"Please!" Matasumi said. "We didn't call for reinforcements. Return to your posts."
Before they could move, another guard entered, accompanied by Leah.
"What--" Matasumi sputtered. He stopped and regained his composure with a quick intake of breath. "Why is Ms. O'Donnell here?"
"When I passed her cell, I noticed she was quite agitated," the young guard said, traces of color blossoming on his cheeks. "I--uh--used the intercom to inquire and she--uh--asked if she could see what was going on."
"You do not release a subject from a cell. Ever. Return her immediately."
Leah pushed past Matasumi, edging through the group until she was right at the bedside. When she saw Ruth, she gasped and wheeled to face Savannah and me.
"Oh," she said, hands flying to her mouth, eyes fixed on Savannah. "I am so sorry. How--What happened?"
"As I've been asking for the past ten minutes," Matasumi said.
The guard he'd tapped stepped away from the bed. "I was walking past on my rounds and I saw the old--Miss Winterbourne on her bed. The kid was leaning over her. I thought something was wrong, like maybe she'd had a heart attack, so my partner and I opened the door. We found the clock beside them on the floor. Blood splattered on it. Miss Winterbourne's skull bashed in."
Savannah tensed in my arms, heart pounding.
"Oh, you poor thing," Leah said, hurrying toward us. "What a horrible accident."
"It--it wasn't me," Savannah said.
"Whatever happened, it's not your fault, hon."
Leah reached for Savannah. The girl hesitated, still clinging to me. After a moment, she reached for Leah's hand and held it tight, her free arm still around me. A flash of disappointment crossed Leah's face. Then she nodded, as if realizing this wasn't a popularity contest. Leah squeezed Savannah's hand and stroked the back of her head.
After a moment, Leah turned to the group surrounding the bed. She cleared her throat and said loudly, "Can I take Savannah to my cell? She shouldn't be here."
Carmichael glanced up from her work, sweat streaming down her broad face.
"What's she doing here?" she said, waving at Leah. "Put her back in her cell."
The guards jumped to obey, as they hadn't for Matasumi. Two hustled Leah out. Savannah watched her go with such sadness that I wanted to implore Carmichael to let Leah stay, but I was afraid if I did, I'd be kicked out too. Savannah needed someone. While Leah would have been preferable, Savannah would have to make do with a not-so-empathic female werewolf. When Leah was gone, Savannah deflated and leaned against me. She was quiet for several minutes, then she glanced around at the others. Everyone was busy with Ruth.
"I think--" she whispered.
She stepped closer. I laid a tentative hand on her shoulder and she melted against me. I patted her back and murmured wordless noises that I hoped sounded comforting. It seemed to calm her, probably not so much because of any consolation I offered, but because she saw me as her only remaining ally in a roomful of enemies. After a minute, she looked up at me.
"I think," she whispered again, "I think I might have done it."
"You couldn't--" I began.
"I wasn't sleeping. I was thinking about things--things Ruth told me. My lessons. Then I saw it. The clock. It flew--like the plate with the guard. I think I did it. I'm not sure how, but I think I did."
The impulse to deny her culpability sprang to my lips, but I bit it back. The look on her face wasn't that of a child begging to be consoled with well-meaning lies. She knew the truth and trusted me with it.
"If you did, it wasn't your fault," I said. "I know that."
Savannah nodded, brushed back streaks of tears, and leaned her head against my chest. We stood like that, not speaking, for at least five minutes. Then Carmichael stepped away from the bed. Everyone stopped what they were doing. The only sound in the room was the tripping of Savannah's heart.
"Time of death--" Carmichael began.
She lifted her arm, but she must not have put on her watch when summoned from bed. For a long moment, she stared at her wrist, as if expecting some magical timepiece to appear. Then she dropped her hand, closed her eyes, exhaled, and walked from the cell.
It was over.
CHAPTER 28