Chapter 28 Fat Man and Little Boy

By the time Scarlett returned to the inn, the joint was jumping. Oak Haven's prominent witches had gathered in the dining room to plot their next move. In the ballroom, the Gilbert and Sullivan Society rehearsed Pirates of Penzance , the performance that was to be the culmination of their gathering. In the lobby—dead in the middle between the scheming and the singing—Delilah manned her post at the reservation desk.

She looked up from her paperwork when Scarlett walked in. "There you are. Big meeting in the dining room—you should probably get in there."

"If it's a big meeting," Scarlett said with a frown, "why aren't you in there?"

"I never am." Her big sister gestured at the reservation desk. "Someone has to do this ."

A voice boomed from the ballroom. "I am the very model of a modern major-vegetable . . ."

The piano stopped and the anguished director called out, "Try again, please!"

Scarlett moved toward the dining room—she felt poorly about Del being left out, but she knew it was urgent to inform them about Violet.

But when she reached the doorway, the sight of the witches stopped Scarlett cold. A lot of prominent women were there: Mama, Luna, and Aphra among them, plus Jerusha and Candace, two members of the Oak Haven Elder Council. Also there was Belinda . . . and her daughter Priti . . . and also Polly.

Polly. Oh no. Polly is here.

The idea of bursting into a meeting and saying, "I know whodunit!" was much less appealing when her audience included the mom of the one whodunit.

"Shit," Scarlett said quietly.

Maybe I need proof—more than just one incriminating conversation—before I go accusing somebody's kid.

Needing a moment to assess her options, Scarlett drifted back to the reservation desk. From the rehearsal room came the baritone voice again: "About binomial theorem I am teeming with . . . a . . . pot of beans?"

"Defenestrate yourself immediately!" howled the director.

Scarlett wiggled her eyebrows at her sister. "Tough rehearsal, huh?"

"They are driving me crazy ," Delilah moaned. "Performance is tomorrow—it can't be over soon enough for me. Mandy Patinkin's understudy is a catastrophe, as you can hear for yourself. Anyway, don't you think you ought to go—"

"Waaaait," Scarlett said, laughing. "Wait, hang on. There's a lot happening right now, but I'm going to need you to pause and explain what you just said."

"I was saying, you should really get into that meeting because—"

"No, Del. Not that. Mandy Patinkin?! You can't mean Mandy ‘Inigo Montoya ' Patinkin, surely."

"Well, duh, yeah. He was supposed to chair the Gilbert and Sullivan conference, but he's busy doing . . . I don't know what. Shooting Yentl Part 2 or whatever. I have no idea. So now we're stuck with that dummy instead."

From the next room, the singing started up again. "With many cheerful facts about the square of the . . . hippopotamus . . .?"

Del's sigh was like a lonely breeze through an abandoned playground. "Good God, he sucks."

"Darling sister of mine, are you telling me that Mandy Patinkin was supposed to be coming here? To Oak Haven?"

"Obviously! Mama made a big effort to get the booking. They were going to stay in Litchfield somewhere? But she called Mandy and she said, ‘Look—'"

"Halt." Scarlett raised her hand. "Mama knows Mandy Patinkin? That's what you're telling me. Kelly Melrose. Is friends. With Mandy Patinkin."

"I mean . . . friends . . . " Delilah said slowly. "I guess . . . more like, friends with—"

"Don't you say it! If you say benefits right now, I'm going to lose my fucking mind."

Before Delilah could confirm or deny this gossip, voices drifted down from the second-floor landing. Maximillian jauntily descended the stairs, flanked by two top-hatted magicians, one on each side—a tall, portly fellow on the right and a short, thin fellow on the left. The big magician talked endlessly; the little one said nothing at all.

Scarlett gasped. It's Max! Right in front of me. Here's my big chance to get to the truth. "Hey, Maximillian—" she began.

But Delilah grabbed her arm and shushed her.

"No, Del, you don't understand, I need to—"

"Shut up, don't say a word."

Scarlett glared at her sister, then realized that Del was looking as appalled as she was. Surely it couldn't be for the same reason? Had her sister already figured everything out? It wouldn't be the first time that Del got somewhere ahead of me. "We need to get the truth," she whispered urgently.

" Not now ," Del said between gritted teeth.

The magicians reached the bottom of the stairs. Deep in conversation, they swept right out of the inn without a glance at the reservation desk.

"Why'd you stop me?!" Scarlett demanded. "You know they're involved with the infestation somehow, right? I don't know how exactly, but Violet made it quite clear to me today that they did something . We need to question Max."

"Okay, calm down, Columbo. First of all, questioning him directly isn't going to get you anywhere—Max is too smart for that. But that's not why I stopped you."

"Then why—"

" Because ," Del said ominously, "those two magicians with Max just now? Fat Man and Little Boy? They never entered this inn."

Scarlett blinked a few times, hoping that would help her make sense of Del's statement. "We just saw them coming from upstairs. Obviously, they entered the inn at some point, because they just now exited. I think you've been behind that desk too long, Del."

