"Anything that tastes that bad should either kill or cure," he said. "Probably be better for me if it killed."
"Don't say that," Ryaa cried. "Ryyn is going to help you, aren't you?"
"Nobody can help me." He buried his face in his hands. "For all I know I really may have killed them."
Ryyn nodded.
"There's always that chance but I don't think so. Anything that deadly would show up in a test. But I'll have to know more about what happened—"
Step by step he led Ool back over every detail, from his meeting with each girl to her death.
Ryaa sat beside Ool, her hand in his, trying not to wince when he tightened his grip at some painful memory.
"Thanks," Ryyn said at last. "I think that's all I need right now. Sorry if I had to hurt you but I'm not in a position to keep up with the news. If we can do anything you'll have Ryaa to thank for it. She dragged me away from my experiments and made me promise to do what I could—or else," he grinned at his sister, "she threatened to foul things up and leave me hanging somewhere in space indefinitely."
Ool stared at the girl beside him. This didn't sound like the quiet little Ryaa he had known. But her scarlet face showed that at least a part of Ryyn's statement was true.
"Now," Ryyn continued, "I have things to do. Ryaa, why don't you take this big fellow in tow, and the two of you go out and have a good time?"