Page 132 of Cathmoir's Sons

Evan runs his hand over his face. “Did Professor Wyndham bring a dream demon to Bevington?”

“No,” Luca says sharply. “And don’t you fucking dare accuse her of that. She’s carrying enough grief and guilt already. These deaths aren’t related. O was here in Bevington while Kellan was on Isla Cedros.”

Remembering the pictures in Kellan’s family home, I shake my head. “No, Lu. Kellan was here when O died. She probably didn’t hear about it for a while because the family kept it quiet, but she was home.”

Luca glares at me. “Do not accuse her of this.”

“I’m not accusing her of anything. I’m just making sure we all have our facts straight. O died while Kellan was home visiting her parents. Yan died while?—”

“Caileán was with us in Scilla,” Luca finishes for me. “She had nothing to do with Yan’s suicide.”

“Caileán may not have had a hand in either death,” Evan says. “But if she unleashed a dream demon, it might have. We need to look for connections between O and Yan.”

“I was hoping you could get us Carver’s case file,” I say to Evan. “And maybe oversee him a little? He didn’t have even basic control of the scene.”

“Was he treating it like a crime scene?” Evan asks.

I shake my head. “Coach showed him Yan’s note. After that, Carver seemed focused on removing the body and getting the pool cleaned.”

Evan rolls his eyes. “Everything is a crime scene until it’s not. I’d have thought the White Cloaks taught him that much.”

“Professor Dittman taught me that much,” I say.

I don’t know for sure whether Dittman taught Carver, but I’d assume so if Carver was on track to the justiciars.

Evan blows out a breath laden with beef gravy and disappointment. “I don’t know why I should be invested in his success or failure. The guy’s an asshole.” Evan shakes his head. “Maybe I still have too much respect for the office. The Mr. Black means something. It’s a burden to be chief crow, granted, but it’s also an honor. I hate the idea that Carver’s disrespecting that.”

“I hate the idea that whatever drove Yan into that pool with a backpack full of weights might not be caught because Carver’s incompetent,” I say.

“I won’t let that happen. I’ll go see Carver now before I head back to Thistlemist. When are you planning to return to Scilla?”

I see the warning glance Luca shoots me, but I refuse to believe that Evan could do us any harm. “Storm should end tomorrow, so we’ll be diving again the morning after.”

That Evan doesn’t ask how I know when the storm will end should reassure Luca.

Judging by my kit’s glower as Evan leaves, he’s not even a little reassured.

“Take off your pants and get in the pit,” I tell him.

He crosses his arms over his bare chest. “Fuck you.”

“Not the way it works, and you know it. One minute to spill whatever’s got your balls knotted and then you obey me, or we start on three strikes.”

Luca’s nostrils flare as he takes a deep breath. Oh, my kit’s really got it on him. Is he jealous of my relationship with Evan?

“You just sat there and said our foursome is the most important thing in your world.”

I nod. “It is.”

“Lords walks in and you’re spilling Caileán’s secrets to him in the next fucking breath.”

“What secrets? He’s seen the exhibit. The dream demons are no secret. He knows as much as I do about O’s death?—”

“He had no reason to suspect that Kellan was in Bevington when O died until you made the connection for him. He didn’t know what Yan’s suicide note said until you told him.”

An itch works up my spine as I process what Luca’s saying.

“Kit, I’m just trying to connect the dots.”

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