"That's my point, actually. I've been at this desk all day . All day, Scar, with no breaks. And yet, I've never seen those two. I'm telling you, they entered the Stargazer some other way."

Scarlett glared at the staircase as if the answer was written on the steps. "But how could . . ." Slowly, she turned back to her sister. "You're saying . . ."

"I'm saying . . . something is going on in Max's room."

Scarlett gasped. "You know what? I just remembered. When Nate and I checked for portals, Max wouldn't let us inside. He was adamant we not see his room. But . . ." She leaned over the reservation desk—so far over, her forehead was nearly touching her sister's. "There's no one there now."

Delilah jingled her ring of room keys. "Let's do this."

***

Delilah inserted the key into the lock, expecting the satisfying click of the tumblers falling into place. Instead, the key refused to turn. She tried again, jiggling the key with growing frustration, but it was useless.

"He must've changed it."

"That's some balls on him," Scarlett marveled. "Changing the locks on your rented room!"

Delilah bit her lip, her mind obviously racing. "I could try a spell to open the lock, but . . . we both know that's not the best idea."

"Hold that thought." Scarlett disappeared down the hallway, leaving Delilah to stare at the unyielding door.

Delilah jigged the lock again, just out of spite. "I wonder if Luna could do it . . ."

Scarlett reappeared, a triumphant grin on her face and a fire axe clutched in her hands. "I choose violence."

"Scarlett, no! You'll destroy the door! And Max will know we were in there."

"So? He changed the lock on a hotel room , Del! That's plenty of justification. Wait till Mama hears—she'll kick him out so fast he won't have time to pack."

"Scarlett, wait—"

But her sister was already in motion. Gripping the axe tightly, she raised it over her head and brought the blade down on the door. The sharp metal bit into the wood with a satisfying crack. Splinters flew as Scarlett wrenched the axe free, the door shuddering under the force of her blow.

"Scarlett!" Delilah glanced nervously down the hallway. "Someone's going to hear."

Scarlett merely shrugged, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Then we'd better hurry." She swung the axe again. The lock gave way and the door swung open.

Max had completely redecorated. Gone were the antique furnishings and watercolors of autumnal scenes. Gadgets and props of every description littered the space—disappearing cabinets in multiple designs, a guillotine prop, a box of wands. A collection of top hats in mildly varying designs was laid across the windowsill. Perhaps the most surprising items in the room were all the books. Some magic books, but most were unrelated. Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. The Guinness Book of Records. The Encyclopaedia Britannica in thirty-two volumes.

"Huh." Scarlett poked at the books with mild interest. "Max must slay at those coffee shop trivia nights."

"Everybody needs a hobby, I guess . . ." Delilah moved further into the room. "If I were a portal, where would I be?"

"Bathroom." Scarlett was already moving toward the door.

The sisters entered cautiously, half-expecting to find a shimmering vortex waiting to swallow them whole. But to their disappointment, it was just an ordinary bathroom, complete with fluffy towels and complimentary toiletries.

Scarlett, never one to let an opportunity pass her by, couldn't resist peeking into the medicine cabinet. She let out a snort of laughter as she pulled a bottle off the shelf. "‘Enchanted Essence Aftershave,'" she read aloud. "Bleagh, I'll pass on Max's enchanted essence , thanks."

Delilah shook her head, fighting back a smile. "Focus, Scar. The portal's not here."

Scarlett closed the cabinet. "Only one other place it could be." She turned to face her sister, her eyes glinting with excitement. "The wardrobe."

They returned to the bedroom and approached the wardrobe slowly, their hearts pounding in their chests. Delilah reached out, her fingers hovering over the handle. She glanced at Scarlett, who nodded. With a deep breath, Delilah grasped the handle and pulled.

The interior of the wardrobe shimmered and rippled, the back wall replaced by a swirling vortex of energy.

"You wanted to know where all those magicians are coming from?" Del asked. "Here's your answer."

"Well, well, well." Scarlett smirked, a hint of mischief in her voice. "Where do you think this goes? Maybe Narnia? Shall we have a look?"

"Wait!" Delilah reached for her sister's arm. "We have no idea what's on the other side of that thing. Could be dangerous."

But Scarlett was already stepping forward, her hand outstretched. "Come on, Del! Where's your sense of adventure?"

Her sister hesitated, torn between caution and curiosity. "What if the portal disappears on us? How will we get back?" She watched as Scarlett's fingers brushed the shimmering surface of the portal, sending ripples cascading.

"We'll find another, Del, good grief! We've got to seize the day, be brave, all that jazz."

Delilah's gaze snapped to the window, and her eyes widened in shock. "Scarlett . . ."

"You need to do a little living, Del. You can't spend your whole life behind that desk!"

"Scarlett, look . . ."

"And more importantly, this could be our chance to finally get some answers."

" Scarlett, dammit . Look at the window!"

Hanging from the curtain rod was a cage filled with glowing red dragonflies.