Chapter 64

Casey was standing in front of the full-length mirror in Kiki’s bedroom when a naked Kiki slipped in behind her, slipped her arms around the platinum blonde’s waist, and kissed the back of her neck, raising a pleasant shiver. “Very sexy.”

“Yeah.” Casey didn’t bother to deny it. The thigh-length white leather skirt and light blue midriff-baring bandeau top were a lot of things, but they were definitely sexy. “This is the first time I used my wardrobe budget. I wanted to make it memorable.”

Kiki traced a hand down her bare ribs. “If we actually get to the party, it’s bound to be that.”

Casey was learning how to deal with Kiki better than she had before they were lovers. She turned, took Kiki’s face in her hands, and kissed her deeply until the two of them melted together. “You told Artemis we would see her there.”

Kiki looked up at her. “I bet Artemis would skip the party if we asked her nicely.”

This was Kiki in a nutshell. She wielded her sexuality like a bludgeon, beating you over the head with it until you rejected her or bought in. If you tried to demur, she would just get more and more outrageous. Rejecting Kiki usually meant your relationship with her was over. For Casey, buying in usually meant agreeing to things she would be too embarrassed to do without a confederate. A few months with Cat and Hal and now Kiki had moved her internal needle of acceptable behavior to places she wouldn’t have even considered a year ago. She stroked Kiki’s face. “Do you want to? The party’s only one more night and I’m pretty sure we’ve got Artemis until Tuesday if we want her.”

“We do, but I think we might end up sharing her with Nick once everybody goes home.” Kiki stepped back. “That outfit does beg for a party, though.”

As Kiki turned away to get dressed, Casey turned to her, “You do remember I’ve never actually been with Nick, don’t you?”

“But you want to and he wants to.” Kiki pulled on a tiny black thong. “If you and I or you, me, and Artemis got him alone in a room, do you think he’d say no?”

“No, but I don’t think I just want to fall in bed with him like he was some rando ... or I was either.” Casey frowned. “I think I like being good friends better than indifferent lovers.”

“And I think you and he think way too much about these things. I know there are some weird guys out there who like you less for spreading your legs for them, but Nick is definitely not one of them. He would bend the world in half for his lovers. If you had any idea what he offered me just because he wants to make me happy...” Kiki smirked.

“I’ve seen what he does for me and I’m not sleeping with him.” Casey sighed and sat on the bed. “If I were sleeping with him, it would be way too much.”

“Ah ... you don’t want to feel like a whore?” Kiki suggested.

“That’s not... !” Casey started to protest, then sighed. She waited for Kiki to fill the silence, but when Kiki didn’t she said quietly. “I really don’t think I’d mind being Nick’s whore. It’s kind of a turn-on, actually. I just don’t want him to think I’m only sleeping with him for what he can do for me.”

Kiki laughed and came over to sit cross-legged on the bed next to Casey. “This is what I mean about you two thinking about these things too much. Nick loves doing things for his lovers. He would do so much more for me if I let him. And he does so much for you and Cat and Monroe and ... probably Cricket and the Parrish girls because he wants you all to know that you don’t have to sleep with him to be treated like a princess. I bet if you asked him to spend millions bankrolling a movie and cast you in it today, he would do it in a heartbeat. There may be things he would do for his lovers that he wouldn’t do for platonic friends, but they’re way up the scale from anything I would think to ask for.”

“Did you ... ask him to cast you in a movie?” Casey asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

“No, he offered to cast me in a movie and spend millions of dollars to make it happen,” said Kiki. “I told him he didn’t have to do that. But, he offered it out of the blue and I know he wasn’t asking for anything because I never held anything back.”

Casey didn’t answer and the silence must have said something because Kiki leaned forward to look in her face. “What? You think he wants something I wouldn’t do for him for free? I will not have you impugn my lack of honor like that.”

“Honestly?” Casey raised an eyebrow and got a nod from Kiki. “I think what Nick wants most is to know that people are going to stick around - particularly the women in his life.”

“I totally get that, but I don’t think that’s what he wants from me,” said Kiki.

“You don’t think he wants you to stick around?” Casey asked.

“No, I don’t think he wants me to reassure him that I’ll stick around. That’s not really the Kiki Sato brand.” Kiki suggested. “You’ve known me as long as anyone in New York. I figure if anyone noticed how I’ve changed lately, it would be you.”

