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Ellery didn’t think he imagined Freddie’s controlled start.

It seemed they werealla little jumpy.

“That was fast,” Freddie said. “Were you racing to get back down here?”

“Are you joking? We sure were. It’s creepy as a tomb up there. No offense, Ellery.”

“None taken. Horror movie set was the very look we were going for.” It took all Ellery’s will power not to look at the pill containers. He hesitated.

Was there any possible way—

“I can finish up in here,” Tosh said cheerfully. “Do I need to do more than add the coffee?”

He would have to try later. Assuming Tosh didn’t flush the pills down the sink to prevent him.

“Nope,” Ellery said with equally fake cheeriness. “Just add coffee.” He moved toward the door, Freddie right behind him.

“Why do you think Chelsea went downstairs last night?” Freddie asked as they reached the top landing.

Ellery glanced at his profile. “I don’t know. I guess she couldn’t sleep. What I really don’t understand is why she went into that passageway.”

“Maybe she was looking for something.”

As Ellery’s eyes met Freddie’s he felt an icy foreboding slither down his spine. Freddie’s eyes were the eyes of a stranger. Dark and blank.

Ellery managed a laugh. “Like what? The Dourdos Aquamarine?”

Freddie blinked. “The what?”

“Remember? It’s the prevailing theory of why Edwin Dolph came back to the island. To find the Dourdos Aquamarine.”

Freddie said slowly, “Oh. Yeah. Hidden jewels.”

“You’re leaving your door open, right?” Ellery asked briskly.

Again, Freddie was momentarily confused.

“Your room door. While we change,” Ellery prompted.

“Oh. Right.”

Ellery’s heart was pounding as he turned toward his room.

He thinks I know something. He’s not sure. It’s instinct.

The same instinct that was liable to warn him Ellery was becoming a threat.

What was Freddie liable to do about that? The question dogged Ellery as he scrambled into his clothes, trying to calculate his next possible move in what was beginning to feel like a game he and Freddie were playing.

A very dangerous game.

He found a small screwdriver in his nightstand and tucked it in his back pocket, and then began to second guess himself. He was genuinely afraid, yet he still felt ridiculous arming himself againstFreddie.

That’s how Noah would have felt, too.

What did you know, Noah?

What secret would Freddie have been so desperate to hide that he had been willing to kill? Not just once,twice.