Another officer scurried over with a specimen bag and carefully picked up the eye with a tweezer device.

"What was the cause of death?" Qui-Gon asked quietly.

"Strangulation, we believe," Captain Yur T'aug said shortly.

"I saw the marks," Qui-Gon said. "It seems like a slender cord of some kind. Not hands." The captain nodded.

"And the unusual… ah, pallor?" Qui-Gon asked.

"The body was drained of blood," Captain Yur T'aug said. "He was killed elsewhere and then dropped off here."

Obi-Wan looked back at the tarp and shuddered again.

Qui-Gon's voice was calm. "Any suspects?"

The captain sighed, tapping his comlink with an impatient finger. "I should be investigating, not filling you in. You can read the report when I am done."

Qui-Gon did not show his impatience, but Obi-Wan could feel it. "I do not have time to read your report," he said, his voice as brittle as ice.

Captain Yur T'aug hesitated, then said, "No suspects yet. Nobody saw anything. But we know this High character. He's a well-known informant and petty thief. Could have a hundred enemies. Not to mention that he owes money all over town. I hear he has a major debt to the Tech Raiders."

Qui-Gon studied the officer for a moment. "There is something else," he said.

"This is not the first body we've found drained of blood," Captain Yur T'aug said hesitantly. "Drifters, lowlifes — beings no one would miss. Over the past year, there have been a half dozen. Maybe more we haven't found. Who knows? Coruscant can be a hard world. Many transients come here to scrounge a living."

"If this is the case, the killer is most likely not someone Fligh owed money to," Qui-Gon said.

Captain Yur T'aug shrugged. "Or else the killer copied the method to throw us off the track. It's our job to find out."

"You might want to check into a female bounty hunter," Qui-Gon said. "She's a Sorussian who might have had reason to dispose of Fligh. She's been staying at the Soft Landings Inn."

"Sure," Captain Yur T'aug said. "Thanks for the tip." His lack of interest was obvious.

"Good luck to you," Qui-Gon said. "You should know that Didi Oddo will pay for the funeral. Fligh was not friendless. He will be missed."

Qui-Gon motioned to Obi-Wan, and they walked past the officers back onto the main walkway that curved around the Senate.

"Are you all right, Padawan?" Qui-Gon asked him.

"Fligh wasn't my friend," Obi-Wan said. "I only spent a few minutes with him. There was something likeable about him, but I can't say that I liked him. Yet I feel almost as sad as Didi."

"I do as well," Qui-Gon said.

They walked a few steps in silence. "Do you ever get used to death?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No," Qui-Gon said. "That is how it should be."

"Why do you think Fligh was killed?" Obi-Wan asked. "Do you think that he knew something important but didn't realize it, like Didi?"

"Perhaps," Qui-Gon said. "And remember that Fligh said he would try to help Didi. I wonder if he did try. No doubt it would be easy for him to discover where the bounty hunter was lodging."

"You think that is what happened?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Let us swing by the inn on the way back to the cafй," Qui-Gon suggested. "We should have another talk with this bounty hunter."

They walked quickly through the streets until they reached the Soft Landings Inn. This time the front door was slightly ajar, so they were able to walk in without ringing the innkeeper. They quickly climbed the stairs to the third level. Qui-Gon knocked on the door, and it swung open. The room was empty.

"She's gone." The Togorian stood behind them with a bucket and vibro-mop. "Checked out. I have to clean. Get out of my way."

They retreated down the stairs. "I don't like this," Qui-Gon murmured. "Let's get back to Didi's."

They quickened their pace and began to run. Didi's wasn't far.

They swung around the corner. Ahead was the cafй. There was no spill of light from the windows, and the front door was shut tight.

"We are too late," Qui-Gon said.

Lightsabers drawn, they rushed into the cafй. With a quick sweep, they saw that it was empty. Plates with half-eaten food sat on the tables. Qui-Gon charged past the tables to the kitchen. Pots were overturned, their contents on the floor. Bins of flour and grain spilled onto the counters. The cooler door was open.

They ran to Didi's private office. Papers and files were thrown on the floor, the contents of durasteel bins upended and kicked through. Everything on the shelves had been tossed onto the floor.

"Upstairs," Qui-Gon barked.

He raced up, Obi-Wan on his heels. They burst into Didi's private quarters together.

In times of danger, Qui-Gon's senses slowed down. He took in everything in the room in what felt like several long seconds but was more likely the flicker of an eyelash. Astri on the floor, unconscious or dead. Didi standing, wrapped in the bounty hunter's whip, his eyes wide with terror, a bruise on his forehead. And the bounty hunter turning, pausing for an instant when she saw them. Her expressionless gaze showed no surprise, no fear.

Real time snapped back. Qui-Gon anticipated the bounty hunter's reach to the blaster strapped to her thigh. He moved forward to counterattack. He did not anticipate that she would aim at Astri, not at him. His Jedi reflexes were fast enough so that he was able to spin and turn, sweeping his lightsaber wide. He was slightly off-balance, but he managed to deflect the fire.

Astri stirred. Relief streamed through him. She was alive.

A perfect attack blended deception with speed and strategy. Qui-Gon feinted a pass to the bounty hunter's left and instead charged straight at her. She did not respond to the feint but fired straight, then leaped high to the left to avoid him. His lightsaber whizzed through empty air where she'd been.

She was even better than he'd thought.

Obi-Wan moved forward to cover Astri so that Qui-Gon could concentrate on the attack. The bounty hunter activated her whip and retracted it. It spun off Didi in a dizzying circle, sending him flying against the wall. He hit it with a thud and fell to the floor, dazed.

The whip reverted to laser mode. With a slashing maneuver, the bounty hunter shattered the transparisteel in the window. Qui-Gon sprang forward, still keeping his body between his opponent and Astri. Didi began to crawl toward his daughter, getting underneath Qui-Gon's feet. Qui-Gon jumped to avoid him, his attention now focused on protecting Didi.