“I have. You’re not as wild as you used to be and...”

“Bite your tongue,” said Kiki. “If anything, I’m wilder. I’m pretty much open to anything. Don’t make me fist you to prove it.”

Casey laughed. “You’ve already fisted me.”

“That’s what you think,” said Kiki. “But trust me. I’m wilder than I was. And I’m wilder because I’m really only sleeping with people I know.”

“Like Artemis?” Casey asked.

“I got to know her first, but bad example,” said Kiki. “What I really mean is I’m not sleeping with men I don’t know. It’s really just Nick and Lev right now ... well ... and Dietrich. But, really, I’m only open to guys that Nick likes and ... really ... women I think he would like. Do you know why?”

“Because you like Nick and want to stick around?” Casey suggested.

“Probably true, but not the really important part.” Kiki rested her head against Casey’s shoulder. “The important part is that I trust Nick’s judgment about people and I know mine is terrible. Plus, I think he and Pilar are going some wild places sexually and I want to go there too.”

“That’s ... a pretty good reason.” Casey stroked her friend’s hair. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“You told me you were turned on by the idea of being Nick’s whore. Is this a bigger secret?” Kiki asked.

Casey laughed. “No, I suppose not. I was just going to say that Pilar kind of scares me ... way more than Nick does.”

“That is hardly a secret. Pilar is straight-up terrifying. She would have you strapped to a table and gangbanged by demons if it served her purposes.” Kiki said.

“By demons?” Casey frowned.

“Yeah, have you watched any of my demon gangbang hentai yet?” Kiki asked. “It’s really hot and I have some seriously intense demon gangbang fantasies myself. Pilar is more likely to make them come true than anybody I know.”

Casey gave her a doubtful look and Kiki bounced into an upright position. “Okay, no literal demons, but the closest you can come to it in the real world, I bet. If she were with some bad dude who liked hurting girls, I’d stay a million miles away from her. But, she’s with Nick and she wants to make Nick happy and Nick would never be happy if he or Pilar put us in a situation where we weren’t safe. So, I can trust that all the demons will be clean and healthy and respectful when they’re not calling me a filthy whore and mercilessly fucking every hole in my body. Nick cares and Pilar is absolutely shameless. Together, they can fulfill pretty much any fantasy.”

Casey sighed. “I don’t think I could agree to be gangbanged by demons.”

“Not your thing?”

“Not specifically, but what I really mean is that I don’t think I could agree to do a lot of the things that could very much be my thing. And I get the sense that Nick is really big on talking things out before they happen.” Casey said. “It’s way easier to do things once you’re in the moment than to talk about them when you’re not turned on.”

“Well, you could always take a collar like Emily has. That’s kind of the whole point of the sex slave thing. Or, you could just stick around and wait. Nick is just getting his feet under him and Pilar is an excellent corrupter. Once he learns to trust his instincts...” Kiki closed her eyes, sucked in her breath, and trembled.

“Demon gangbang?” Casey asked. Kiki nodded.

Rather than talk any more about it, Casey leaned in, kissed Kiki, and slowly pushed her back to the bed. She couldn’t say out loud how much this conversation had turned her on, but she could show it pretty well.

When her hand glided between Kiki’s legs, Kiki opened her eyes, wriggled away, and got off the bed. “We should finish getting ready for the party.”

Casey laid back on the bed. “Shit, maybe we should just call Artemis, ask her if she knows any demons.”

Kiki was back at her closet. “It would be a shame if you got all tarted up for nothing. That will definitely be the sluttiest outfit you’ve worn in public.”

“You didn’t know me when I was doing cosplay.” Casey sighed and sat up.

“No, but that was play. You weren’t you. You were always painted blue or something, right?” Kiki reminded her.

“Not always. I showed a lot of my own skin. And a convention is not like a closed set at all. I’ve been pretty naked in some big crowds before.” Casey pointed out.

Kiki pulled out a red dress that looked like it was made to fit a much smaller woman. When she pulled it on, it clung to all her curves, came down to mid-thigh, and had a strategic cut-out that exposed her stomach and the bottoms of her breasts. “Let’s go show those Stone girls what it takes to catch Nick’s attention.”

“You were wearing way more than that when you caught his attention,” Casey reminded her.

