Once Upon Stilettos (Enchanted Inc #2) (33 page)

I got upstairs to find a grinning Merlin, still wearing his ball cap, waiting for me. “This plan of Mr. Gwaltney’s should be quite entertaining,” he said. “We always found that a good tournament helped keep the knights from killing each other between battles. This appears to work on the same principle.”

“It is one of the better team-building activities I’ve seen. It might even be fun.”

He gestured me toward his office, then once we were seated, he asked, “Now, how is your investigation progressing?”

“I’ve made absolutely no progress on finding the spy. I’m right where I started, and I feel like I’m going in circles.”

“Someone must have thought you were close to have bothered attacking you the other night,” he said mildly, raising one eyebrow.

“If I am close, I don’t know it. I have no real suspects. I have no evidence. I’m at the point of hoping they do something else that will give me more clues. I’ve even resorted to wondering if maybe the attacks were personal, but I couldn’t think of anything I have or anything I’ve done that would set someone off like that. Idris seems to want to make me quit, but I can’t see where that would do him much good.”

He remained unruffled, even as I was close to tears. “Let’s consider the evidence you’ve gathered.”

“That’s just it, there is no evidence. Everyone in the company suspects everyone else, and nearly everyone could have had motive and opportunity if you look hard enough for it.”

“Then let’s see who had the most opportunity. Most of the damage was focused on the R and D department, right?”

“Yes. But that doesn’t narrow it down much. It’s the biggest department in the company.”

“True. Did you say anything to anyone Friday that might have given them an impression you knew more than you really did?”

“I was in R and D, but for an entirely different reason,” I said, hoping I didn’t blush.

“I know you’ve been assigned as Santa for Mr. Palmer,” he said gently. “That was at my suggestion. I felt he’d be more comfortable with someone he knew, and it would give you broader access for investigation.”

“Well, while I was down there I talked to Ari and Jake, but a lot of others saw me and thought I was investigating. Or else they thought I was the spy.”

“I propose you focus on that department. You have an excuse to be there.” He smiled. “I believe Mr. Palmer is going to find himself awash in holiday treats in the days to come.”

He was a sneaky old man, but as comfortable as I felt with him, I didn’t dare say so to his face. I shouldn’t have been surprised, though. He’d put kings on thrones. This was small potatoes to him.

“So, hanging out in R and D, then,” I said, feeling a little better. If only I could deal with my magic problem the same way.

He took a flat crystal from his desk. “This should get you past security there. The spell is on the crystal, so you don’t have to worry about a lack of magical ability.” No, I just had to worry about wards I could no longer get through, but I didn’t have a pressing need to get into Owen’s office. “And I can keep Mr. Palmer busy so you’ll be able to snoop without giving away your Santa identity.”

I had the distinct feeling I was being manipulated, but I wasn’t sure where he was going with it. I took the card-like crystal from him and put it in my pocket. “Thank you.”

“I’d like a report at the end of the week, if you don’t mind.”

“No problem.” In the meantime, it looked like I’d be doing more baking. Then there was the treasure hunt, which was the least of my worries. I handed my clues over to my team and made a couple of suggestions about deciphering them, but otherwise I let the people who were truly enjoying themselves play. I had bigger puzzles to solve.

That evening, as I baked another favorite family recipe, I reflected that I might actually be in better shape than the last time we’d had a crisis, despite what felt like a lack of progress. Before, we’d relied on my dating ability to save the world, and I was a much better cook than I was a potential girlfriend.

This batch of cookies I put in a plastic bag tied with ribbon, which I was able to hide easily in my tote bag. I waited until Owen arrived at Merlin’s office for a meeting, then I headed down to R&D with the cookies and the crystal card. Along the way, I passed at least two teams of treasure hunters, all wearing their company caps. Everyone was laughing and smiling, which was a nice change of pace from the previous week, even if it was mostly because of magical company caps. One team had on matching outfits. The other stopped in the middle of the hallway to give their team cheer, which had something to do with how dominant the Dragons were. My team was going to lose. We hadn’t even reached the point of looking for items. We definitely didn’t have a cheer, a mission statement, or a team uniform.

