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“Squeak!”
“Show her! Don’t make me fulfil my threat to tickle your kneecaps with your—”
“Squeeeeeeeak!”
I can’t see what Ozzy’s doing, but I can hear his little demon wings flapping and a loudTHONKas he throws himself off the piano again. A few moments later, Bree whispers, “Is he saying what I think he’s saying?”
“He doesn’t say anything except squeaks.”
“Yes, thank you, Pax. I mean, is Ozzy trying to tell me that Edward was murdered?”
“I think so.”
I hear anotherTHONKas Ozzy demonstrates again.
“I wonder if there’s a way to confirm this…Ozzy, come here.” I feel Bree lean forward. “I saw a memory of yours once. If you let me touch you, can you show me again?”
“Squeak.”
“Thank you. You’re so kind.”
Everything goes silent for a few moments. Then Bree lets out a huge sob. Pax and I both reach for her, but she pushes us gently away.
“It’s okay. I’m fine. I saw what Ozzy saw that night from his perch on the chandelier in the hallway. Edwardwasarguing with someone in his room – I couldn’t see his face. And then there was a struggle, and Edward yells ‘I’ll get it!’ or ‘I’ll get you!’ and then a sickening crash as the glass broke. The expression on his face was…” Bree shudders. “Horrible.”
“But we know it’s true – someone pushed Edward.”
“Yes. I think that he held him by the neck. Edward has a small bruise on his collarbone. I’ve noticed it before but never said anything about it. You know how sensitive he is about his looks.” Bree squeezes my hand. “While I was in Ozzy’s head, Ialsosaw that the three of you stormed into Ozzy’s attic home seven years ago, took over his favourite sleeping spots, threw out his rat corpse collection, and then Edward called him a ‘plague-carrier’ and threatened to drown him in the gutter.”
“Yes…er, we’re sorry about that, Ozzy,” Pax says sullenly.
“Yes, we’re most sorry.”
“So to get you back, he…” Bree collapses in giggles. “Oh, Ozzy, that’s genius.”
I wince. “He’d better not be showing you that incident with the grandfather clock.”
“Or the time with the peacock feather,” Pax roars. “That wasn’t playing fair!”
“Pax, I’ve never seen your face so red.” Bree must scoop Ozzy up, because he squeaks with happiness. “Ozzy is ageniusand he’s officially part of our team. Hell, maybe once we bring Edward back, we can figure out his unfinished business next.”
“Squeak!”
“It sounds like Ozzy would like that,” I say.
“I don’t see why I should help that spawn of Hades,” Pax growls.
“Because I want you to,” Bree says. “But first, we have to figure out what to do about this new information about Edward.”
“I believe that Edward’s unfinished business is to figure out who murdered him.” I rub my hands together gleefully. I love a good mystery. “So it’s simple – we solve the murder, and you can use your resurrection powers to bring him back.”
“You want us to solve a four-hundred-year-old mystery that’s eluded even the most illustrious royal scholars?” Bree leans over and squeezes my hand. “Fine. Okay. Let’s go find Edward. He can tell us all about which of his friends disliked him enough to shove him out a window.”
“I don’t think we should tell him,” I say. “I think we should make it a surprise.”
“Oh, I love surprises,” Pax claps his hands. “I once put the head of a Celtic king into a clay pot and gave the pot to his mother. It was a big surprise!”
Bree laughs despite herself. “That’s not quite the surprise Ambrose has planned. But shouldn’t we tell him?”