“I know, but I think it would be fun to start an arms race and see what they wear to the next party.” Kiki smirked.

Casey laughed and forced herself to push away any worries that they were overdoing it or would embarrass Nick. They were dressed very sexily, moreso than she would feel comfortable wearing to a club without a security entourage, but they would hardly be the only ones at that party. A lot of the Stone cousins were unafraid to look their sexiest this weekend.

On the ride to the hotel, they chatted mostly about the people they’d met that weekend already. Now that Kiki had pointed it out, she did seem to be judging the people she’d met based on whether she thought Nick would like them. Casey finally had to ask, “You really are thinking about who you can bring to Nick’s bed, aren’t you?”

Kiki nodded. “I tried it with Jenny right at the beginning. I knew she wouldn’t be good for him, but I thought he’d be good for her and he wouldn’t care as long as she was hot. That was a mistake. Nick needed to be broken in to the idea that one of us might recruit for him and he’s not in a rush to sleep with just anyone. I knew he didn’t need to be, but plenty of guys who don’t need to be are anyway. Now that Pilar’s gotten him used to the idea, I’m looking for someone who will prove that I understand what he wants now.”

“Like Artemis?” Casey asked.

“Like you, honestly. He definitely likes Artemis, but I’m pretty sure they would hook up if we just left them in a room together. Anybody can see that. But, finally getting you two into bed together, that would be something.” Kiki kissed Casey’s shoulder.

Casey felt her breath catch and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she said, “All right. Please do that.”

Kiki rested a hand on her bare leg and leaned forward. “Really?”

Casey nodded. “God, yes. Forget all that stuff I said about not wanting him to think I’m a whore. Do you remember that thing with him and me on the way to Milan?”

“When you asked him to pose as your pretend boyfriend and you posted it to Instagram?” Kiki asked.

Casey nodded. “God, I really was hoping he would just say he wouldn’t pretend to be with me when he was already with you and Pilar and whoever he was already with at that point and then I could be all coy and say something like, ‘Well, we could fix that’ and then get dragged off to join the Mile High Club. And then he was so sweet about it and that made me want him so much worse.”

Kiki’s eyes widened. “And you’ve been sitting on that since Milan?”

Casey sat back against the car seat and whined. “This is exactly what I mean! I can tell you that right now because I’m so horny, I could scream. But normally I’m kind of shy. Don’t laugh. It’s true.”

Kiki shook her head. “I wasn’t going to laugh. I get the shy thing. I was going to say, ‘Leave everything up to me. I’ll take care of it.’”

Casey’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Would you like that?” Kiki asked.

Casey bit her lower lip and nodded. Kiki ran her fingers up Casey’s inner thigh and teased just under the skirt. “Then leave it to me, all right.”

Casey nodded and stayed quiet for about thirty seconds. “How...”

Kiki held up a finger and shook her head. “No questions. Just leave it to me.”

Casey sighed and nodded again. She was dying of curiosity, but they were close to the hotel and she knew it would be better if she didn’t get her questions answered. Instead, she reflected on how thoroughly she’d fallen in love with Kiki after a year and a half of resisting her charms.

She was glad she’d resisted. Even if she’d accepted she was attracted to women other than Cat, she also needed to really embrace the idea that she could be in love with more than one person at a time without diminishing how she felt about any individual. Loving only Kiki would be incredibly painful and expecting her to love only you back would be a nightmare. But now, within the context of all her other relationships and all of Kiki’s other relationships, it was easy to imagine herself as being part of a couple with Kiki. She’d already been daydreaming about joining Kiki the next time she went to Japan for work or traveling around Europe together or maybe just going down to SXSW together. Austin was perilously close to home and, as much as Casey’s family was acclimating to the idea that she and Nick were in a non-exclusive relationship, they would not react well if they realized how close she and Kiki had become, but the danger was part of the fantasy.

At the party, people checked them out and some whispered among themselves, but a lot of the whisperers were dressed as sexily as either of them. The whispering was about who they were and, more importantly, who they were to Nick.

Kiki asked around and they eventually found their way to the table where Artemis and several of the Ramshackle Stones were sitting. Dinner had been served, but they weren’t eating much of it. Instead, they were having a very animated, seemingly very emotional conversation. Several typed rapidly on their phones while carrying out the conversation.

