Miss Frost Chills the Cheater

by Kristen Painter

  “I am.” He wiggled his brows. “Right after I have a bite of your pie, Princess.”

  I slept hard and woke up with Spider sitting on me. I knew what he wanted. I reached up and ran my fingers through his soft fur. “Morning, Spider boy.”

  He pushed his head into my hand for more scratches, but didn’t break eye contact. “Mama sleeps too long. Spider hungry.”

  I looked at the clock. “It’s seven fifteen. That’s not sleeping too long. Noon. Noon is too long. This is an indecent hour.”

  “Spider hungry.”

  “So noted.” I flipped the covers back anyway, making him move in the process.

  “Mama cranky.”

  I snorted as I sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m not cranky. Just not awake. And not happy about not figuring things out faster, but hopefully we’ll get some answers today.” Assuming Dora didn’t clam up and play dumb.

  He came to sit next to me. “What’s things?”

  “Just some stuff Mr. Sinclair and I are working on. Nothing you have to worry about.” I picked him up and cradled him like a baby, nuzzling my nose into his furry cheek.

  He pressed his nose to my cheek in response. It was wet and a little cold. “Spider loves Mama.”

  “I love you too, baby cat.”

  He purred in my ear. “Mama feed Spider?”

  Such a manipulator.

  “It’s my every desire.” I carried him out to the kitchen and put him down on the floor so I could get him a can of Chicken Party. “You want to hang out with Sugar today?”

  He sat upright, tucking his tail around his feet. “Spider likes Sugar.”

  “I know you do. Do you like that Sugar can talk now?”

  He stared at me like I was suffering from a mental malfunction. “Sugar always talks.”

  I considered that. “I guess you didn’t need her to speak English to understand her, did you?”

  I put his food down, grabbed a Dr Pepper out of the fridge and headed for a hot shower. I would have rather gone back to bed, but there was too much to do today. And truth be told, I was really curious about what Dora had to say.

  This note from beyond the grave was strange stuff.

  I got myself ready in about half an hour, did my hair, makeup, and got dressed (black leggings, big sweater, tall boots) and went across the hall to Sinclair’s.

  He answered the door in jeans, a black sweater with a navy stripe across the chest, and bare feet. He was towel-drying his damp hair, and the spicy-woodsy cologne he had on made me a little warm inside.

  Yum. But I digress. “Morning. You want to grab some breakfast in the dining room then head over to see Mamie?”

  “Morning, beautiful. Sounds like a plan. I’ll be ready in ten.”

  “How about if I bring Spider over while you finish getting ready?”

  “Good. Sugar will like that.”

  “Okay, back in a few with the boy.”

  We got Spider and Sugar set up for the day, then went to breakfast. My father, who was an early riser, had already eaten, but my mom was still in the dining room.

  Sin greeted her as we walked in. “Good morning, Klara.”

  She smiled at us. “Well, hello there.” She patted the folded paper next to her plate. “I read your interview this morning. Very nice. I think it will help a lot. Although, I have to confess, I feel like I’ve barely seen you two since you’ve been here.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.” I kissed her cheek, then took the seat across from her. I was happy to hear the interview had turned out so well, but that wasn’t going to help us figure out who was behind this tourney fiasco. A footman filled my cup with coffee. “We’ve been so caught up in this tourney business.”

  Concern darkened her eyes. “How’s that going?”

  Sin sat next to me, the footman pouring for him as well. “We’re going to talk to—”

  “Um, Sin?” I interrupted.

  “Yes?”

  “Can you hand me the cream?” I shifted my eyes at the footman, hoping Sin got my drift. I wasn’t sure how to tell him I didn’t think we should discuss the particulars when we weren’t alone. I didn’t know the two footmen who were waiting on us this morning, and at this point, I didn’t want word spreading that we had a potential suspect.

  Dora might get wind and disappear. I didn’t think it was likely, but then, I’d never seen two nearly identical toys show up in the tourney either.

