And suddenly, Zed realized where he’d seen Mel before, the picture on Jillian’s desk. This man was one of Jillian’s closest friends, and while that explained Bael’s polite tolerance of Mel’s physical proximity, it didn’t really explain the shifter energy crackling off of him or why Bael was almost . . . sucking up to Mel.

Relationships were weird.

Zed put his arm around Jillian’s shoulder, pulling her loosely to his side. He nodded toward Ivy, who was now staring down Bonita de los Santos. “Catin, you know I don’t like to pre-judge people, but that woman is . . . concerning.”

“Ivy?” Jillian’s mouth pulled back at the corners. “Ivy comes highly recommended, is even more qualified, but her bedside manner is appropriate for working with dead people.”

“Why do we need a coroner again?”

Jillian tilted her head and patted his arm. “Um, remember that series of murders we had a few months back? And how we didn’t have a medical examiner who could deal with it? This fixes that problem. Also, as long as the family members sign the right release forms, Ivy will do a sort of death census, recording the Bayou’s life spans, causes of death, etc. It’s going to provide a lot of helpful information.”

“Dammit, I hate it when you make sense.”

“And yet, it happens so often.”

Across the yard, Ben Boone was lifting a wire basket filled with shrimp, crayfish, crabs, lemons, potatoes, and corn out of a cauldron of boiling water. He carried the basket—without protective gloves—and carefully spread the boiled seafood on a newspaper-covered table at the end of the line, for those who wanted to eat with their hands. The air was redolent with the scent of lemon, seafood and spice, and Zed naturally drifted toward his favorite scents. It had nothing to do with the fact that Dani had made a beeline for the crayfish table . . . or the fact that he’d been aware of where she was standing since they’d arrived, no matter where she moved amongst the crowd.

She was laughing with Theresa Anastas as she tied a cloth around her neck to protect her clothes. Zed watched as Rajesh Agarwal showed Dani how to pull the heads from the crayfish and claim the meat with her teeth. Rajesh was a tiger shifter from Kerala, India, a relative newcomer to the bayou who delighted in all things food-related. He was also very happily mated to a lion shifter named Analah. Otherwise, Zed would feel a little strange about Rajesh’s hands being so close to Dani’s mouth.