasoning d-depends on me having received a message to have realized SuspendedMan was deleted, I think…” The sister said that with an implied smirk in her tone, but didn’t elaborate further, allowing Sleuth’s third supposition. “None of us are gonna give that one the time of day. The Family is a Family… brothers and sisters. And I’m not so p-petty as to deny my brothers some fun with their floozies. Except when it’s deadly!”

“I can’t follow all of it, Sleuth,” UnmadeMan interjected, taking a step forward, “But I’ll clue you into one thing: the reason Sis and I know he didn’t jack out is that he can’t jack out. We Family members wear this on our sleeves: all of us are abandoned Navis who can’t return to PETs.”

“Get it?” his sister chuckled icily, evidently feeling that Sleuth’s theories had fallen apart. “There was no message. I simply heard from the kitchen when your friend did the deed. If I hear SuspendedMan leave the Net, I’ve already caught your friend Fred-red-handed.”

“I’m a detective, and I’ve been around some deletions,” Shoe interrupted, rising to her feet to give herself some gravity. “SuspendedMan wasn’t deleted; that was a jack-out. I’m not sure if it’s one, two, or even all of you trying to pull something, but let’s not try to fool a detective’s own senses, all right? And Sleuth, I hope you’ve got enough sense to trust your intuition. You’ve already hit on the correct theory, don’t you think? Throwing out a bunch more theories is just a waste of our time. The problem here is the jury: the only two here to make a judgment are members of a tight-knit family already pitted against us. The only right move is for us to exit right now.”

“How far do you think you get?” the diminutive poison-mixer taunted, her eyes glowing menacingly. “Are you going to live your life on the Net looking over your shoulders? Holding your breath? Drinking canned drinks?”

“Keep throwing out theories if you want, I’ll hear ya,” UnmadeMan added, turning between the detectives and baring his teeth. “Shake that tail while ya do, I’ll listen to em all night. But turn tail and run, and you’re gonna get a hard-breathing shadow that might keep you thinking of it even later…”

Sleuth had one more opinion she was curious about, and she asked the boss for his opinion last. The boss looked up at her absently at first, then a smirk twitched at the corner of her mouth. “Theories, theories, theories. I thought SuspendedMan told you how I like my ladies? What happened to the entertainment? I was quite enjoying myself!” He grumbled, straightening himself in his seat. “SuspendedMan has an important announcement coming up shortly, an announcement regarding the future of the Family. I’d prefer to enjoy myself a bit further before then! A show’s a show, but it isn’t like the man’s dead. Not since-”

“There’s not going to be an announcement, and the man is dead!” Sis shouted, her voice breaking. “They’re NetPolice, they’re NetMafia! Whoever they are, they’re not with us. UnmadeMan, end this! End them!”

UnmadeMan growled again, reminded of the stakes of what they were discussing again. “Yeah, truth is, I dunno if I’m feeling a whole night of patience. Truth is, there’s things I’d like to do all night with a woman like you, but listening to a bunch of jib-jab ain’t gonna cut it. You got anything to wrap this up, I’d go ahead and lead with that, and snappy.”

Sleuth received a flurry of new information, in the form of reactions, testimony, explanations, and the like. She gave a bitter smile in Shoe's direction. "Hush now, you silly ottoman topper! If you're a detective, then don't leave a mystery unsolved!" she thought to herself, but it was unclear to her how much showed on her face. Whatever the case, one thing was clear: her logic was flawed... because SuspendedMan as they knew him couldn't jack out. Despite Shoe's protests, the reactions of everyone here seemed to prove it. And yet...

"Ah, I don't know if this is related to the mystery at all," she murmured, not seeming to realize her crunch on time, "but I believe I've made a discovery as far as your wholesome family goes. SuspendedMan, hanging up like a strung-up cadaver... 'UnmadeMan' missing half his head... whatever our lovely chef of the night must be... would it be safe to day you dabble in reanimation, Boss? Earlier you were going to say 'since I brought him back to life,' weren't you?" she questioned, seeming bemused. "That bloody bloody cell out there wasn't a place where you hold navis and torture them... it's a place where you workshop navis back to life, isn't it? When you said 'raised' you meant 'raised from the dead?' That's what UnmadeMan meant when he said 'rescue' earlier, too..."

She wasn't sure where she was going with this, but it seemed to be an important piece of the puzzle. She pressed her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose, trying to hide a smile at the same time. Sleuth felt a rush of exhilaration at this high calibur mystery that had presented to her, even as she pondered the stakes.

"No message, UnmadeMan? Well, that's curious. Weren't the two of us about to enter the throes of passion when you suddenly said 'Sis said SuspendedMan was deleted?'" Sleuth inquired, pacing the floor in a very bouncy manner. "You must acknowledge you received such a message, yes? Did that message not include any warning to watch out for Shoe or myself as the potential killers?"

Her tone was somewhat quiet, because she didn't feel as though UnmadeMan was the one to accuse here. Besides his apparent dullard behavior, there was another simple reason..."

"Oh, for the record, let it also be shown that UnmadeMan has taken a drink at random from the dish and consumed it. Either there is no poison, he was not in on it, or he has made quite a gaffe," she shrugged, seeming as though her mind was elsewhere. "Trust me, his... eyes, wherever they may be... have not been on that drink tray consistently enough to ensure that wasn't one poison cocktail..."

She needed another theory, not simple observations. Right now, she lacked the how dunnit, why dunnit, and who dunnit... if she could find but one answer, she may be able to triangulate the others. "Sis, right now, I'm struggling with one key point you have not yet refuted or elaborated upon: if Shoe is the culprit, why did she momentarily incapacitate you and how did you recover so quickly? Furthermore, what do you mean 'when my friend did the deed?' Wasn't SuspendedMan poisoned? You mean you heard him collapse, or did you hear some means of attack? Then why... why the blazes did you stay in the kitchen and ultimately get 'stunned?' Something is very out of order with this story, Missie."

Looking to Shoe, she motioned for her to move aside, then got into a matching position with her butt in the air. "Allow me to assist you here for a moment, give your butt a break and let your lips speak," she chuckled, giving the boss a playful, but practiced, cheek-to-cheek alternating twerk to catch his attention. "I think it's safe to say that these navis should not be able to jack out. That explains why you said he had jacked out and she countered that he had been deleted. However... you say you saw a garden variety jack-out. Could it be possible it was instead a teleport, to another net or somewhere else?" she questioned, bracing herself for a spanking as she spoke.

"Actually... I may have just come up with a theory. SuspendedMan said he had a big, Family-affecting announcement, didn't he? Is it at all possible... that SuspendedMan found himself an operator? Does anyone know what his announcement was supposed to be?" Sleuth prodded further, looking back towards the boss. She cocked an eyebrow. "Earlier I posited that you were preparing to say 'since I brought them back to life.' But is it possible you were actually about to reveal SuspendedMan's surprise to everyone? Namely: were you going to say 'since he can now return to a PET?'" It would be ironic if, rather than being fully senile, the boss was just the one with the knowledge necessary not to view SuspendedMan's departure as death.