What Lies Beneath ▸ House of Anubis [1]

chapter thirty-eight. house of arrest

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            Fabian returns from his bedroom with the two puzzle pieces Nina took from Victor's safe, informing us in the entrance hall, "I'm taking these to school with me. I know Joy said Victor was one of the good guys, but I still don't trust him."

            "Agreed," I remark. "Anyone remember the photograph?"

            Trudy comes into the hall and Fabian rushes to hide the pieces in his bag. "Oh, Fabian, be a love," she says, mail in her hands. "Give these letters to Victor. I'm off to the supermarket. If I don't go now, I'll miss my bus. And then lunch with your Uncle Ade."

            I bite back a laugh at the confused smile on Fabian's face as Trudy leaves for the supermarket. "Imagine," I say, putting on a faux dreamy voice, "one day you could be calling her Aunt Trudy!"

            Fabian glances over at me and files through the envelopes, stopping on one. His face falls, prompting Nina to inquire, "Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"

            He shows us one of the envelopes—a return address from the hospital Alfie was brought to on it. "This one's from the hospital."

            "It must be Alfie's toxicology report."

            "Right.

            I think I had forgotten that we accidentally gave Alfie the elixir and he wound up in a hospital bed because of it. Victor lied to us and told us it was cleaning fluid, but the nurse said the results weren't back yet. Well, they're back now, and the truth is literally in Fabian's hands right now.

            "The hall," Victor shouts from his office, "is not an area for loitering!"

            "Just, uh, letters, Victor," Fabian responds, rushing up the stairs to give them to him. Including the toxicology report. I share a glance with Amber. We have to get a look at that report.

—

            "You need to relax, Fabian," Patricia tells him as we reenter the school. Fabian's still not keen on trusting Victor, and I've got to say, I agree. "And you too, Ashley. We have to trust Victor. Remember what Joy said."

            Mara stops in front of us, a confused, inquisitive expression on her face. "Did you just say you spoke to Joy?" she asks. Can't exactly tell her what's actually going on, so what do we say? Joy was her friend, too. "Is she alright?"

            "Joy is fine," Patricia answers. "She just said she doesn't want to come back to the school and...and she doesn't want to talk to any of us anymore."

            Amber frowns and asks, "When did she say all of this?" In response, Nina discreetly stomps on her foot. The blonde throws her a pointed look. "Ow."