Invasion

Pitt rolled his eyes. "Here we go," he said to no one in particular.

"You mean a black disc that's flat on the bottom but has a dome on the top and little nubbin-like bumps around the edge."

"Exactly," Cassy said.

"Yeah, he showed me a bunch of them just before he had his convulsion."

Cassy cast a triumphant look at Pitt whose expression had gone from exasperation to intense interest in the matter of seconds.

"Did he say anything about being stung by one of these discs?" Pitt asked.

"Yeah, a number of times," Jesse said. "He said it was kinda spooky since he couldn't find a sharp edge. And you know something, now that I think about it, I remember the police chief, Captain Hernandez, getting stung by one."

"Somebody better fill me in on these black discs," Sheila said.

"We found one four days ago," Cassy said. "Well, actually it was Beau who found it. He picked it up from the gravel in a parking lot."

"I was there when he found it," Pitt said. "We had no idea what it was. I thought it might have fallen out from beneath Beau's car."

"After just a few minutes Beau said it stung him," Cassy said. "Then a number of hours later Beau came down with his flu."

"We had really forgotten about the disc, to tell the truth," Pitt said. "But then here in the emergency room I was checking in a little girl with the flu who said that a black rock had bitten her."

''But it was an episode just last night that really got us thinking," Cassy said. She went on to describe the incident at the market. She even described the faint blue glow that she and Pitt thought they'd seen.

When Cassy was finished there was a silence.

Sheila finally blew out through pursed lips. "Well, this all sounds crazy, and as I said before, under normal circumstances I'd call in a psychiatry consult for you two. But at this point I'm willing to explore just about anything."

"Tell me," Jesse said. "Does Beau recognize that he's acting differently?"

"He says he doesn't," Cassy said. "But I find it hard to believe. He's doing things he's never done before."

"I agree," Pitt said. "A week ago he was adamantly against large dogs in the city. Suddenly he gets one."

"Yeah, and without discussing it with me," Cassy said. "And we live together. But why do you ask?"

"It would be an important point if the people who are affected are purposefully dissembling," Sheila said. "We'll have to be discreet. But let's get us one of these black discs."

"We can go back to the market," Pitt said.

"I might be able to get one out of property booking," Jesse said.

"Well, try both," Sheila said. She took out a couple of business cards and wrote her home number on the backs. She gave one to Jesse and one to Pitt and Cassy. "Whoever gets one of these discs first, give me a call. But, as I said, let's be discreet about this. It sounds to me that this is the type of thing that could cause a panic if there's any truth to it."

Just before they broke up, Pitt gave both Sheila and Jesse the number of his cousin's apartment. He said that he and Cassy would be staying there. Cassy gave him a questioning look but didn't contradict him.

"Which way do you think the stall was that had the discs?" Pitt asked. They had entered the outdoor market about the same time as the evening before. It was a large area, about the size of two city blocks, and with all the tiny stalls it was like a maze.

"I remember where we got the produce," Cassy said. "Why don't we go there first and follow our trail?"

"Good idea," Pitt said.

They found the stand, where they'd bought tomatoes, with comparative ease.

"What did we do after the tomatoes?" Pitt asked.

"We got the fruit," Cassy said. "It was in that direction." She pointed over Pitt's shoulder.

After they found the fruit stall they both remembered the route into the flea market section. A few minutes later they were standing in front of the booth they sought. Unfortunately it was empty.

"Excuse me," Cassy called to the proprietor of the next stand. "Could you tell me where the man is that runs this empty stall?"

"He's sick," the man said. "I talked with him this morning. He's got the flu like most of us have."

"Thanks," Cassy said. Then to Pitt she whispered: "What do we do now?"

"Hope that Lieutenant Kemper has better luck," Pitt said.

Jesse had driven back to police headquarters directly from the hospital, but he'd hesitated before going in. The news of Kinsella's death had undoubtedly reached the station, and people were going to be upset. It hardly seemed to be the time to be nosing around in Kinsella's cage, especially if the captain was still hanging around. After listening to Cassy and Pitt he'd been reminded of how weird the captain had been acting of late.

So Jesse had driven home. He lived a mile away from headquarters in a small house that was big enough for one person. He'd been living by himself since his wife died of breast cancer eight years previously. They'd had two children but both of them preferred the excitement of Detroit.