Watching his padawan curiously, Obi-Wan
raised a brow before politely excusing himself from the conversation
with the Andruiel Senator to give Anakin his attention as the somewhat
disturbed looking padawan came padding over towards him, having gone
outside for some fresh air since the party arranger was allowing smoke
inside.

It hadn’t done so well for Anakin’s lungs and Obi-Wan
didn’t blame him, would flee it too if he wasn’t suppose to be the
responsible one and keep the Senators in view and keep them protected.

So
as the responsible one, he waited for the other to approach him.
“Padawan?” He murmured, his voice a steady volume so not to be accused
of trying to have secrets at the Senatorial function which had needed
Jedi just in case with the guards.

“…Master, there’s a dead prostitute in the pool.” Anakin blinked down at him.

‘Well
that’s one way to shut up a party.’ Obi-Wan thought wryly to himself as
he peered up at Anakin, the entire party suddenly falling to a
stuttering silence.

Of course this lead to the judicial showing
up ten minutes later with Anakin and Obi-Wan standing at the edge of the
pool, Anakin equipped with one of the pool noodles that he was using
the lightly poke at the corpse.

“…I should tell you to stop doing
that but the way our friend here keeps bobbing is kind of telling to
how he was murdered.” Obi-Wan noted with a little eyebrow raise as
Anakin tilted his head back and forth.

“He’s not gonna be in
there until he bloats is he? And what does his bobbing tell you he died
of?” Anakin asked, curiously glancing up.

It wasn’t the first
time he’d seen a dead person after all, seven years as a Jedi had taught
him how to deal with the sight of someone dead and his prior years as a
slave had its own brand of horror even if he tried to leave it behind.

Letting
out a hum, Obi-Wan took Anakin’s shoulder and pointed. “Not the bobbing
precisely Anakin. See how the water runs off the pale skin? How it
glistens?” He gestured.

Looking closer, Anakin frowned as he saw
what Obi-Wan was taking note of. “Near human?” He took a guess clearly,
lips pursing curiously.

Shaking his head, Obi-Wan smiled.
“Possible but in this instance not. Poison. This is a particular brand
of poison from Kashyyyk that causes the skin of the victim to grow
sleek, almost like smooth plastic. Its slow acting but flavorless so its
easy to mix into a drink…”

Anakin’s lips became a tight line and
he glanced back towards the party and then at Obi-Wan. “Someone is
trying to cover up the evidence of an affair. Or another secret they
learned while having an affair.” He summarized.

Nodding, Obi-Wan
squeezed Anakin’s shoulder. “Yes, that is the most likely cause however
don’t lose sight of it Anakin. Remember, narrowing our gaze too much can
cause us to loose sight of the real cause because we’re too focused on
one.” He warned, a warning he had repeated often as Anakin had a
tendency to do just that.

And by the way the blonds cheeks colored, he knew it.

Rolling
his shoulders, Obi-Wan turned to the ballroom where the Senators were
being contained, causing Anakin to let out a groan. “Interrogation?” He
questioned with some despair, groaning louder when Obi-Wan nodded.

“Lets go hassle some Senators and sooth their feathers afterward.” Obi-Wan chuckled.

“All
of them except Organa is having an affair anyhow.” Anakin muttered,
dragging his feet as he followed his master back inside.

When the
other man let out a deeper chuckle Anakin glanced at his master with
raising eyebrow in question. “Look at it this way Anakin,” Obi-Wan said
in a teasing tone. “You get to eat more fancy food.” He winked.

Wrinkling his nose, Anakin just grumbled and muttered about wanting to go check on the droids to see if they saw anything.

Smiling
fondly, Obi-Wan shooed his padawan away. ‘Well… back to work it is.’ He
squared up his shoulders and focused on the wary Senators, internally
wondering how many affairs, murder intrigues and money scams he was
going to find by the end of the night.