For a second, I thought I heard Kristof’s chuckle, but the sound turned into the thumping of a dribbled basketball against the driveway.

Once downstairs, I had to look around for the freezer. I knew there was one here somewhere, and I was pretty sure there’d be a pie in it. Not a store-bought one, but something homemade, probably from berries picked by hand. I don’t know how Paige found the time. I never did. Of course, I’d never tried to, either.

I finally located the freezer. Sure enough, it was just as full as I’d imagined. There was a whole stack of pies, so I moved some bread on top to hide them, then busied myself pretending to hunt. Upstairs, all was silent.

“Come on, come on,” I muttered. “One secluded victim, head conveniently stuck in a freezer. What are you waiting for? Until I’ve cleared enough room to stash my body?”

The words had barely left my mouth when footsteps sounded overhead.

“About time. Now hurry it up before I get frostbite.”

The footsteps crossed the kitchen, then descended to the landing, and paused there, as the Nix presumably reassured herself that Savannah and Lucas were busy outside. I shuffled two boxes of cookies. Chocolate-chip cookies. Were those made with Ruth’s recipe? Mmmm. It’d been twenty years since I had those. Maybe I could slip a couple—

The Nix’s footsteps stopped.

“I know there’s a pie in here somewhere,” I muttered.

Paige wasn’t the talks-to-herself type, but the freezer was around the corner, meaning the Nix might have some trouble finding me. Yet at least a minute passed, and nothing happened. Would I hear her footsteps? On a concrete floor? What are you, stupid? I backed out of the freezer fast, before I did an Abby Borden and caught a hatchet to the head.

Still facing the freezer, I strained my eyes as far as I could to the side. The bare bulb cast my shadow across the floor, along with the shadow of the freezer and stacked washer-dryer combo. But no Jaime-shaped one. For thirty seconds, I stood there, neck cricked slightly off-kilter, watching the floor for a fresh shadow. Finally, I gave up, quietly lowered the freezer door, and slid along the wall to the doorway. Aspicio powers would come in real handy right about now. Damn, I was spoiled.

From the left of the doorway, I could see the bottom of the stairs. No sign of the Nix. I cast a blur spell, then quickly leaned out for a peek, and jerked back. Unless she was hiding in the cold cellar—with the door closed—she wasn’t down here. I’d definitely heard her on the steps. Had I heard her descend all the way? No, because I’d been distracted by cookies. There’s a defense for the books.