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“ Harumph. ” Ivy Youngblood stood tall in the tiny secret turret, looking powerful in head-to-toe pink and a bandaged hand on her hip.

Tempest, Gideon, Sanjay, and Abra the rabbit looked on with bated breath.

Technically, Abra was far more interested in the Devil Bunny statuette than Ivy channeling her fictional hero, Dr. Fell, who solved impossible crimes for his creator, John Dickson Carr. But the human occupants of the tiny room above Tempest’s bedroom were indeed ready to hang on her every word.

“When one considers a seemingly impossible crime,” said Ivy, “it’s important to look beyond your assumptions.”

“Ivy,” Sanjay barked. “If you’re attempting to give us a lecture on locked-room mysteries instead of simply telling us how on earth Milton killed Lucas, I swear I’ll—”

“Everything I’m about to say is vitally important,” Ivy said. “If I don’t explain how it happened, you’ll dismiss what I’m saying. But you shouldn’t. So no, I’m not going to give you a whole speech about all the different possibilities that exist for a seemingly impossible crime—you’ve all already heard my version of that lecture. I’m only going to ask you to think back on what we saw tonight.”

“Next you’re going to tell us to close our eyes,” Sanjay muttered.

“Hey, as long as she has a solution that doesn’t involve the ghost of Harold Gray,” said Gideon, “I’m more than happy to do whatever she asks.”

“If closing your eyes helps you visualize what we say,” Ivy said, “then go for it. But I think we can all agree on what we saw tonight. Sanjay, you’ll just have to take our word for what Tempest, Gideon, and I saw when we got out of that creepy escape room. Tempest and Gideon, let me know if you disagree with this: Lucas was both beaten up and shot, so we knew that someone—presumably his partner in crime, though that part is just an assumption—was in the living room with him when we were trapped in the escape room, and that this person killed him.”

“True,” said Gideon as Tempest nodded.

“But even if we leave aside the assumption that it was his partner in crime who killed him,” Ivy said, “the rest of what we saw is also an assumption. The house was locked up from the inside, so how did the killer get out of the room?”

“Secret passageway?” Sanjay asked.

“There aren’t any.” Gideon shook his head.

“Just because they’re not allowed in Ivy’s favorite golden age of detective fiction novels,” Sanjay said, “doesn’t mean there can’t be one in real life.”

“You’re right,” Tempest agreed. “But the fact that we’re all working on the renovations of the house does mean we know there aren’t any secret passageways.”

“We made an assumption,” Ivy said, “that the killer was inside the room with Lucas. But what if he wasn’t? Lucas, having found the valuable book Milton had told him about, would have handed his partner the book through an open window, at which point, the killer punched Lucas in the face, shot him, and then Lucas closed and locked the window before stumbling backward and dying. And we know that the only two people captured outside the house on the security camera footage were Sanjay—who we know is innocent—and Milton!”

Ivy’s excitement faded as her three friends didn’t respond with anything beyond blank stares.

Tempest was the first to speak. “That was a good idea to challenge our assumptions, but that doesn’t seem plausible.”

“But the video isn’t crisp from that far away,” Ivy said. “It wouldn’t necessarily show Milton’s small movements, like what he was doing when he stood at a window.”

“What our dear Tempest is trying to say diplomatically,” said Sanjay, “is that it’s an idiotic idea on every level.”

“Hey.” Tempest kicked his foot. “What’s the matter with you tonight?”

“Hello. Murder suspect.” He pointed at his own chest.

“We’ve faced far bigger problems before that we’ve gotten through. Being a jerk to Ivy isn’t helping.”

“Fine. Sorry.” Sanjay shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m a little on edge.”

Ivy scooped Abra into her arms and attempted to hand him to Sanjay.

“Even Abra can’t help,” he said, keeping his hands firmly in his pockets, so Ivy kept Abra in her own arms.

“There are a few problems with that theory,” Tempest said as gently as she could. “First, if Lucas found whatever he was searching for in the house, why wouldn’t he simply walk out with it? Unlike us, it’s not like he was trapped.”

“Because his partner told him the house was under video surveillance?” Ivy suggested.

“So he was going to stay inside the house forever?” Tempest shook her head. “Plus, even if the footage doesn’t capture small movements, Lucas would have appeared in the window if it was opened for him to hand Milton the book.”

“Maybe,” Ivy admitted.

“Most importantly,” Tempest continued, “Milton arrived after Sanjay. Even if Milton somehow disguised his actions and blocked the window so the camera didn’t see anything suspicious, Sanjay was around at the side and came back quickly. How could Sanjay have missed hearing or seeing anything?”

“I wouldn’t have,” Sanjay agreed. “Thanks for trying, Ivy. But Milton isn’t the killer.”

“We don’t know that he’s innocent,” Tempest said. “We just know that’s not how Lucas was killed. It’s still most likely Milton, Kira, or Mrs. Hudson. But we can’t rule out Enid or Cameron.”

“Of course we can,” Ivy said. “Enid wasn’t there tonight, and obviously Cameron wouldn’t kill anyone.”

“I’m only pointing out that Blackburn will both review forensic evidence and be thorough with everyone who’s been at the house,” said Tempest, not wanting to start a fight about whom they could trust. “Mrs. Hudson is hiding something, so hopefully Blackburn will be able to shake loose her secrets.”

Sanjay groaned. “I’m doomed. I don’t think that woman would ever reveal something she didn’t want to.”

“I don’t get a murderous vibe from Mrs. Hudson,” Tempest said, “but she’s definitely not being straight with us. Why is she so opposed to the library?”

“Some people are simply miserable people and want to take it out on others,” Sanjay said. His own frown was so deep that Tempest hoped they’d clear him before he became a permanent Mrs. Hudson himself.

“Did you think she was being honest about suspecting Harold’s spirit of screaming?” Gideon asked.

“I don’t know.” Tempest shrugged. “You weren’t there the first night, but Enid was also weirded out about the possibility of it being Harold’s ghost messing with us.”

Ivy zipped her pink vest to the top, covering half her face. “You’re right that they both independently mentioned that. You don’t suppose that means it’s true, do you?”

“No way.” Tempest shook her head. “But it might mean they’re working together .”

“My head is going to explode.” Sanjay stepped to the narrow window and pushed aside the curtain to look out into the blackness of night. “Literally. I’d say I have about three minutes left on earth. That’s all I can take. This is all getting more confusing, not less.”

Tempest’s phone buzzed. It was her grandfather, so she picked up.

“Your light is on,” Ash said. “Why don’t you come over to the tree house for a midnight snack?”

“My friends are over—”

Ash clicked his tongue. “Tempest. There’s always enough food for all. Besides, I know what’s going on. I baked fresh cookies for the police officer parked outside who said he’s keeping an eye on Sanjay. Isn’t it time you told your gran and me what’s going on?”