Casey paused for a moment, not wanting to interrupt, but Kiki plunged right in. “Hey, guys. What’s going on?”

Artemis looked up first. “Kiki, Casey, hi ... What’s up?”

“Not much with us, how about you?” Kiki sat in one of the empty chairs at the table. “Everything okay?”

“Definitely not. What’s the opposite of okay?” Carl answered.

“Not okay?” Casey suggested.

“Screwed, we’re so very fucking screwed,” said Carl.

Kiki looked around. “Why? What happened?”

“You haven’t heard? Maybe people are keeping it quiet.” Vanessa said hopefully.

“If they are, it’s so they can have us all killed without anybody making a fuss,” said Carl.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Dramatic much? We don’t even know what really happened. Maybe it’s just getting blown all out of proportion. It is social media, you know. Maybe it wasn’t even him. I haven’t seen any pictures or anything.”

Kiki sighed, took her phone out of her purse, set back, and held it up. “Could someone maybe explain this to the hot Asian girl with a direct line to a billionaire and his team of fanatically loyal assistants?”

“That’s kind of the problem,” said Daisy. “It seems like Churchmouse had an ... incident with Nick.”

Kiki looked back at Casey and indicated she should sit. “Casey, you know Artemis. These are the rest of the Ramshackle Stones from Sarah Lawrence College.”

“Sara Llewellyn,” Carl corrected her immediately.

“Right, that one. These are a bunch of Stones who live together at a college up in the boonies somewhere. Churchmouse is their leader.” Kiki said. Having explained, she turned back to Daisy. “Did Nick and Churchmouse get in a fight?”

“No, not exactly...” Daisy winced.

“Churchmouse apparently blew chunks all over our billionaire cousin in an elevator ... and now he’s not answering his texts,” said Carl.

“Neither are Paul or Holly.” Daisy held up her phone.

“Oh ... I don’t think that has anything to do with this,” said Artemis. “They’re at the Loft - or at least they were a few hours ago and probably still are.”

“How’d they wind up getting that hot ticket?” Carl grumbled.

Kiki didn’t look up from typing on her phone. “I invited them ... at Artemis’s request.” Before anybody could ask a follow-up question, she added. “I’ve got a field agent coming over to tell us what she can tell us.”

“That’s me.” Natasha stepped up to the table and waved. “How can I help?”

“Have a seat, please. There’s a situation and my friends could use some information. For starters, do you know where ... Churchmouse is?” Kiki asked.

“Wesley Church-Stone,” Vanessa added.

Natasha sat and brought out her pad. After a few taps, she said. “He’s ... in a room upstairs. He wasn’t feeling well and is a little bit dehydrated, but there’s a paramedic with him and he’s going to be fine.”

“Did he throw up on Nick in an elevator?” Carl asked.

Natasha nodded, not losing her professionally friendly smile. “There does appear to have been an incident like that, yes. Apparently, it’s gotten some attention on social media?”

“We saw it on Twitter,” said Vanessa.

“We’re Wesley’s housemates. Will Nick be murdering all of us or just him?” Carl asked deadpan.

That got a quick twinge of uncertainty before Natasha restored her smile and went on. “I wouldn’t worry. Everybody I know who works with Nick says he’s very un-murder-y.”

“Do you know why Churchmouse isn’t answering any of our texts?” Vanessa asked.

Natasha’s fingers never stopped moving on her iPad. After a moment, she said, “The guard who’s with him just messaged me. Wesley is in the shower and left his phone in his pants. He’ll probably get back to you shortly.”

“Why is there a guard with him?” Daisy asked, suddenly sounding more concerned.

“Probably suicide watch,” suggested Carl.

“We enact a strategy of keeping guards positioned and available in the event of potentially chaotic situations, particularly when Nick is involved. People rushing to get out of an elevator could lead to someone getting trampled. The guards are there to prevent injury.” Natasha tapped a few more times, then swiped back and forth. “You’re all from Sara Llewellyn College? You live at the Ramshackle?”

“Y-e-es...” said Carl dramatically, looking back and forth.

“Nick has asked the staff to formally invite each of you to brunch at the Loft tomorrow at one pm. He wants to talk to each of you about your plans and how he might help you make them a reality.” Natasha held up her iPad and gestured with it.

“Seriously? How old is that message? I’m sure we’re not invited now.” Carl demanded.

