Shifters and Sabotage

by Lily Webb

  “Good point,” Sam said. “But do you really think anyone at the office would’ve sent something like this?”

  “Hard to say. Is Rose there now?”

  “Probably, but I’m not sure. Why?”

  “At this point, she’s all we have left. She might know something more than she’s letting on or that we didn’t see on the recording, and I’ve heard from some other people in the office that she has a, well, complicated relationship with Beau. I think I’m going to talk to her again to see if I can shake anything loose from her memory.”

  “It can’t hurt to try,” Heath said. “What should we do in the meantime?”

  “Can one of you go to the postmaster and see if there’s any leads there? They probably won’t be able to tell us where these letters have been coming from, but they might have something.”

  “Good idea. I’ll go now,” Sam said and headed for the door without waiting for approval. When he was gone, I turned back to Heath.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “I got a letter from my grandma today,” I said.

  Heath’s face lit up. “Oh, that’s fantastic news. Is she well?”

  “Her sarcasm is in great shape, so I’d say yes.”

  Heath chuckled. “Great, I’m glad to hear it. How funny that she would write after we talked about her recently.”

  “Yeah, about that… You wouldn’t happen to have passed a message to her through the grapevine somehow, would you?”

  Heath winked at me. “Me? Never.”

  “Thanks, Heath,” I said and left it at that. “How’s the planning for the banquet going?”

  “It’s funny you should ask. I’m meeting with some of the committees in a few minutes, but all in all the organization is going as well as it can with all these strong personalities in the mix. I’ve got it mostly under control, but we can talk more about it later. I need to get to the meeting.”

  “Okay. I guess we’ll get going too.”

  “Catch me up when you get back.”

  “Will do,” I said, and Beau trotted out after me into the morning sun toward the Channel 666 tower. I didn’t know what, if anything, I hoped to get out of Rose but she was the only lead I had left to chase.

  Inside, the receptionist tried to stop us, but when she realized who I was and that I was with Beau, her face reddened and she apologized profusely before using her keycard to send us up to the fortieth floor. Luckily for me, Rose was at her desk outside Beau’s office. She jolted out of her chair at the sight of the two of us like we’d shocked her, bumping her desk in the process, and the single photo frame on its surface tumbled over, glass side down. Rose grimaced at the cracking noise, and though I was sure it was the signed photo of Beau that Olivia had told me about, I was glad not to have to see it.

  Rose drifted around the desk. “Oh, Mr. Duncan, Miss Clarke, I wasn’t expecting you today!”

  “I see you’re holding down the fort,” I said and blush erupted across Rose’s face, splotchy and bright.

  “Yeah. Katelyn re-assigned me to work with Olivia, but no one down on the twentieth floor seems to have any work for me. It’s like they think I’m bad luck or something and they’ll be next if they get close to me, so they either ignore me or send me away for coffee.”

  I wasn’t sure if it was that or if it was because Rose generally made people uncomfortable, but I knew better than to ask. “Well, then I guess you can spare a few minutes to talk, right?”

  Rose’s eyes darted back and forth between Beau and me and she wiped her palms on her pants. “A-Am I in trouble?”

  “No, no, it’s nothing like that. I just wanted to talk to you about your time working in the office. Is that okay?”

  “Sure, yeah, of course. Oh, I made your office spotless, Mr. Duncan, so we can talk there if you want. There’s more room.”

  “That would be great. Thanks, Rose.”

  “Just doing my job,” she said and glided over to Beau’s office door to open it. “After you.” We entered and she closed the door behind us but remained facing it longer than necessary like she was bracing herself.

  “Rose? Is everything okay?”

  She turned and steeled her face. “Yeah, it’s fine, it’s just weird to be in here again with Mr. Duncan.” Beau didn’t seem to agree; he’d already jumped up into his chair and sat with his front paws resting on his desk like he was ready to get back to work. For someone like him who never sat still, I could only imagine how crazy it must make him not to be able to — especially when this week was supposed to be his big farewell to Moon Grove Tonight.

