“It’s not a bad idea,” Remy snapped, unrepentant. “The cavemen had something going for them after all. She doesn’t have to do that thing with her hips when she’s walkin’ through the crowd. What’s up with that?”

“You’re supposed to be lookin’ out for her, not gettin’ all hot and bothered,” Gage pointed out. “You’re losin’ your edge, Remy.”

“That’s a little difficult,” Remy admitted, and forced himself to look around the room. Ryan Cooper, Brent Underwood and Tom Berlander were at a table close to the front with Robert Lanoux and two men who looked vaguely familiar. All of them were drinking heavily, even Robert, and shifters just didn’t do that to their leopards. Remy didn’t like the way any of them was looking at Bijou. Every now and then the two men he should have been able to identify, but couldn’t, leaned close to whisper something to Ryan and Ryan would scowl up at Bijou and mutter something.

Remy nudged Gage. “Those two men with Ryan Cooper, do you know them?”

“Jean and Juste Rousseau, a couple of punks who always seem just on the outside of the play, but I’ve suspected for a very long time they’re the ringleaders. I see them around some of the criminal elements, but they’re always quiet and we’ve never caught them at anything.”

“I recognize the names, now that you say them. Their names came up in the investigation of the bone harvester four years ago. They were friends with one of the victims and I remember bringin’ them in and askin’ questions . . . but they don’ look the same.”

Gage nodded. “Yeah, they changed their hair color from dark to that sandy blond. I think they’re tryin’ to be surfers. They went out to California for a while to visit their mama and I guess the idea of bein’ surfin’ bums was too much to pass up.” He snickered. “They’ve been gone a few years. Maybe their mama got tired of supportin’ their lifestyle and sent them back to their daddy.”

“How do you know so much about them?” Remy asked. “I only interviewed them once, they didn’t seem a good fit, and had nothin’ to add to the investigation, so I put them out of my mind.”

“You haven’t driven the streets like I’ve been doin’. A few years ago, around the time of the killin’s, there was petty vandalism goin’ on, mostly homes of the elderly and the poor, but someone was beatin’ the hell out of the occupants. None of the incidents occurred in New Orleans, but more in the outlying parish. No one died, but it was pretty ugly.”

“And they were suspects?” Remy’s gaze flickered once more to the table where Cooper and his friends were getting louder.

He’d always wondered at the possibility of two men committing the murders. The murders were messy and all over the place, yet the altar was exact, meticulous even. He could never find evidence of two killers, but the bone harvester could easily be a team.

“I had a hunch, but there was never any hard evidence at any of the break-ins.” Gage shrugged. “Now that they’re back, the break-ins have started again.”

Remy observed the two men for a few minutes. “They whisper to Ryan, and they’re the ones buying the drinks. I think they’re eggin’ him on.”

“I noticed that as well,” Gage said.

Remy had always respected Gage. He held all of his brothers in high esteem, but since Gage had become the sheriff, he’d grown very serious about his work and he was damn good at it. “Is it possible they’re a killin’ team?”

Gage frowned, studying the two men. “Are they capable of it? I would say yes. I think sooner or later they will kill someone. These break-ins are definitely not about the money. Whoever is beatin’ the elderly is doin’ it for fun.”

“You don’ get a scent?”

Remy’s pulse jumped. There was never a scent left behind at the bone harvester’s kills. Not one that Remy could catch, and his leopard was always close to the surface. The victim was always so fearful, sweat pouring off of them, the blood and intestines and bowels obliterating any scent the leopard might pick up, which was highly unusual. Leopards had a tremendous sense of smell, and Remy’s had always been a huge asset to his career, yet his cat had never been able to pick up the scent of the bone harvester. How could Gage’s leopard not pick up the scent of the violent home invaders?

“I definitely have caught their scents at the homes, but the problem is, they work odd jobs and they’ve done work at all the homes. They aren’t the only ones either. It’s a perfect way to get an in with those livin’ in the houses, and every single one of the victims describes the masked intruders differently.”

“I don’ like that Robert is runnin’ with them,” Remy commented, frowning.

“Yeah, I’ve been particularly worried about the relationship for some time, and I know his brother Dion has tried to get him away from them,” Gage responded.

“Could the Rousseau brothers be runnin’ a crew to do the break-ins?”

Gage shrugged. “I’d believe anything is possible at this point. But they’d have to be very smart to pull it off and never get caught. Why would they think if their crew got popped, they wouldn’t be named?”

“Because they are smart. Maybe they’re certain nothin’ can be traced back to them.”

“Still,” Gage said, “it’s possible you might want to look a little closer at them for the bone harvester’s murders. They left around the time the murders stopped and they’ve been back long enough to establish themselves and begin again.”