Touch of Fear ▸ House of Anubis [2]

chapter seventy. house of nine-lives

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"Do you want the good news or the bad news?" Patricia inquires from her chair as Nina, Fabian, and I walk into the living room.

Hm. Good news and bad news. "We'll take good news first," I answer, sitting on the arm of the chair.

"Eddie and I are good again."

Fabian looks at us and remarks with a smile, "She couldn't do it."

Patricia nods and confirms, "I couldn't do it."

"That's all right," Nina assures her. "Fabian was amazing. I mean, you must have been," she adds to him, trying to cover up for the fact she actually heard it all go down.

"He got Joy to drop the article," I inform Patricia, and she smiles. "So, that's one obstacle down. Now we just need to see if Amber and Alfie figured out who stole the dollhouse."

Before any of can head toward the door to find that out, Amber herself pokes her head around the door and enters, Alfie following behind her. "There you are. Jerome's got something to tell you."

"What'd he do now?" I question as Jerome walks in reluctantly.

Alfie crosses his arms and looks at Jerome. "Tell them."

Amber beats him to it with an exclamation of, "He took the dollhouse!"

Excuse me?! Jerome's the one who took the dollhouse?! Why?! I stand up, retorting loudly, "What?!"

"Sorry, you tell them," she says.

So Jerome confesses, "I took the dollhouse."

"But wh—" Nina starts.

"Wait, there's more," Alfie interrupts.

And again, Amber exclaims for Jerome, "It was for Jasper! Sorry."

Jasper as well?! I knew that argument we overheard in the library was nothing good! And that 'traveling gnome' prank with an exhibit reason Jasper gave Fabian made no sense whatsoever! But what does Jasper want with the dollhouse?

"I knew it," Fabian states. "I knew it! Why would he do that?"

For the third time, Amber answers before Jerome can, "Because he was being blackmailed."

"Amber, shut up!" I tell her.

"Sorry, sorry."

"Jasper is not the bad guy, Fabian," Jerome tells him. "He was being blackmailed by the person who kidnapped Trudy."

As if things couldn't get any worse, now he says Trudy's been kidnapped! I share a wide-eyed look with Nina as she and Patricia ask, "What?" and Fabian says in shock, "Get out."