  “Sure.” He passed me the little pitcher. “As I was saying, we’re going to talk to—”

  My mother understood. She clucked her tongue. “Timpson, get a fresh pot of coffee made, will you?”

  The footman bowed. “Yes, Lady Frost.” He disappeared.

  She glanced at the second footman standing by the serving board. “Springle, I’d like some elderberry jam for my toast.”

  “Yes, Lady Frost.” With a bow, he too, disappeared.

  My mother leaned forward. “Now go on, Sinclair.”

  I knew from his slight smile and a shake of his head that he understood what she’d done. “Sorry I didn’t pick up on that sooner.”

  “It’s fine,” my mother said. “And you’ll get it.”

  “I hope so.” He continued. “We’re talking to Dora Frigit this morning. There’s been a development.”

  “She’s the other tinker in the competition, isn’t she?”

  “Yes,” he answered.

  “And you think she’s up to something?”

  I shrugged. “There’s some hinky stuff going on, I can tell you that much.”

  Timpson returned with the coffee. He poured fresh cups for all of us and then stood by to take our order.

  “French toast, bacon and a side of fruit,” I requested.

  Sin glanced at me. “Is there a menu?”

  “Just ask for whatever you want. The cooks can make anything.”

  My mother smiled. “They’re very good, Sinclair. I assure you. Absolute wizards in the kitchen.”

  “I believe you,” he said. He glanced at her empty plate. “What did you have, Klara?”

  “A garden omelet. With a side of toast that I’ll be eating shortly.” Just then, Springle returned with her elderberry jam. She picked up her knife. “I do love my jam.”

  He looked up at Timpson. “Blueberry pancakes with bacon, then. And a glass of orange juice.”

  “Very good, sir.” Timpson went off to the kitchen.

  Sin laughed softly. “I could get used to this.”

  My mom stayed while we ate. She had more toast and jam and another cup of coffee, but mostly entertained Sinclair with stories about me as a child. It was a little embarrassing, but let’s be honest, I haven’t changed all that much.

  She and Sin had a great time, and even I laughed a little. No wonder my parents never had a second child.

  After breakfast, Sin and I went straight to the factory. It was a little early, but Mamie came in a half hour before my uncle to get everything ready for him.

  She was in his office, putting paperwork on his desk when we walked in. “Hi, Mamie.”

  “Good morning, Princess, Mr. Crowe. How did it go at the paper last night?”

  Sinclair reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the letter we’d found. “Not as well as we’d hoped, but we had an interesting evening anyway.”

  “Oh? Did the constable find something?”

  I shook my head. “We haven’t heard anything new from her in a while. I guess there’s been nothing to report.”

  “Then what made the evening interesting?” She laughed softly. “Or shouldn’t I ask?”

  “We did a little investigating on our own.” I looked at Sin.

  He put the folded letter on her desk. “What can you tell us about this paper?”

  She put her hand on it, then looked at us. “Would you prefer I not read it?”

  “No,” I said. “You can read it. It’s a note we found in a memo box in Dora’s workshop. It’s from Earl.”

  Mamie nodded, picked up
the paper and unfolded it. A few moments later, her eyes widened. “You didn’t say it was from Earl recently.”

  “Hmm. I guess I didn’t. Sorry about that. But we really don’t know when he sent it, just that he was already…you know.”

  “Yes.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Strange.”

  “Agreed.”

  Just like she had with the previous note, she held the paper up to her desk lamp. I realized we could have checked for a watermark. I chalked it up to the late hour and the amount of time we’d already spent in the research room.

  Her brows furrowed as she stared at it. “That’s odd.”

  “What?” Sin asked.

  “This paper…you got this out of a memo box in Dora’s work space?”

  “Yes. The box was in her cabinet, unlocked.”

  Mamie frowned. “I don’t understand this.”

  I wasn’t sure what to think. “Understand what?”

