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It was some time later when a floorboard creaked along the hallway.

Eyes closed, Ellery listened to that cautious squeak, step, squeak. He smiled and went back to sleep.

Chapter Thirteen

Ellery woke on Saturday morning to a world blanketed in white silence.

Actually, it was more like a world smothered by white silence because everything, as far as the eye could see, was a formless ghost of its normal shape.

The good news was, the snow fall had slowed. The bad news was, it had not completely stopped, and delicate snowflakes continued to drift down from the heavy skies.

Jack had left at some point in the pre-dawn hours. Ellery had a vague memory of a kiss and a promise to phone later. More than anything he wanted to go back to bed and sleep for a few more hours. As much as he was enjoying having his friends visit, it was tiring playing host for days on end. Even with everyone pitching in, he was doing more cooking, cleaning, and fixing cocktails—not to mention drinking cocktails—than he’d done in a year.

He closed his eyes. The house was very quiet, everyone still asleep. He listened to the snow gently brushing the windows...the slow sonorous chimes of the grandfather clock downstairs...(eight o’clock, still plenty early)...the eager panting in his ear...

Ellery’s eyes popped open.

Watson gazed hopefully down at him.

Ellery moaned, “Just this once can’t we sleep in?”

This un-Ellery-like sentiment was clearly cause for concern, and Watson commenced the verification process with much snuffling and sniffing, ignoring Ellery’s laughing protests.

Identification complete, Watson sneezed noisily in Ellery’s face and jumped off the bed. He proceeded to jump up and down, in rhythmic heavy thuds—Ellery could have sworn he was deliberately planting all his weight on the landings.

“Shhhh!” Ellery hissed. “You’re going to wake everyone up.”

Up.

DOWN.

Up.

DOWN.

The steady thump could have doubled for the sound effects of a tympanon drum setting the pace for the crew manning the oars of a Roman galley.

Ellery swore softly, threw back the covers, and staggered into the bathroom. He winced at his reflection—talk about hair!—brushed his teeth, and exited to search for something clean to wear.

A few minutes later, suitably bundled against the elements, he followed the herd of elephants, AKA Watson, down the stairs and out the front door.

The sharp, cold air made him gasp, but it effectively dispelled the last cobwebs of sleep. There was snow right up to the top of the front steps. How the heck much snowwasthat?

Too much. That was for sure.

Watson, both intrigued and alarmed by all that white stuff, sniffed cautiously from the edge of the steps, moved cautiously forward, and sank into the snow.

He hopped out again, shook himself mightily, and looked at Ellery for guidance.

Ellery stopped laughing and gave him a quick pat. “You’re okay. You’re going to get a good workout running through this stuff.” He left the steps, sinking down to his shins into soft white powder. “Come on, pal.”

Still dubious, Watson followed. As suspected, it didn’t take long for him to realize that snow was pretty fun stuff, especially when your best friend was nearby to pull you out of the deep drifts.

When Watson had tired of running through snow, biting snow, barking at snow, and jumping in snow, Ellery whistled for him and they returned to the house.

Tosh, in a black kimono-style dressing gown, was making coffee in the kitchen. Two prepped mugs sat on the counter.

She started guiltily as Ellery and Watson entered, Watson shaking his coat repeatedly and noisily. “Oops. I thought I was the only one up. Okay if I take these upstairs?”