Page 54 of Dead Serious Case 4 Professor Prometheus Plume

She shrugs. “Go big or go home.”

“That is very you,” I concede. “Anyway, why aren’t you with Bruce? You’re usually in each other’s pockets.”

“Trust me, darling, it’s not my pockets he’s usually in.”

I snort quietly. “You know what I mean. Is everything okay?”

“With Bruce, yes…”

“I’m sensing a but...”

“I don’t know.” Dusty shakes her head. “Just a weird feeling is all.”

“A weird feeling about the bookshop?” I frown. “Last time that happened the world almost ended.”

“I know. That’s why Bruce and I are keeping a close eye on things.” Dusty is uncharacteristically serious. “I think there’s a lot more to that place than any of us realise.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s hard to explain. It’s…” She looks up at the canopy as if searching for the right words. “That place has so many secrets and shadows. It’s hard for you to understand when you’re not seeing it from a non-corporeal perspective.”

“Do you think something bad is going to happen?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know.”

“What does Bruce think? After all, he’s the Guardian and kinda in charge of everything over there.”

“He’s not though. He’s only in charge of the gateway.” She chews her lip thoughtfully. “But I think there’s something going on with Madame Viv.”

“What?” I ask in concern.

“I’m not sure exactly. It’s like there’s a shadow forming over her, but when I turn to look, it’s gone.” Dusty frowns. “I don’t think I’m explaining it very well, but Viv hasn’t been right ever since the whole apocalypse hoo-ha.”

“Maybe we should have let her stay with us longer,” I mutter, feeling a pang of guilt.

“No, you were right to give her a little nudge. She stayed with you for over a month after the doorway was closed on Chaos and the gateway fixed. She needed to go back to the bookshop because at the end of the day, that’s her home. She needed to reclaim it, and I’m sure this is going to sound nuts, but I think she needed to be there, just like Bruce is drawn to the gateway because his ancestor Cordelia Crawshanks opened it. Viv is tied to the place since she’s directly descended from Constance Crawshanks. Death always said it was about bloodlines, and I get the feeling he didn’t just mean Bruce’s and Cordelia’s. I think anyone who has a tie to the Crawshanks bloodline is drawn to the place.”

I stare at Dusty. Sometimes I get so dazzled by the drama and pretty face and elaborate costumes and, quite frankly, bloody enormous wigs that I forget there is a very intelligent and perceptive man under there.

The bathroom door opens and Danny appears in a cloud of steam with a towel wrapped around his waist, and my mouth waters.

“Dusty,” I mutter. “I love you and everything, but go away.”

She cackles in delight beside me. “Have fun. Do everything I would do.”

“What a truly frightening prospect.” I throw her an affectionate smile and she disappears.

Danny walks out of the bathroom and stops dead when he comes to the dresser.

“Do I want to know what this is doing here?”

“Probably not,” I reply.

“What?” he says loudly.

I see his hearing hasn’t improved yet. I’m still not convinced I shouldn’t get him to a doctor or something. Maybe I’ll have a word with Ellis and see if there’s a GP nearby.

“Come back to bed,” I say, raising my voice so he can hear me clearly.