Dek sniffed his fingers. “Doesn’t smell like fish, but we can test it for toxins. There’s a spectrograph in the cabinet along with an FTIR that should give us an idea of what this thing’s made of. That and Two Falls Gap was placed here because the water’s good. The river’s fed by surface water cascading down the cliffs. Doesn’t have time to pick up much of a heavy-metal load. This guy,” Dek indicated the creature, “might not be too terribly toxic, and I’m really tired of broccoli.”

“I’d say order out next time.”

“Inga’s doesn’t deliver.” Dek reached over and plucked the long knife from Talina’s belt. “Do you mind?”

“If I did, do think I’d tell you?” She gave him a nudge with an elbow. “Let’s see what this guy’s made of. If it turns out we can eat it, you might have found your calling.”

Derek Taglioni, fisherman. Inga would pay a fortune if she could add something unique to her menu.

An hour later—the three-jawed fishsnake dissected, tested, and sort of filleted—the curious odor of frying fishsnake filled the air. Talina watched Dek carefully sear the pink meat while trying to decide what it smelled like. The closest she could come to the sweet aroma was paca meat—what the locals in Belize called “gibnut.”

She crossed her arms, asking, “So, where did a mucky-muck Taglioni learn to cook? Or is that one of the skills, along with charming the fair sex, that your father taught you?”

“A Taglioni? Dare to foul his hands by preparing his own food? Not a chance in hell. Nope, this, like so many of my endearing traits, was learned aboard Ashanti. Not that we had much to prepare, but Gonzo really tried to do something with ration. I sat around for hours listening to him and Bill Martin talk about food. I mean, we were all starving, right? Those two guys could go on and on expounding about preparation, spices, temperatures, and recipes. Having eaten at the finest restaurants in Solar System, I was a rapt listener. Promised myself I’d learn to cook. A while back, Madison Briggs let me try it for real in her kitchen, and miracle of miracles, most of what Gonzo and Bill told me actually worked.” He beamed a smile as he laid a fishsnake steak on her plate. “Now, if we only had a bottle of wine.”

The last of the two bottles of wine had been finished off the night before.

She considered him. Arched a speculative eyebrow. Did she dare? “Got the next best thing. I’ll get it while you dish up the rest.”