  “Well, this shouldn’t take long,” I said as I crossed the room and sat down in one of two chairs on the other side of Beau’s desk. I patted the other to tell Rose to sit. She stared at it for a second like she’d rather do anything else, but eventually sat down. She tapped her left hand against her leg and couldn’t seem to stop fidgeting. “Are you nervous?”

  “What? No. Well, okay, kind of. It’s just that I admire you both so much and I love working here so I really hope I’m not in trouble.”

  “You haven’t done anything wrong, so why would you be in trouble?”

  “People say that all the time, but this wouldn’t be the first job I’ve gotten fired from for being a clumsy idiot,” Rose said as she stared at the floor. I’d never met a fairy as insecure as she was.

  “You aren’t losing your job today, I promise, so you can relax. We’re just talking.”

  “Right, okay. Yeah, I can do that.” She raised her gaze to mine and tried to maintain eye contact but it didn’t last long. “W-what do you want to know?”

  “For starters, and forgive me for asking but it’s relevant, how old are you?”

  “I’m one hundred and ten.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m not very familiar with fairy aging. Is that young?”

  Rose nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, I’m practically still a baby.”

  I wouldn’t have used that term for someone more than a hundred years old, but sure. “Hence the braces?”

  “What? Oh, yeah,” she said and covered her mouth with a hand.

  “How long have you lived in Moon Grove?”

  “My whole life. I was born right here in Willowvale Hospital, though it wasn’t called that back in those days.”

  “I see. How long have you been working here at Channel 666?”

  “I started about two months ago. I can’t remember exactly when.”

  “And did you start working for Beau right away?”

  “No. At first, I worked in the mailroom as a sorter,” she said and my ears perked up. Maybe she knew something about the mailroom or the staff that could help.

  “How long did that last?”

  “About a month, but I made too many mistakes sorting mail for the wrong people,” she said, and my hope of her having usable info about the mailroom deflated. “They were going to fire me, but Mr. Duncan heard about it and thought the whole thing was kind of funny, so he took pity on me and made me his intern. I bet he regrets it now,” Rose groaned, avoiding Beau’s watery gaze. Beau whimpered at her.

  “I think that means he doesn’t agree. So I take it you’re pretty fond of Beau?”

  “Oh, yeah, but not like in a weird way or anything,” she blurted. “It’s just that I wouldn’t have a job without him, so I’m super grateful.”

  “That’s totally understandable. Oh, that reminds me, I wanted to ask you about a silly little office rumor I heard.”

  Rose’s eyes shot to mine and she chewed her lip so hard and fast I worried she might saw it right off with her teeth. “What rumor?”

  “I’m sure it’s nonsense, but someone told me you asked Beau out on a date.”

  Rose’s face turned so pale that it looked like she might pass out. “I-I, well, I did, but, well, you know, it wasn’t a date, it was just dinner. It was stupid and unprofessional of me, and I shouldn’t have done it, but I don’t know what came over me, I was just so grateful and I wanted to
thank him, you know? It was innocent. Totally innocent. I had no idea you two were dating at the time. I mean, obviously I never would’ve asked if I’d known and—“

  “It’s okay, Rose,” I interrupted her rambling to save her from herself. “Really, I’m not bothered.”

  “O-oh, okay. That’s, uh, that’s good. Because I don’t have any inappropriate feelings or anything like that, I swear. I’m a professional.” She went back to staring at her feet. “I bet it was Olivia who blabbed…”

  “Good to know. Look, I’m sorry to even go down that route, but I had to ask because we pulled the security footage from this floor and it showed you were one of the last people to see Beau before he got stuck this way.”

  Rose’s head snapped up and an indignant look flashed across her face. “I didn’t do it! I swear I didn’t. I don’t know where I’d be or what I’d be doing if it weren’t for Mr. Duncan’s kindness. What kind of repayment would it be if I’d done this to him? Besides, if you have the footage then you had to have seen that I was just out here minding my business and keeping anyone from distracting Mr. Duncan like he asked me to do.”

