"It feels more like she was trying to figure it out," I mused. "Or sending a warning."
My blood turned to ice. "I think I know why she had to die," I whispered. "Why they couldn’t just wait to see what happened with Jake."
"Why?" Cosmo asked, his ears twitching.
"Because there’s another murder about to happen. One that her survival would have made impossible to carry out."
I pressed my eyes shut.Think, Bex. Think.
"What do we know for certain?" I murmured, forcing myself to focus. "It all started with Jake."
"Right," Cosmo agreed.
"He was a warrior for the truth. Unbending. A stickler for the rules. Always insisting on doing the right thing."
"But he let Kyle off the hook," Cosmo pointed out.
"Because the boy was trying to make amends. Jake wouldn’t ruin his life over a stupid prank," I said. "And he made him work for it."
Then it hit me. An explanation that, for once, made sense.
Chapter thirty-five
The only problem was that I still had too many suspects.
I also had a job to take care of. My alarm buzzed, warning me that I had less than ten minutes until I had to be downstairs, ready to supply Willowmere with books that were just right for them.
Maybe I should rename the lending library ‘Goldilocks’ once I finished my training.Which reminded me—I hadn’t practiced a single spell today.
"You weren’t supposed to," Cosmo said, when I mentioned my lapse. "You don’t want to use up all your energy and have nothing left up here." He raised a paw and tapped my forehead.
"Thank you," I said.
"You’re welcome." He zigzagged across the staircase as we headed down.
As soon as I unlocked the door, Sarah and Noah bounced in. "Someone's very bushy-tailed today," I said to the boy.
Noah gave me a shy giggle.
His mother grinned. "He's been counting the hours until we could come today."
"I'm so glad you're here," I said, and I meant it. Apart from the fact that I enjoyed seeing the boy a lot more cheerful than last time, my subconscious needed the distraction.
Once that was done, I needed privacy to work through everything, to process. I didn’t intend to run around pointing fingers at anyone until I’d narrowed it down as much as possible and made sure that Cosmo and I hadn’t screwed up along the way.
Cosmo weaved around Noah’s ankles.
"Don’t make him trip," I warned.
Cosmo shot me a disdainful glare before he trotted off toward the reading nook with the sofa.
Sarah handed me the books they had borrowed last time.
"He’s a fast reader," I said, flipping through the returns.
"He is." She smiled. "I hope you’ve got more for him. And maybe something for me?"
"I’ll have a look."
