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Kami tried to smile, even as the skin between her brows pinched "I hate you guys And I hate talking about this It’s so hu out a hand to her

"Yes, it is," Kami said fiercely Embarrassed ahead "Let’s just talk about the investigation Unless you guys have any leads on who ating so at Monkshood"

"That old place?" Holly asked

"Ever go poking around there when you were a kid?" Kami asked

Holly was silent

"Me neither," Kahtfully "Time we did" She hopped off the sink and started toward the door, but then stopped "That is," she said, "if you both still want to be part of the investigation I understand if this freaks you out too ht if it freaked you out," Holly said cautiously to Angela, as if hoping for perela had not grown up with a father hating the Lynburns like Holly had, or athe Lynburns’ secrets like Ka on the horizon all her life Ka to do with this

"It doesn’t ela said

"It doesn’tKauy He looks at her as if she was his heart, ht break If the thread breaks, I don’t knohat he’ll do"

"His mother made me what I am to him," Kami told them quietly She did not want to discuss his heart Whenever he looked at her, he looked away fast He didn’t look at her the way he must have looked at Holly when they first met

She felt ashamed for that moment of resentment when she saw Holly’s concerned expression

"I don’t want Kaela "Or you"

Holly bowed her head and hugged her knees to her chest, as if she had been hoping that wouldn’t come up, that they would never have to discuss the fact that soht Nicola died Soo to the police with a tale of ic and blood They only had each other to solve this, and Kaela opted out

There was a pause, and then Ka across the bathroo leather boots were touching Holly’s worn running shoes

"Nothing’s going to happen to you," Angela proela, even if her smile looked strained "I still have several pairs of deadly high heels"

They all laughed None of their laughs sounded particularly convincing

"So, Angie," Holly went on, "you’ve never …"

There was a silence neither of theela said, "Ah, no"

"Bit hard to believe," Holly mumbled, and Kami saw her flush "Since you’re about the ie’s scarlet-painted et one sh was surprised out of Kah that started out a little wild, but ended up ht just work out

"No, you don’t," Holly said

"I really do," said Angela, and Kaela continued "Have you "

Chapter Twenty-Six

Monkshood Abbey

Monkshood was a good hour’s walk from the town proper The very narrow lanes meant that occasionally you had to throw yourself in the ditch to avoid a car, and once they had to throw the by in a blue cart

"The Americans have these inventions called sidewalks," Jared noted

"We call them pavements," Kami said "And we see them as luxuries that you just can’t have with every road"

"You knohat goes faster than us? Or even pretty, pretty ponies?" Jared asked

"Your head, spinning through the air when detached frorisly motorcycle crash?" Kami raised her eyebrows and Jared ducked his head, his ripple of aood was the fact that Holly and Angela were ra near her and Jared Kami could understand it Just the fact that they could talk to each other silently n language in front of so--but worse, because a foreign language could be learned

"You were the one anted to tell them," Jared said, voice low as the sound of autu hush, hush to the sky

"My team needs all the inforation," said Kami "And they’re my friends, so I wanted to tell them the truth"