Page 64 of Death and Do-Overs

I said, “He does.”

“Awesomesauceum.” She released me with a smile and a nod.

But as we headed from the first crypt-like room, into the stone hall, I felt her pinching my sleeve as if she was afraid to lose me.

“It’s creepy down here,” she said.

“It is.”

“Is your friend a talking rat?” Imogen asked this question lightly, and without judgment. “This seems like the kind of place a rat would live.”

“He doesn’t live here.”

“But he is a rat?”

I sighed. “No, Imogen, he is not a rat.”

She shrugged. “Okay.”

We entered the room with all of the rusty metal boxes, then continued on to the fenced space.

Relief washed over me as soon as I spotted the body exactly where we’d left it. Levi, crouched in the corner, waved us over.

Imogen paused for a moment and waved back. “Hi, there.”

Her tone was almost melodic, which was weird. I expected her to call him something like Mr. Not A Rat, but fortunately she refrained. For now, at least.

Imogen stopped at the body, pulled out her phone, and snapped photos. She said, “Sending these to the crew.”

I should have thought to do that, but I hadn’t. Since no one had been arrested for sending texts about murder using the untraceable app, it seemed to be safe for sharing these things. But reaching out for help wasn’t my default. My brain wasn’t wired that way.

When Imogen finished her task, we crouched down on the floor with Levi. Metal pipes blocked the area just enough to offer cover. It was exposed enough to let us see when someone entered the basement from the back door.

Imogen grabbed some cardboard boxes and slid them in the way so anyone coming from the elevators wouldn’t see us either.

“Levi, this is Imogen,” I said. “Imogen, Levi.”

They shook hands.

“Great to meet you,” Imogen said. Her eyes flared and she formed an O with her lips. It was a look that suggested she had a lot to say about her first impression of Levi, but to her credit, she didn’t utter a word of it.

“You, too,” he said to Imogen. Then he turned his gaze to me. His attention lingered a moment too long before looking back at the body.

“Obviously we’re hiding out and waiting for someone to show up. But what’s the plan?” Imogen shoved her phone in Levi’s face, taking another pic. “And who’s the stiff?”

I hoped she meant the body and not Levi.

Levi blinked in the bright flash, but otherwise didn’t react. “We’re waiting for muckwarts.”

My gaze snapped down to his pants on its own, and as quickly as possible, I looked away. There was no way to tell in the dark, and with the way he was crouched, and I should not have been thinking about this.

“Oh! I know that one,” Imogen said. “They’re like squirrels on espresso who love dumpster diving. They treat a dead body like it’s the last slice of pizza at a kiddie party. And they look like shrunken trolls dipped in swamp water. I just read about them last week.”

“Interesting description,” Levi said.

Imogen smiled at Levi and then at me. “You two think since there are muckwarts here in Nevermore, they’re going to show up to drag whoever this dead dude is to their lair, and then we can follow them and look for the rest of Nie.”

It felt strange laying everything out instead of holding back, but I found myself not only needing to be completely honest but wanting to be as well.

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