“That Baz is a vampire?”
“No, he’s definitely a vampire,” I say. “I guess it is that simple. But you can’t tell anyone, Agatha.”
“Simon, you’ve already told everyone. You’ve been telling everyone since we were third years.”
“Yeah, but nobody believed me.”
“I believed you.”
“‘One of you’?” Penelope says loudly. “What does Nicodemus mean by that? That it was another mage who let the vampires in? Or one of you Pitches, someone in your family—”
“It wouldn’t have been someone in my family,” Baz protests. “Never.”
“Your relatives are famous betrayers,” Penny argues. “There was a time in the 1700s when they weren’t even allowed to sign contracts.”
“Yes, but we never betray each other.”
Baz keeps telling Penny about Nicodemus. And Ebb. “Simon’s the one who broke it all open,” he says, “without even opening a book.”
“Typical,” Penny says.
Baz doesn’t tell her the way Nicodemus threatened him or taunted him. He doesn’t tell her much about Fiona. He doesn’t say how fucking cool he was at the bar, or how he lost it completely as soon as he walked out. How I kissed him to save his life—and then kissed him just because I wanted to. (I’m just now realizing that maybe I could have saved his life some other way.…)
“So you’re staying here?” Agatha says. To me.
“No, I just came to tell Baz about Nicodemus, and then I didn’t have a ride home.”
“Who’s Nicodemus again?”
“The person who knows who the traitor is,” Penny answers, then turns to me. “I can’t believe you guys just walked away from him, knowing he has all the answers! If he’d told you who tried to hire him, we’d be done now.”
“We couldn’t compel him,” I say. “And we couldn’t beat it out of him—we were surrounded by vampires.”
Penelope folds her arms. “I guess.”
“The ethics on you, Bunce,” Baz says.
“What did you find out, Penny?” I ask.
“Not much, in comparison.” She leans back against a bookshelf and crosses her ankles. “I talked to my dad about the Humdrum. He confirmed that nobody blamed the Humdrum for the Watford Tragedy until years later. They just thought it was another vampire attack. Hey, Agatha, are you caught up yet? Maybe we could talk to your parents—your dad might remember something—”
“I’m not caught up,” Agatha says.
“Well, catch up,” Penny says. “It’s all on the whiteboard. I’ve got to say, it’s good to have you back.”
“I’m not sure I am back,” Agatha mutters. Only I hear her.
“It’s been really good,” I tell her. “Actually. Working with Baz instead of fighting with him.”
“Is that why you were looking for him?” she asks. “That night on the ramparts? Because of a Visiting?”
“Sort of…”
Penny and Baz keep adding notes to the board. They’re fighting over the dry-erase marker. I feel like I should stay sitting with Agatha, and answer her questions, but she doesn’t say any more. And she still won’t drink any tea.
Penny drills Baz until she finds out about Fiona’s school memory book, then she wants to see it. Then Penny and Agatha spend an hour poring over the pictures.
Baz’s stepmum brings us sandwiches. When she walks in, Baz and Penny move to block the whiteboard—Baz, looking cool; Penny, looking like she has a terrible secret.
I try to convince them that it’s stupid to have all our notes out in the open, and that we should erase the whiteboard now, but they’re both addicted to the thing.
Then Baz’s dad comes home from work. He still seems confounded by my presence, but he’s thrilled to meet Penny and Agatha—even though I know he doesn’t get along with their parents. Maybe he just has nice manners. Baz keeps rolling his eyes.
By late afternoon, we’re all cream-crackered, and we haven’t made any real progress. Even Penny has abandoned the whiteboard.
I’m still sitting next to Agatha on the couch. Baz is sitting in a stuffed chair, across from us; I think Agatha and I are both watching him, but he rarely looks our way.
Penelope slumps down onto the arm of Baz’s chair. I see his nostrils twitch, but he doesn’t pull away. I guess he’s gone this long without eating anyone, so I’m not going to be bothered about it.
“We have to go back to Nicodemus,” Penny says. “It’s what Headmistress Grimm-Pitch told us to do.”
“We can’t compel him,” I say, “and he’s not gonna tell us anything.”
“Maybe you guys didn’t ask nicely enough,” she says, waggling her eyebrows.
“Corking idea, Penelope,” Baz says. “We’ll have you seduce him.”
“No,” I say.
“I was thinking Agatha…,” Penny says.
“I’m not even here,” Agatha says. “When you’re all put on trial before the Coven, I wasn’t here.”
“We haven’t broken any laws,” I object.
“Oh, like that matters,” she says.
“Hear, hear,” Baz agrees. “You know, I’ve always expected to be tried unfairly before the Coven someday, but I never thought I’d be in such good company.”