“My son didn’t do this: He’s a kid. He’s only eight, for God’s sake!”

Michaela took a deep breath; all of it kept spiraling out of control. “Hey! Stop it! All of you. Sit down and be quiet. We have to think. Figure this thing out.” They just stared at her, eyes reflecting anger, fear, disbelief, and confusion.

“I said, sit down!” She jabbed a no-nonsense index finger to emphasize the point.

One by one they dropped into the nearest seats, glancing back toward the kitchen as the room went quiet enough that they could hear Iso where she was cleaning up the dried blood. If anything, that sobered them more than any demand Michaela might have made.

And damn it, who was going to cook? Which one of them could stand to be alone in that kitchen, taking Bill’s place?

Solve that later, she told herself.

“Stop the recriminations,” Michaela shouted, feeling herself on the verge of panic. “We’re scientists, for God’s sake. We’ll find who did this. Yosh is right. We’ve got the prints on that knife, and only one set of feet will match that blood trail. When we do—”

“My son didn’t do this.” Kevina cried. “He was in bed, I tell you.”

“And he’s locked up with the other children in the observation dome,” Michaela shot back. “Anna’s keeping an eye on all of the children as we figure this out.”

“And what if Felix attacks one of the girls?” Mikoru asked.

“Don’t you dare!” Kevina half-shrieked, leaping from her chair. “Felix would no more hurt one of those girls than he’d hurt a fly.”

“Or Bill Martin?” Mikoru cried, arms spread wide.

Kevina started for her, only to have Kel Carruthers rise to block her way, saying calmly, “It’s all right, Kev. We’ll figure this out. Now, sit down. You have my word.”

“That’s right.” Michaela tried to use a reassuring tone. “There’s got to be an explanation. We’re going to find it. Now, I’ve got Casey doing a little research with the UV light. She’s taking a look at the hallway. If the person who walked in all that blood walked down the hallway, Casey will find traces of it.”

“And what happens when she does?” Kel asked, sharing glances with the others. “Let’s say it is one of the kids. What do we do next?”

“No one lays a finger on my kid,” Kevina promised, her face like a mask.

Piss in a pot, what if it really was one of the children? Michaela used her good hand and rubbed the back of her neck, images of Bill’s dissected body making a horrific vision behind her eyes.