Splitting the difference, I shut the curtains and stood by the window where I could see the shadow of pixy wings should any flit close enough to hear. “Trent has a ley line in his office,” I said, my voice hushed.

Ivy stared at me in the blue-tinted sun. “No kidding? What are the chances of that?”

She didn’t get it. “So that means he must use them,” I prompted.

“And…” Her eyebrows rose in question.

“So who can use ley lines?” I shot back.

Her jaw dropped in sudden understanding. “He’s human or a witch,” she breathed. She got to her feet in a movement so quick, it set me on edge. Coming to the sink, she pushed the curtain aside and shut the window with a thump. “Does Trent know you saw it?” she asked, her eyes black in the dimmer light.

“Oh, I’d say he does.” I went to get another cookie to subtly put some space between us. “Seeing as I had to use the line to find the body.”

Her lips pressed together and her lanky stance went tight. “You put your head on the block again. You, me, Jenks, and his entire family. Trent will do anything to keep this quiet.”

“If he was that worried about it, he wouldn’t have risked putting his office on the line,” I protested, hoping I was right. “Anyone looking would find it. He could still be Inderlander or human. We’re safe, especially if I don’t say anything about the ley line.”

“Jenks might figure it out,” she insisted. “You know how he’ll blab it. He’d love the prestige of finding out what Trent is.”

I snatched a cookie. “What am I supposed to do? If I tell him to keep his mouth shut about the line, he’ll only try to figure out why.”

Her fingers drummed on the counter as I ate the short-bread and cream. In an unnerving display of strength, she used one hand to lever herself up to sit atop the cabinets. Her face had come alive, her thin eyebrows creased with the chance to solve the long-running mystery. “So what do you think he is? Human or witch?”

Returning to the sink, I ran hot water over the frozen meat. “Neither.” It was a flat admission. Ivy remained silent, and I turned the water off. “He’s neither, Ivy. I would stake my life that he isn’t a witch, and Jenks swears he’s more than human.”

Is this why I stayed? I wondered, seeing her eyes alight and her mind working with mine. Her logic, and my intuition. In spite of the problems, we worked well together. We always had.

Ivy shook her head, her features blurred in the blue-curtained dusk, but I could feel her tension rising. “It’s the only choices we have. You eliminate everything, and whatever remains, no matter how improbable, is the answer.”