  “Whoa, relax, it’s okay. I’m not accusing you. I’m just wondering, since you spend more time with or around him than anyone else in the office, have you seen or heard anything unusual that you might want to share? Anything at all. We’re at a dead end.”

  Embarrassment at her passionate denial bloomed on her face. She stared at the wall while she searched her memories. “Oh, you know what? Now that you mention it, I did hear something weird the other day, but I didn’t think anything of it until now.”

  “You did? What was it?”

  She hesitated and went back to chewing her lip, but I didn’t push her. Eventually, she caved. “Well, I was waiting for the elevator, and when it came down and the doors opened, Katelyn and Holly were inside but they didn’t see me.”

  “Katelyn, as in Beau’s producer?”

  “Yeah, and Holly, his camerawoman.”

  “Oh, right, okay, I’ve met her before. Anyway, what was weird about them being together?”

  “Well, it’s not that they were together, it’s what they were saying. Katelyn was complaining to Holly about Mr. Duncan leaving Moon Grove Tonight to take over the company. She said she was worried she might not have a job if the promotion went through.”

  “That doesn’t sound all that weird to me. Beau is a big part of the show, so it might get canceled if he leaves.”

  “I know, but when she caught me listening, she seemed really rattled. What if she sent Mr. Duncan the candy to get back at him for leaving her high and dry?”

  It seemed like a stretch to me — trapping Beau in his dog form wouldn’t do anything to keep him on Moon Grove Tonight, and would probably have made Katelyn’s life worse — but it wasn’t like I could ask Beau if he thought his producer would do something like that.

  “They’ve been fighting too,” Rose added. “Since the promotion talks started. Sorry if I wasn’t supposed to share that, Mr. Duncan.” Beau whined and looked away, which I could only take to mean Rose was telling the truth about his relationship with his producer.

  “Do you know what they were fighting about?”

  “Oh, everything. She’s been even harder on him than usual since she heard about him moving up. His scripts aren’t good enough, his tone is off, you name it.”

  Maybe Katelyn had good reason to curse Beau, after all. “That’s good to know. Is she here today? I’d like to talk to her too.”

  “Yeah, I think she’s in the studio with Olivia preparing for tonight’s show. Olivia’s having a hard time filling in Mr. Duncan’s shoes. I could take you down there, if you wanted.”

  “That’s okay, I’m sure we can find it ourselves, but thanks for offering and for talking with me. I appreciate it,” I said and stood from the chair to offer her my hand. She rose and shook it lightly, as if she thought she might break me.

  “Of course. If there’s anything else you want to know, you know where to find me. The studio’s on the second floor.”

  Beau jumped down from his desk and came around to lick Rose’s hand affectionately.

  “Is it okay if I, uh, if I pet him?” she asked.

  “Sure.”

  She reached down tenatively and gave him a soft pat on the head then pulled her hand away like she was afraid his condition was contagious. “I hope you’re back to normal soon, Mr. Duncan.” He barked to agree.

  “See you around, Rose. Thanks again,” I said and led Beau back to the elevator. While we waited, Rose returned to her desk and I watched her lift up the framed photo and frown at the broken shards of glass that fell from it. Whether or not she deserved it, I felt sorry for her. With so little confidence, her life couldn’t be easy, and I couldn’t blame her for half a second for developing a crush on Beau — it was easy to do.

  The elevator dinged its arrival as its doors slid open. We stepped inside and I pressed the button for the second floor, completely unsure of the office drama I was about to walk into.

  Chapter Eight

  I’d never seen anything like the studio on the second floor of Channel 666. In my non-magical career as a reporter, I’d spent time on various television sets, but Channel 666’s put them all to shame. I didn’t have a clue where they got the funds to build such a facility, but it was breathtaking.

  More cameras than I could count stood on magic-powered swivels, each aimed at the large crescent-shaped desk I recognized from the nightly broadcast of Moon Grove Tonight. I’d watched Beau report from behind that crescent for months, but in person it was far more impressive.