As Merlin promised, the card got me easily through the front door at R&D. Ari was in her lab not too far from the entrance, her feet propped up on a table while she read a book. She wasn’t wearing the company cap, which didn’t surprise me. I suspected she was doing even less for her team than I was for mine. “Hi!” I said.

She looked up from her book. “Oh good, you’re not one of those treasure hunt nutcases. I’ve had three people so far thinking something was hidden in my lab.” She glanced at the bag I carried. “Let me guess, another Santa mission.”

I tried my best to look vague. “Maybe.”

“You’re carrying a bag of cookies.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re for my secret Santa.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t even try to lie. You totally suck at it. Coffee?”

“Yes, please.” As usual, the cup popped into my hand. I was proud of how nonchalantly I handled it. “What are you reading?”

She held up the antique-looking book. “Love-spell book I swiped from Owen’s lab. Somehow, I doubt he’ll be using it anytime soon. He only has it because it’s by some old wizard he’s been studying. There’s a spell in here for getting the attention of human men. I may have to give it a try—at the next full moon, I can take a canary feather and sprinkle it with rose essence, then wave it in the path of my target.”

“Or you could say, ‘Hi, come here often?’ Even I manage to make that work sometimes.”

“It also has spells to make people fall in love with each other. Want me to hook you up with anyone?”

That was the last thing I needed, magical interference in my shambles of a love life. “No thanks. Besides, remember, I’m immune.” Well, I was once, and I hoped I would be again.

“Oh yeah. I keep forgetting that. But that doesn’t mean the spell wouldn’t work on him. What do you think? Wouldn’t you like a real date with a certain dark-haired, blue-eyed someone who otherwise will never get around to asking anyone out?”

“I’ll pass.”

“Let me know if you change your mind.”

I finished my coffee, put the cup down, and said, “Guess I’d better get back to my mission. Thanks for the coffee.”

“Don’t mention it.”

As Merlin had no doubt arranged, the coast was clear in Owen’s office and lab, so it was easy enough to drop off the cookies. But it looked like I wasn’t the only person who’d taken advantage of Owen’s absence. The place was a mess—not the comfortable clutter that was usually there, but a real mess. Someone had apparently been looking for something, or else had been causing destruction for its own sake. I left my cookies on a table, then ran back down the hall to report it.

I shot past Ari’s lab on my way to the exit, then turned back. “Can I use your phone?” I asked.

“What is it?”

“I’ll explain later.” I dialed Trix’s desk and said, “Tell the boss that he needs to get down here now.” She promised to pass the word, and I hung up.

“Ah, so it was Owen’s lab you were heading to,” Ari said.

“What?” Only then did I remember the reason I’d supposedly come down in the first place. “Oh, that. No, I accomplished my mission and thought I’d stop by to say hi to Owen.”

“He’s in a meeting.”

“Really?” Then I remembered what she’d said about swiping a book from him. “You mentioned that you got that book from his office. Did you notice anything when you were in there?”

“I took this months ago. Sorry I can’t help. What happened?”

“Our spy has been busy again.”

“Hmm. Funny no one noticed. Owen hasn’t even been gone that long. I saw him go past not ten minutes before you got here.”

Owen and Merlin then went by. I caught up with them in the hallway. “Someone’s been in your lab,” I said to Owen, “and I’m not talking about your secret Santa. Well, your secret Santa seems to have been there, too, because it looks like something’s been left, but someone else has been there.”

By the time I finished rattling all that off, we were in the lab. “Can you tell if anything’s missing or changed?” Merlin asked.

Owen ran a hand through his hair, making pieces of it stand on end. “I have no idea. I guess I’ll have to start warding the lab, too, but that’ll make it difficult to get much work done.” Then he looked at me. “What are you doing down here, Katie?”

“You’re not the only person in this department who has a secret Santa, you know. And I thought I’d drop by to say hi while I was in the neighborhood.”

He went back to sorting through the books and papers that were on the floor. “You didn’t see anything, did you?”

“Sorry. It was like this when I got here, and I called right away.”

Another man then joined us. He was perhaps old enough to be Owen’s father and was nearly a head shorter than Owen. “Did I hear there’s been another break-in?” he asked.

