School is back in session in January, after New Year's. (The twins set off small fireworks in the driveway - well, Andi does. Robin is invited to this event; Trouble is not, it somehow does not seem wise.)
Now it is the first weekend after the resumption of school.
Robin's supposed to be over any minute for practice for Nameless Band Which Kind Of Needs A Third Person But Bella Doesn't Want To. Andi taps out beats on her drums. Taptaptap. Taptaptap-kish. Taptaptap. Taptaptapkish.
"If Charlie were - but he isn't. And I don't see Renée being very useful here either. I suppose we could tell Trouble."
"Well, I don't know what use he'd be, but one thing I definitely don't expect is for him to decide unauthorized that the situation would be better if forty more people knew about it."
"And then he'll know to - I don't know. Avoid that intersection at night? Go looking for that intersection at night? I actually don't know, maybe we'd better not tell him."
"We can tell him, though," says Robin, "if we think of a way it would help. Help what, I don't even know. I just saw some stranger murdered by a, a demon. What's going to help with that?"
"Didn't think so. Do you want some meringues? Trouble made, like, ninety of them, there are still most of them around."
Ethan has some, too, occasionally sneaking one right out of Robin's hand while she's not looking.
"The monster. Alien, demon, whatever. Thinking of things it could be and whether there are ways to find out that are relatively safe."
"No kidding. But - Robin, did this thing look to you like a species? Well-adapted for something, good at moving around, not - sick, asymmetrical?"