  To the left of Beau’s desk, on an adjacent but smaller set, oversized words hanging from behind a desk big enough for one person screamed: “The Jump with Olivia Starr.” Embarrassment struck as I realized I’d never once watched her show.

  “No, no! This is all wrong. If you don’t fix this before she gets here, Olivia will throw a fit,” a voice echoed from somewhere backstage. I stood rooted to the spot until Katelyn burst through the door in a stream of long brown hair. She didn’t notice me at first, but when she glanced up and saw me standing there, her face illuminated.

  “Deal with this, don’t make me tell you again,” she ordered a staff member, threw her cape-like hair out of her face with one hand, and stomped toward me. “Zoe! What a nice surprise. Please tell me this means Beau is back to normal.”

  I opened my mouth to tell her no but never got the chance because Beau trotted out from behind me.

  Katelyn groaned. “I guess that’s a no. Do you at least have some idea of what’s going on or how to fix it? I’m going crazy trying to wrangle both these shows. Well, more accurately, Olivia is driving me crazy.”

  “I wish, but I don’t. We’ve pulled security footage and we’ve talked to everyone we can think of who might know something, but we’ve come up empty.”

  “Well, this can’t go on forever, right? I mean, won’t whatever this is wear off, eventually?”

  “I hope so. I didn’t go into this relationship expecting to date a dog. No offense,” I said to Beau, but he seemed to have lost all interest in the conversation. He wandered over to the crescent desk and jumped up into his old chair with a whimper. “I think he misses it as much as we do.”

  Katelyn ran a hand through her hair. “This is unbelievable. I mean, you’re the Head Witch. There’s got to be something you and your people can do to fix this, right? Like a spell or potion or something?”

  “Trust me, we’re trying. You’ll be one of the first to know when we find out something.”

  “You don’t even know what caused it?”

  “Not definitively. We just have some hunches.”

  Katelyn sighed and squeezed her forehead between her thumb and index finger. “This is so stressful. We were already running on a skeleton crew for this deadline, but now this? It’ll be a miracle if we get through everything at this rate.”

  “Olivia’s helping though, is
n’t she?”

  Katelyn side-eyed me. “Right, ‘helping,’ is that what you’d call it? She’s a train wreck and trying to get her into shape is making me one too.”

  “Maybe you’re pushing her too hard,” I said, testing her for a reaction.

  She scoffed. “Maybe, but the girl needs someone to put her in her place, frankly. She struts around here like she runs the whole network, but I don’t think she knew what she was getting into when she agreed to substitute for Beau. At this point, I doubt anyone could replace him,” she said as she looked over her shoulder at Beau where he sat in his chair with his head resting on the desk. It was pitiful.

  “Actually, that’s why I’m here. Do you have a few minutes to talk, or are you busy?”

  “If it’s about Beau, I have all the time in the world. Come on, I’ll give you a tour while we chat,” Katelyn said and without waiting for me to agree, she stormed off toward the door she’d come from. “You used to be a reporter, right?”

  “Yeah, at the Messenger, and at another paper outside Moon Grove before that.”

  “I don’t know how you guys do it. I’d go crazy sitting behind a computer all day long.”

  “Well, there’s a lot more to it than that, but yeah, there’s a lot of typing.”

  “Doesn’t it get boring after a while? I mean, when you boil it all down, aren’t there only a handful of stories to tell?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Couldn’t we say the same thing for all media?”

  Katelyn shrugged. “Fair enough,” she said and whirled around a corner backstage. A hive of people rushed around, each connected to the others via a magical radio system. If Katelyn spoke, the whole crew would hear her in a tiny microphone hanging from their ears — whether or not they wanted to.

  “Anyway, it’s pretty run-of-the-mill back here. You know, dressing rooms, makeup, the whole nine yards.” She ducked into one of the dressing rooms and flopped down on an expensive-looking leather couch in a huff. She pointed to a chair in front of a large mirror. “Have a seat, no one will bother us back here.”