Natasha held up her iPad and gave it a little shake. “The message is current. Nick would like to see you all as well as your housemates Sun-hwa, Paul, and Wesley at brunch. He’s looking forward to talking to you in greater depth than he’s going to be able to manage during the party tonight.”

“It sounds like a trap.” Carl opined.

Natasha tapped on her pad and, after a moment said, “Zola, one of Nick’s shift captains says it is not a trap and that you would be giving up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity if you didn’t go.”

“That sounds exactly like what somebody setting a trap would say,” offered Daisy.

“If it is a trap, you should probably go anyway. You’re not going to make things better for yourselves if you make him chase you down,” said Kiki.

“That ... is not reassuring,” said Vanessa.

“That’s why I said it before Natasha could say something reassuring. If Nick wanted to do any of you harm, he could do it, but I’ve known him as long as anyone here. He doesn’t have a vindictive bone in his body. You’re all going to be fine, including Churchmouse. You should relax and eat your dinner,” said Kiki.

Reluctantly, one by one, the Ramshackle Stones picked up their forks and started to eat. As Kiki was turning to release Natasha, Carl said, “Still, there’s a long way between not vindictive and wanting to be really helpful. Maybe we shouldn’t ask for too much.”

Natasha looked to Kiki for guidance. Kiki said, “Natasha, would you excuse us, please? It sounds like people want to discuss strategy and it would be better to not have that discussion passed around with Nick’s staff.”

“Of course. If you need anything I can help with specifically, you can message me directly.” Natasha rose and addressed the rest of the table. “I hope I’ve allayed some of your fears and that you enjoy the rest of the evening.”

Once she’d left, Kiki said, “I don’t know if this can really sink in without getting to know him, but Nick is a super-nice guy. He didn’t grow up rich and he’s really careful about not becoming another rich asshole. If he planned to help you before Churchmouse threw up on him, he almost certainly still does. Nick is very good to his friends and dislikes making enemies, even ones he could harry to the ends of the Earth and crush without breaking a sweat. Get to know him before you judge him and talk to him like he’s just like the rest of us because he’s really just like the rest of us - except that he has access to a nearly limitless bank account.”

“I can confirm that,” said Casey, glad to be able to contribute. “Nick is just one of the most humble, genuine guys you’re ever going to meet and he wants to help everyone. So, talk about what you’re passionate about and let him offer to help.”

People paused, considered that, looked around, and went back to their food. Then, Artemis said, “What if one of us has a really big ask ... like six figures big.”

Casey opened her mouth to answer and then paused. She really had no idea how Nick was budgeting for this group. She was still forming the words to express that when Kiki said, “For that much, it would help to have a personal relationship with him.”

Daisy asked timidly, “You mean ... sleep with him?”

“That’s how I did it,” said Kiki.

After a silent beat Carl said, “I’ll take that bullet.”

“That’s not the only way to get a personal relationship with Nick, though.” Casey protested. “He gave Cat and Hall an apartment at the Loft just because they’re his friends. And he’s probably spent at least six figures on Anne and her kids by now.”

Kiki sipped from her water glass and considered the point. Casey suspected she was making a special effort not to be outrageous. “That’s ... true. But they all got in before Nick made the sixty k rule. He doesn’t put more than sixty thousand dollars into something without some kind of review process with the Council of Elders or something. Emily explained it to me at some point.”

“I ... didn’t know that.” Casey frowned.

“That might just be for giving money to charities, though. I wasn’t in the loop on this brunch thing. I guess I’m wearing pants to breakfast tomorrow.” Kiki shrugged.

“So Nick is a kind, charitable, honest, generous guy who will give you sixty thousand dollars if you ask for it, but you have to sleep with him if you want more?” Vanessa looked skeptical.

“No, that’s not right.” Casey held up her hands and tried to formulate the words that would describe Nick’s approach to giving right. She could already imagine this conversation getting back to him and her having to explain what she meant.

“Imagine you’re a djinni,” Kiki said to the whole group. That got a lot of blank stares.

Artemis held up her phone. “Paul just checked his messages and he’s freaking out. What do I tell him?”

“Tell him Wesley chundered on a billionaire and it’s now Paul’s job to make everything better by having sex with Nick,” suggested Carl.

