“No, I’m in for the night,” he says.
So fucking weird.
“See you guys at breakfast,” Penny says, closing the door behind her.
If Baz isn’t going hunting tonight, I may as well take a shower and go to sleep. We tend to fight more viciously when it’s just the two of us.
I’m getting my pyjamas together when he speaks up:
“So what’s your plan next week? For the holidays?”
I feel my jaw tighten. “Probably go home with Penny for a few days, then spend the rest of it here.”
“Not celebrating round the Wellbelove family hearth?”
I slam my wardrobe shut. We haven’t talked about this yet. Me and Baz. About Agatha.
I don’t know if the pair of them’re talking. Or meeting. Agatha doesn’t even come to dinner anymore. I think she eats in her room.
“Nope,” I say, walking past his bed.
“Snow,” he says.
“What.”
“You should come to Hampshire.”
I stop and look at him. “What?Why?”
Baz clears his throat and folds his arms, lifting his chin to emphasize how much he looks down on me.
“Because you’ve sworn to help me find my mother’s killer.”
“Iamhelping you.”
“Well, you’ll be more help to me there than you are here. The library at home is far too big for me to cover myself. And I have a car there—we could actually investigate. You don’t even have the Internet here.”
“You’re suggesting I go home with you.”
“Yes.”
“For Christmas.”
“Yes.”
“With your family.”
Baz rolls his eyes. “Well, it’s not like you have any family of your own.”
“You’re mad.” I move again towards the bathroom.
“How is it mad?” he demands. “I could use your help, and there’s nothing here for you—you’d think you’d appreciate the company.”
I stop at the door and turn back again. “Your familyhatesme.”
“Yes, and? So do I.”
“They want to kill me,” I say.
