(with love and kisses to craponaspatula, who gave me two characters and an object and when I objected, she suggested sour cream which is much grosser)

"Would you put this as better or worse than a dead body?" Doyle asked, feeling a little queasy despite himself.

Rosa squinted as she looked down. "Hmm. Worse. Dead body— you know what's up. Death. Probably murder. Maybe suicide."

"True. Very true."

"But this is a severed toe. It could literally be anything. Murder. Suicide—"

"Suicide?"

"An accident during a crime where the perp realized he had to make himself scarce fast."

"I've never heard of a suicide that included—"

She glared. "Point is, it could be anything."

"It could even be some killer ballerina getting revenge on her peers," Doyle said, smiling for her approval.

She shoved him against a wall so fast he didn't have time to defend himself. "I didn't say it could be that."