  She hesitated. “There has to be an explanation.” Her gaze seemed almost apologetic. She moved the paper so Sin and I could see it better and pointed to a small watermark near the corner. “You see that?”

  I nodded. “Another watermark. Which we should have noticed, but were too tired to even think about. Looks like…” I peered closer.

  “Half of a snowflake,” Sin said. “Whose mark is that?”

  Mamie’s jaw tightened for a moment. “He can’t be involved in this. He can’t be. There has to be an explanation. He wouldn’t—”

  I interrupted. “Mamie, whose watermark is it?”

  She exhaled a ragged breath. “Ezreal’s.”

  A moment of light-headedness swept through me. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded.

  Sin cupped my elbow. I leaned into him. “That can’t be. Maybe…maybe Earl just had a piece of his stationery. Maybe Earl had Ezreal send the note for him. Maybe…” I needed to sit down. “There’s an explanation. I know there is.”

  “Of course there is,” Sin said. “And we’re going to talk to Ezreal and ask him. Right now. Come on, let’s go back to the palace.”

  “But Dora—”

  Mamie made a dismissive noise. “Dora isn’t going anywhere. Talk to Ezreal. You’ll feel better.”

  Or worse, I supposed. But he couldn’t be a part of this. He couldn’t be. He was one of the good ones. One of the great ones. My father trusted him. I trusted him. We all did. I nodded weakly. “Okay. Let’s do that.”

  Sin took the note back from Mamie and returned it to his pocket. “Thank you for your help.”

  She sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t have something different to tell you.”

  “The truth is always best.” He took my hand in his.

  Somehow, we got from Mamie’s desk to the crawler, but I didn’t remember riding down in the elevator or walking outside. I was numb and heartbroken and sick to my stomach.

  Sin got the machine moving back toward the palace grounds. “Ezreal’s not involved in this.”

  I stared blankly ahead. “What makes you so sure?”

  “Just my judge of his character. This isn’t something he would do. Is it? You know him. Would he ever be involved in something shady? Something that would create chaos for you and your family?”

  “No.”

  “Is his stationery readily available? Could someone have swiped a piece to make him look bad?”

  “I don’t know if it’s that accessible. But he could have enemies. We already know there were those unhappy with his appointment.”

  “Then it’s very possible he had nothing to do with this.”

  “You’re absolutely right.” I was angry that I’d reacted so badly, but then, this whole thing was such a mess, who wouldn’t have reacted that way? “Ezreal is a good man. He’s not behind this. Why would he be? If a Frost isn’t on the throne, he could very well be out of a job. But he might be able to help us figure out who is behind this.”

  “I’m sure he’ll do everything in his power.”

  I turned to watch as we passed through the palace gates. I hoped so. Because too many good people were getting caught up in this. And that made me wonder if someone wasn’t trying to throw all of the NP in chaos.

  We’d never been through this kind of turmoil before. Not that I could recall, and much of my education had been focused on our history.

  Was someone trying to bring down my father’s monarchy? Or was someone trying to make sure no Frost ever took the throne again?

  Regardless of the goal of all this, things were going to come to a head in a big way very soon. I could feel it in my bones.

  I strode through the entrance of my father’s office and into Ezreal’s space with as much confidence and optimism as I could.

  “Good morning, Princess.” Ezreal got to his feet. “How are you?”

  I smiled and meant it. “I’ve been better. I need your help.”

  Trouble clouded his eyes. “Of course, what’s wrong? What can I do? Just name it.”

  Sin took the letter out again, but this time he handed it to me. “We found this letter in Dora Frigit’s workshop.”

  I gave it to Ezreal.

  He unfolded it and read it, then looked at me again. “How odd. A letter from her dead husband. I’m not sure what you want me to do with this. But I’m happy to do it.”

  My chest constricted. “Look again. At the watermark.”

  He held the letter up to the light. A soft, almost unintelligible curse slipped from his lips. He cleared his throat. “My apologies for the coarse language, Princess. I didn’t expect to see my own watermark there. I suppose you think I wrote this?”