Artemis had brought her phone down and started typing. Now she shot Carl a look. “Not helpful.”

Everyone turned and looked at Kiki and Casey, expecting an answer. Casey had no idea what to say. Kiki saved her by saying, “Tell him everything’s going to be fine. And tell him Kiki said so. Nick’s cool. He knows how to roll with the punches.”

“Does he know how to roll with getting puked on?” Carl asked.

“Yeah, has this happened before?” Daisy asked.

“Not exactly ... Not that I know of,” admitted Casey. Before people could start freaking out again, she said, “But, I get the djinn thing. You know how djinni are supposed to grant wishes, but only like three or there are some other strictures. Imagine that you’re a djinn and you can grant as many wishes as you want and your only restriction is that you have to think that granting the wish would be a good thing. That is the situation Nick’s in ... except that he has a finite mana pool, but it’s really big. So, not a perfect analogy.”

“So, Nick doesn’t want to sleep with us in return for whatever help he offers?” Vanessa asked.

“Nick definitely doesn’t want you to sleep with him in return for the help he offers,” Casey said firmly.

“But, he probably does want to sleep with you,” Kiki added.

“Ri ... wait, what?” Casey turned to her lover.

“What? Nick’s a healthy eighteen year-old and a good guy but not the sort of ‘good guy... ‘“ Kiki made air quotes. “ ... who’s going to pretend not to want to sleep with you if he wants to sleep with you. He’s also unlikely to bring it up unless you’re clearly interested and, even then, you might have to hit him with a clue-by-four.”

“So, Nick might want to sleep with one or more of us?” Vanessa asked, a note of caution in her voice.

“Nick almost certainly wants to sleep with most or all of you. He and I have similar tastes in women and I wouldn’t mind taking you all home for a big naked kitten-pile, but with sex.” Kiki said.

“Only women?” Carl looked disappointed.

“For Nick, yeah sorry. For Kiki ... I’d definitely consider it,” said Kiki.

“Eww, pass,” said Carl.

“Your loss ... maybe,” said Kiki. “I’m pretty sure I’ve never turned anybody straight, but I do like a challenge.”

“Wait, this is all getting way confusing,” said Daisy. “How should we approach Nick when we talk to him?”

“You personally? Answer his questions. Be passionate about what you’re passionate about. If you’re into him and you get a chance to express that, go for it.” Kiki shrugged. “Talk to him like you would to your friend-slash-landlord Churchmouse. Just keep in mind that when Nick vomits all over you, he vomits money.”

“Graphic,” said Carl.

“People are saying Nick never sleeps with less than two women in his bed,” said Vanessa.

Kiki raised an eyebrow. “And... ?”

“And, if you are planning to sleep with him, you’d better be ready for a lot more than just sleeping with Nick, Daisy,” said Vanessa.

“I didn’t...” Daisy squeaked.

“Listen, it’s almost certain that none of you are going to get a chance to have sex wth Nick tomorrow.” Kiki glanced towards Artemis. “Not during this brunch thing, anyway. Nick has not historically slept with people until he considers them friends of his. But just to set the record straight, Nick isn’t going to pressure anyone into doing more than they want to do. There are women staying at the loft right now who are just hair-trigger ready to fall into bed with Nick the first time he applies a feather’s weight of pressure on them to do so and he just doesn’t do it. If you do want to sleep with Nick, you’re far more liable to find yourself having to convince him that it’s absolutely about what you want and not in any way attached to what he’s done or might do for you than to feel any pressure. He will overthink things to death if you let him. Whatever we’re getting up to at the Loft, we’re choosing to get up to.”

The last bit inspired Casey. “Try to forget about sex for a second. Kiki’s right that it’s probably not going to happen in the short term. But if you think you’d enjoy ... not benefit from, but genuinely enjoy hanging out with Nick and the rest of us under less intense circumstances than a family party, say so. The Loft is the coolest environment I’ve ever been in and every minute you’re there is one where your life can get better like that.” She snapped her fingers.

“But you shouldn’t be weirded out by sex because you’ll be surrounded by it,” Kiki added.

Artemis sighed. “What if the person who needs to ask for a big favor isn’t ... What if it’s Churchmouse?”

“What does Churchmouse need all that money for?” Carl asked.

“You remember how he was talking about the oil tank in the side yard being a problem last year?” Artemis asked.