only saw a vision of it this morning!”
Dropping out of bard mode, Thor shrugged. “Hey, all I know is that Sylvester came to our people with these two things and wanted them physically and magically joined. Someone must have found them for him.” He cleared his throat, then continued his tale. “Though the gnomes had great skill, this task required great fortitude. The temptation would be great to seize power and invulnerability. Charms were cast and the goldsmiths worked two-by-two, no one ever alone with the gem when it was outside the box that shielded it. The most noble and upright guards kept constant watch.”
Granny snorted. “Must not have done too good a job, since you’re looking for it now.”
“It was treachery!” Thor shouted, shaking his fist and then pounding it on the table. The fact that he was sitting in a child’s booster seat made the gesture less intimidating than I was sure he intended. “The Elf Lord betrayed the gnomes, taking the great work without payment.”
“That would be like him,” Earl put in. “He’s beyond cheap.”
Ignoring him, Thor went on. “Our people could not stand for this. Gnomes tracked elven movements, watching for signs of the lost brooch. Seers searched the heavens.” He launched into an in-depth description of the search. It was as though he’d memorized this story and couldn’t deviate from it in any way, even if we didn’t care about these details.
Out of boredom, I picked up the newspaper that had been left on an adjacent table and skimmed the headlines of the Life and Style section. There was a review of a new television series beginning that night that sounded interesting, although I doubted I’d be home in time to watch it. I turned the page and saw the society coverage. The photo accompanying the column about a fundraiser being held that night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art stopped me cold. Every single muscle in my body tensed.
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no,” I muttered in sheer horror.
“Katie, what is it?” Owen asked.
“I think I’ve found our future Mrs. Martin. And we’re doomed.” They all turned to stare at me, and I had to gulp a few times before I could choke out the words, “It’s Mimi.”
Chapter Seven
The others stared at me, confused. Except for Thor, who scowled. “Now you’ve made me lose my place,” he grumbled. “Let’s see, where was I …” His voice returned to the formal, singsong rhythms of his storytelling. “The brooch landed on foreign shores, and new seekers joined the quest.”
“What’s a Mimi?” Earl interrupted.
“Hey, you can talk when it’s your turn,” Thor protested, then he groaned. “And now I’ve lost my place again.”
I turned the newspaper so they could see the column. “Mimi Perkins is my ex-boss, before I joined MSI. And she’s evil. I’ve met some truly bad people in my time, and none of them were scarier than Mimi.”
Thor opened his mouth to continue his story, but before he could begin speaking again, Rod asked, “What does this have to do with the brooch?”
“According to the newspaper, Mimi is putting on a gala tonight, and the article mentions that she’s engaged to billionaire Jonathan Martin. We’ve got our missing fiancée. Does nobody read the newspaper anymore? MSI research should have found this in five minutes.” Of all mornings, this had to be the one when I’d gone to work before at least skimming the headlines. I’d have seen Mimi’s photo and drawn devil horns on it, so I surely would have made this connection long before now.
“I thought she was engaged to someone named Werner,” Owen said.
“Yeah, a year ago,” I said. “She’s obviously upgraded to someone older and richer.”
“This looks promising,” Rod agreed. “But what makes you so sure she’s the one who has the brooch?”
“Because … because …” I trailed off. I knew what I feared, but was that the same thing as having good reason to suspect? “Because
Dropping out of bard mode, Thor shrugged. “Hey, all I know is that Sylvester came to our people with these two things and wanted them physically and magically joined. Someone must have found them for him.” He cleared his throat, then continued his tale. “Though the gnomes had great skill, this task required great fortitude. The temptation would be great to seize power and invulnerability. Charms were cast and the goldsmiths worked two-by-two, no one ever alone with the gem when it was outside the box that shielded it. The most noble and upright guards kept constant watch.”
Granny snorted. “Must not have done too good a job, since you’re looking for it now.”
“It was treachery!” Thor shouted, shaking his fist and then pounding it on the table. The fact that he was sitting in a child’s booster seat made the gesture less intimidating than I was sure he intended. “The Elf Lord betrayed the gnomes, taking the great work without payment.”
“That would be like him,” Earl put in. “He’s beyond cheap.”
Ignoring him, Thor went on. “Our people could not stand for this. Gnomes tracked elven movements, watching for signs of the lost brooch. Seers searched the heavens.” He launched into an in-depth description of the search. It was as though he’d memorized this story and couldn’t deviate from it in any way, even if we didn’t care about these details.
Out of boredom, I picked up the newspaper that had been left on an adjacent table and skimmed the headlines of the Life and Style section. There was a review of a new television series beginning that night that sounded interesting, although I doubted I’d be home in time to watch it. I turned the page and saw the society coverage. The photo accompanying the column about a fundraiser being held that night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art stopped me cold. Every single muscle in my body tensed.
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no,” I muttered in sheer horror.
“Katie, what is it?” Owen asked.
“I think I’ve found our future Mrs. Martin. And we’re doomed.” They all turned to stare at me, and I had to gulp a few times before I could choke out the words, “It’s Mimi.”
Chapter Seven
The others stared at me, confused. Except for Thor, who scowled. “Now you’ve made me lose my place,” he grumbled. “Let’s see, where was I …” His voice returned to the formal, singsong rhythms of his storytelling. “The brooch landed on foreign shores, and new seekers joined the quest.”
“What’s a Mimi?” Earl interrupted.
“Hey, you can talk when it’s your turn,” Thor protested, then he groaned. “And now I’ve lost my place again.”
I turned the newspaper so they could see the column. “Mimi Perkins is my ex-boss, before I joined MSI. And she’s evil. I’ve met some truly bad people in my time, and none of them were scarier than Mimi.”
Thor opened his mouth to continue his story, but before he could begin speaking again, Rod asked, “What does this have to do with the brooch?”
“According to the newspaper, Mimi is putting on a gala tonight, and the article mentions that she’s engaged to billionaire Jonathan Martin. We’ve got our missing fiancée. Does nobody read the newspaper anymore? MSI research should have found this in five minutes.” Of all mornings, this had to be the one when I’d gone to work before at least skimming the headlines. I’d have seen Mimi’s photo and drawn devil horns on it, so I surely would have made this connection long before now.
“I thought she was engaged to someone named Werner,” Owen said.
“Yeah, a year ago,” I said. “She’s obviously upgraded to someone older and richer.”
“This looks promising,” Rod agreed. “But what makes you so sure she’s the one who has the brooch?”
“Because … because …” I trailed off. I knew what I feared, but was that the same thing as having good reason to suspect? “Because
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