Page 56 of Ghoul as a Cucumber

Ambrose rubs his stomach gleefully. “It reminded me of my days hopping trains in India.”

“And Ambrose told me about what you discovered from the bat,” Mina leans in and whispers. “We’ve come up with a few ideas about who might have murdered Edward. It turns out that we had plenty of books about the infamous Poet Prince in the bookshop, and they contain details and firsthand accounts from all the guests at Grimwood on the night of Edward’s murder. So Morrie and Quoth and Dani helped us to come up with a list.”

“That’s awesome,” I beam at them all. “But now that you have a list, how are you going to ascertain who’s the murderer?”

“We came up with an idea for that, too,” Ambrose says. “We interrogate them. Or rather, you do.”

Of course.

Bree the Ghost Whisperer saves the day again.

“Edward and I actually came up with a similar idea last night,” I say. “He thinks that we should find Detective Abberline’s ghost in London and see if he knows anything that can help us find or stop the Ripper.”

“That’s perfect,” Mina says. “Our top suspect is haunting a hotel down in London. This means it’s time for a road trip!”

“Bree?” Mum calls from the front door, her apron around her waist and her hands covered in batter. “Would you and your friends like some breakfast? I’m cooking a Full English.”

“Tiny potato squares of deliciousness!” Pax cries in excitement, throwing his bike on the ground. “By Jupiter’s dribbling dongle, I’m there.”

Mina makes a face. “A delightful visual image he’s conjured there, but I do love a platter of crunchy bacon, so count me in.”

As the others follow Mum inside, Dani steps up to me. “I made you something,” she says, holding out the bundle under her arm.

I take it from her, my heart a hard lump in my throat. I don’t deserve Dani’s friendship.

“Don’t look until you get to London,” she says with a shy smile. “It’s a ghost-summoning kit. I got the idea from Mina’s mother, who makes these vampire-slaying kits that are kind of adorable.”

“I’ve heard those have caused all kinds of trouble?”

“I’m hoping that this kit will keep yououtof trouble, but that’s wistful thinking when Bree Mortimer is involved.” Dani inclines her gaze up to the second-storey guest suite, where Edward is no doubt in the middle of a sonnet. “How’s Edward dealing with being the only ghost you’re banging?”

My cheeks flush with her. “Please don’t say it like that.”

“How do you want me to say it?” Dani’s lips curl into her trademark sardonic smile. “You have to admit it, you’re a total ghostslut.”

“I think I liked it better when you hated me,” I moan. “Edward’s…well, he’s taking it exactly the way you’d expect Edward to take it – bouts of maudlin whining mixed in with some pretty incredible ghost sex.”

“It’s adorable that Ambrose wants to do this for him.”

“That’s Ambrose all over.” I glance up at the window again. Edward appears in the glass. He frowns down at us. “I just hope that our surly prince appreciates the effort we’re going to for him.”

“Well, his last friends pushed him out a window, so I say he should learn to be happy with what he’s got.” Dani holds out her arm, and we link elbows the way we always have as we head up the driveway toward the house, my new ghost-summoning kit tucked under my other arm. “Your dad’s looking good. He looks happy.”

“Yeah. Seeing him has been amazing. I’ve been so afraid of what his diagnosis might mean for him, but now that I’m here and I can see him, he’sexactlythe same as always. He’s still my dad, and Parkinson’s won’t take him away from us.”

“Exactly.” Dani leans her head against my shoulder. She’s taller than me, and it’s so awkward that we start laughing. She swipes her dark hair behind her ear and asks, “So, have you thought any more about letting Alice in on the secret?”

“Dani—”

“I know that it must be weird, because she’d be finding out that everything she used to bully you about is true, but Alice really would be helpful. We could come to London with you, help with interrogating the ghosts, and maybe go to a show, find a fun cocktail bar, make it a girls’ weekend.”

Dani looks so hopeful. And the idea of going to London with her and Alice (and maybe Mina) and having a fun weekend with real flesh-and-blood friends, the way I always wished I could, makes my chest swell.

“Plus, I think she’s starting to suspect something.” Dani looks sheepish. “After that day she spent with Pax and Ambrose at the museum, she keeps asking me how he knows so much about Roman history and where he went to uni to be able to read Latin so fluently.”

And that’s exactly how she’ll put herself in the path of the Ripper.

I shake my head. “Not yet. Not until we’ve got rid of the Ripper for good. He can’t have any possibility of coming back. I don’t want to put Alice in danger. You know that if we tell her, she’ll throw herself into the middle of this; she can’t help it. I’ve already seen enough people hurt because of my powers. I don’t want to add your girlfriend and my ex-bully to the list.”

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