Owen practically snapped to attention. “Yes, sir, I’m afraid so.” I’d never seen him that deferential to anyone in a business setting, except sometimes to Merlin.

“What about all those security measures you’ve taken?” the newcomer demanded.

“They don’t do any good if the culprit is within your department,” Merlin said in his usual mild manner.

That didn’t calm the newcomer. “Are you implying that my department is the problem?”

“Your department is clearly the target, and it would appear that someone in the department is the culprit, so yes, I’m saying we have a problem in your department,” Merlin replied.

“I don’t keep anything essential out here, so they can’t have stolen anything worthwhile,” Owen said. “It’s more like vandalism.”

“Well, report to me when you have more information,” the other man said before turning to leave.

“Katie, you’ll keep me updated?” Merlin asked.

I nodded. “I will when I figure something out.”

He left, and I knelt by Owen to help him gather books and papers. “I should probably explain about Mr. Lansing,” he said.

“Who?”

“The one who was just here. You probably saw him as a frog.”

I bit my tongue before I blurted that I hadn’t seen a frog.

“He’s the departmental director for R and D. There was apparently an industrial accident a number of years ago. He doesn’t come out much since maintaining that illusion is a drain on him, but he doesn’t feel like he gets much respect as a frog.”

“I can see where that would be a problem,” I said, nodding. For once, I was grateful for my hopefully temporary lack of magical immunity. I’d have been totally freaked out if a frog had hopped into the room and started asking questions. “But don’t you have ways of breaking the frog spell?”

“Trust me, he’s kissed half the city. And we’ve tried everything. It was a pretty diabolical spell. I’m not even sure how it happened, but they’ve been working on breaking it for decades. We generally don’t talk about it that much. I usually try to stay out of his way.” He gathered a few more papers, then asked, “Was there something you needed to see me about?”

My cover stories were starting to need cover stories. Then I thought of something. “Did you ever find out where that camera was sending its signal?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, no,” he said with a sigh. “The cord ran through the ceiling and stopped halfway down the hall, then was severed. Someone must have cut it before I managed to track it back. But I’ve reached the conclusion that this has more to do with chaos than it does with espionage. That would definitely be Phelan’s style. And it may be a sign that he’s as lost as we are. He must not have anything of substance up his sleeve if he’s resorting to this sort of behavior. Otherwise, he’d be more focused on taking us on in the marketplace.”

“So our best strategy might be to ignore it and hope it goes away.”

“He might go away. I’m not sure his spy would.”

“Yeah, anyone motivated enough to be willing to spy probably has personal reasons for doing so. Which brings me back to square one.”

“Sorry I couldn’t help more.”

“And I’m sorry I haven’t been able to do anything to stop this.” I stood and dusted off my knees. “I guess I’d better get back to work. Let me know if you run across anything interesting.”

I felt like an utter loser as I headed out of the department. I was letting everyone down. I passed Ari’s lab, and she called out, “So, what was the sitch down there?”

I turned back and stood in her doorway. “The usual. Chaos and all that.”

“As messy as he is, I don’t know how he’d notice the difference with a few books and papers scattered. He looks like he’d be a neat freak, but he’s such a pack rat.”

I suddenly got a prickling feeling between my shoulder blades. No one had described the chaos in the lab to her, so how had she known? Fragments of conversations, facial expressions, and odd coincidences all crashed together at once in my brain—Ari on the phone just before the last attack, her apparently fruitless pursuit of Owen, her hounding me about him, her grilling me about what I did and didn’t see, the camera cord that was cut halfway down the hall, right about where her lab was.

No, it couldn’t be. Happy-go-lucky Ari couldn’t be the spy. But she had access. She had information. She even had motivation, if her feelings about Owen ran deeper than she let on. I had no real evidence, though, just a hunch. That wasn’t enough to risk our friendship by turning her in. I had to know more.

I tried to keep a straight face and an even voice as I said, “I think it was just enough to tick him off. You might want to stay away from that end of the hall for a while. He doesn’t get angry often, but when he does, you’d better duck.” Her eyes narrowed briefly at me. Did she sense that I knew? That would be bad. To cover my tracks, I added casually, “Oh, and you might want to warn Jake when he gets back before he says the wrong thing.”