"Someone else could do it, if we knew how," Bella points out.

"Do what, though? If I'm the one who shows up, she might actually trust me."

"I'm not sure," shrugs Bella. "If nothing else, we could keep an eye out for Reggie and you could time it for when he's not home."

"There is that. Or I could kill him," Trouble says thoughtfully.

"It would probably," says Bella, "be kind of conspicuous if my dad and your stepdad both 'died in a bear attack' within a few days of each other."

"Well, I wouldn't make it a bear attack," he says reasonably.

"Any kind of animal attack. Poison him, or something," she suggests. "If it has to be an animal attack be a dog - a Frolised one, at that, don't want the neighbor's pets put down."

"I was not planning on making it an animal attack."

"What were you thinking?"

He shrugs. "I was thinking some very nasty and very detailed thoughts involving knives, but I'm not married to the idea."

"Anything suggesting you might still be alive is a bad idea. You're the one with the obvious motive as far as people who cannot be allowed to know you are alive are concerned."

"Yeah. I'm not thinking planning thoughts right now, I'm thinking wouldn't-it-be-nice thoughts."

"Okay. Well, I won't stop you if you want to kill him as long as you get the Yeerk and don't leave evidence of your survival."

"Okay," he says cheerfully.

Bella flips her notebook open, and starts writing. She tucks the picture of the Na between earlier pages.

"Whatcha writing now?"

"Stuff about condoning premeditated murder."

He giggles.

"Hilarious stuff about condoning premeditated murder."

"Aww, I know it's not hilarious to you," he says. "Is to me, though."

"Why?"

He shrugs. "Just is."

She shrugs. She writes. "If your stepdad died would your mom inherit his stuff as per usual or is there something else set up?"

"I don't even know."

"Does he have other close relatives you know about that he'd bother setting something unusual up for?"