“This way, then.” Jalen jerked a thumb toward the conservatory, where Sean’s body waited.
“Wait,” Dude said. “It doesn’t seem right not to tell those three on watch what’s going on.”
“Yeah, we should send someone out,” Marlowe piped up. “Wouldn’t you want to know as soon as everyone else did?”
“I guess,” Jude agreed, nodding. “And, like, what if Brittlyn is the killer, and she just walked out to the tent, or, like, she stumbled out there, like she was hurt, but she was pretending, and the others, they don’t suspect her at all, and Brittlyn is able to stab them or whatever . . .”
“Jesus, kid, you’ve got quite an imagination,” Jalen said.
“No, that’s totally what happens in Murder by Degrees,” Marlowe agreed eagerly, her blue-green eyes wide.
“Another one with a cliff house, right?” Jude asked.
“Let me guess, your grandma, right?” Marlowe smiled. “Man, she’s got excellent taste in movies.”
Jude smiled happily. Then, all at once, but visibly, like a collapsing ice floe, Jude’s face shifted from happy to sad. “I hope I get to see her again,” he said, his voice tight with a knot of emotion.
“Dude.” Dude’s tone was bracing. “Dude, you’re totally going to. We’re all going to.”
“You want to see my grandma?” Jude asked happily, swiping his fingers under his eyes.
“No, I mean we’re all going to see our own grand . . .” Dude trailed off at Jude’s confused, hopeful expression. “Sure, sure,” Dude said. He squeezed Jude’s shoulder. “We’re all going to see your grandma. Why not?”
Jude smiled again, his face so happy it was as if he emitted light.
“This day’s not getting any cooler,” Jalen prodded.
Plum turned to her best friends and her sister. “We’ll go tell the watch duty what happened.”
“We’ll come out and tell you after we take care of this,” Dude said. He turned and walked to the door to the conservatory. “Let’s see if there’s a blanket or something we can move the body onto.” Dude’s voice diminished as he pushed through the door.
“See you soon!” Jude followed Jalen out of the dining room.
“That feels like bad luck to say,” Sofia murmured.