  “No, Ezreal. I don’t. I know you better than that. But we would like any help you can give us in figuring out who might have written it. Or at least who could have gotten ahold of this paper.”

  He nodded and swallowed. “Thank you for not thinking I did it.” His voice was husky with emotion. “But I’m sorry to say I don’t have a clue who would have.”

  I was afraid of that. “They used your paper and that makes me think they meant to involve you. That it was no accident.”

  “Do you have any enemies?” Sin asked.

  Ezreal choked out a laugh. “I have a few. Mostly a couple old opponents who didn’t take losing well.” He shook his head. “But they wouldn’t have access to my personal stationery.”

  “Who would?” I asked.

  “Most people who work in the palace, really.” Ezreal glanced at the door. “Anyone can come in here. You know your father’s policy. Anyone who wants to see him, can.”

  I nodded. “But that doesn’t mean they could walk out with some of your stationery.”

  Ezreal made an unhappy face. “I suppose they could if they were sly about it. I get up from my desk a lot in the course of a day. I leave the office a lot too. There are plenty of opportunities.”

  He was right. Which sucked. “That’s not helping us narrow this down.”

  Sin leaned against a bank of filing cabinets. “We need to consider those who work in the plant that makes the paper too.” He glanced at me. “I’m assuming all the kingdom’s paper is produced in the same place, which means they’d have access to the tinkers’ paper. And maybe access to the Post, if there was a delivery situation.”

  “Could be,” I said. “We’ll have the constable look into that. But this feels more personal to me.”

  Ezreal nodded. “Whoever it is, they’re making this about the royal family.” His gaze shifted to Sin. “About those close to them.”

  “I agree,” Sin said. “I was just trying to offer another possibility, but even as I spoke the words, I was thinking the same thing. This is personal. Someone has an ax to grind. An end goal.”

  I sighed. “So, Ezreal, who has the easiest access to your personal stationery? I’m talking about those who could walk in and help themselves when you aren’t here.”

  He shook his head slowly. “You’re talking afterhours, then. There aren’t as many who have that kind of access t
o this office. That would be housekeeping and a small handful of others. But do you really think it’s someone in the palace? That’s…shocking.”

  “I think it’s more likely that someone in the palace inadvertently supplied the paper to someone else, not knowing what it was going to be used for. Maybe someone took some home as a lark, and a friend found it. Do you take the paper home, Ezreal?”

  “Sometimes. But it usually already has something written on it.”

  “Could someone have taken used paper and bleached it to reuse it? I know that happens in counterfeiting money sometimes.” Sin shrugged. “Anything is possible.”

  I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. It’s just opening up more questions.”

  “Princess,” Ezreal said softly. “I will make a list for you of everyone who has the ability to get into this office unaccompanied. Everyone. And I will have that list to you by the end of the day.”

  “Thank you. I know you already have plenty to do.”

  “This is important. I would be happy to talk to the constable as well and let her know to process all the employees at the paper plant.”

  “That would be great.” I would take the help, especially if it meant including Ezreal in the loop. “If she has anything new to tell us, make sure she speaks to my father as well.”

  “I will. Would you like to see your father while you’re here?”

  “Not yet. I’d rather have more information to share with him, so we’ll be back later today. Sin and I have one more person to talk to. Thank you, Ezreal.”

  “It’s my honor to serve, Princess.”

  I smiled. He was a good man. He was not involved in this. I’d stake my crown on it. “Keep this matter between us for now, will you?”

  “As you wish.”

  Sin and I left. He took my hand. “You okay?”

  “I am. Better for having talked to Ez. Now let’s go see what Dora has to say.”

  Back at the factory, Mamie confirmed that Dora was in the building and most likely in her workshop.

  I had Mamie summon her to my uncle’s office. And although his office was enormous, I’d decided to use the small, more private conference room he kept. He never used it anyway, and meeting in Santa’s office would be too much of a distraction for Dora, I imagined.