Chapter 16

Juniper couldn’t keep her gaze from drifting toward Magnus’s workspace as they sat at dinner that night. She caught him watching her and knew that he tried to prevent a smile of satisfaction from curving his mouth but failed when Kestrel called him on it.

“Magnus, why do you look like you created a new computer language? I figured you’d locked down the basement to make sure you weren’t disturbed.”

“I did complete some computer training, but not a language,” Magnus answered without revealing anything.

“Did you find Juniper, or was her hiding spot too good?” Celeste asked innocently.

Immediately, Juniper felt her face flame with heat and knew she was blushing. She looked down at the fish and chips on her plate and wished the ground would open up and swallow her.

“Juni is an expert at hide and seek,” Magnus assured Celeste before picking up the talking spoon to address everyone.

Juniper blew out a sigh of relief as he changed the subject.

“Caesar found one of the tunnels Juni remembered playing in. It was flooded at high tide but should be accessible when the water ebbs out. I’d like to propose that we close off the conference room for construction,” he said, stressing that last syllable.

“Why not just go through the caves?” Caesar asked.

“The money won’t be there. No one would risk placing it there with a risk of flooding,” Magnus stated. “Besides, I would bet, in a high-stress situation, someone would go to the entrance that jumped out in their memory. The closest one. The first one he learned about. I think we need to get into the access point Juni remembers most.”

When everyone turned to look at her, Juni jumped in. “We always went through the library—now your conference room. It was the place we played.”

“Did your father know about the tunnels?” Kestrel asked.

“Oh, yes. I told him all about them one day, but I think he already knew,” Juniper confessed.

“Oooh! I bet he put it there,” Sadie predicted.

“If he put it anywhere. Maybe Dad wasn’t involved.” Juniper felt compelled to stand up for her father.

“We don’t know his thoughts or intent. Maybe he stashed it there to keep it from the bad guys, and he planned to return it,” Zara said.

“You would think he’d anonymously report it to the police from the States,” Hawking suggested.

Juniper’s shoulders slumped. That did make sense. If her dad was the good guy she’d always known, why hadn’t he turned in the money?

Magnus’s hand covered her knee and squeezed. When she looked at him, he whispered, “Come sit on Daddy’s lap.”

Immediately, she stood and settled in the most secure place she could think of—wrapped in her Daddy’s arms.

“So, we set up remodeling signs to disguise what we’re doing. We should be able to locate the entrance and the stairs leading down to the tunnels. In an old hotel, Edmund Rivers’ brother shouldn’t pay any attention,” Caesar pointed out.

“Good idea. I booked Eric Rivers on an aerial tour tomorrow. He’ll be out of the hotel in the afternoon,” Sadie said with a pointed look at her Daddy.

“Got it. A special tour, it is,” Kestrel acknowledged.

“Thanks. That will give us time to try to find the entrance. Redisguising the opening will take more time than breaking in,” Magnus said.

“Daddy, look!” Juniper pointed to one of the screens on the wall over his computer area.

In an almost synchronized movement, everyone turned around to look. Magnus followed her finger to see in the top quadrant the very man they were discussing. “Camera twelve,” Magnus announced for the others to locate the correct one quickly.

Eric Rivers was in the conference room. He stood in the middle of the room and pivoted, looking in all directions. Putting his hands on his hips, he seemed to debate what to do next.

“Dad told him it was behind the bookshelves, but they’re all gone,” Juniper guessed, jumping to a conclusion.

“Watch! He’s moving,” Zara said, jumping to her feet.

“Stand up, Juni. I need to get to my controls,” Magnus said, boosting his Little from his lap.

He raced to the controls and, with a few keystrokes, moved that camera feed to the largest screen. Everyone crowded around him, holding their breath. Rivers walked forward and knocked against the wall.

“That’s not where the bookshelves were,” Juniper assured them.

“Who knows if he’s going to be able to tell from the sound if there’s space behind the wall. Got any ideas to get him to leave the room?” Caesar looked at Magnus, and he became the focus of the group.

Magnus redirected their attention. “He’s going for another wall. How about if we give some credence to the need for repair in that room?”

Juniper watched lines of code appear on the screen in front of Magnus as he typed furiously on the keyboard. Seeing an error in the computer instructions, she blurted, “Wait, you need a…”

Magnus hit the enter key, and the overhead sprinklers turned on in the conference room. Eric dashed for the door with his hands over his head. Instantly, as he disappeared from the room, the spray of water dried up.

“Oh, the poor upholstery in that room,” Sadie said in dismay.

“The carpet was the only thing that got wet. I blocked those on the sides with furniture. We’ll need some fans from maintenance to dry the carpet,” Magnus said meaningfully as he looked at Phoenix.

“Make me a closed for repairs sign,” Phoenix grumbled as he jogged toward the elevator.

“I’ll bring it up with the dishes,” Caesar promised.

“Well, that couldn’t have worked better,” Sadie said with a grin. “Good sprinkling, Magnus.”

Juniper smiled as the ever-present baseball cap dipped to acknowledge Sadie’s praise of his quick thinking. That was a masterful line of code to turn on just some of the sprinklers in the room. She hadn’t realized what he was doing. Thank goodness, he’d finished before she’d completed her warning.

That baseball cap turned to face her and lifted slightly so their eyes met. Juniper swallowed hard. He knew. Or at least had some inkling that perhaps she knew something about computers. She thought furiously, trying to come up with a valid explanation. Juniper silently heaved a sigh of relief when Celeste provided a distraction by asking a question.

“What side of the room had the bookshelves on them?”

“The one he was walking toward,” Juniper shared.

“Holy crap! That was close,” Zara exclaimed. “My nerves are shattered. Does anyone want to color with me? I need to do something fun.”

“You didn’t eat much of your dinner, Zara,” Hawking said with a concerned tone before expanding to all the Littles by scanning their faces.

“Could we have a snack in a bit?” Sadie asked. “Maybe Caesar could steal some dessert from the kitchen.”

“I think we’re dealing with enough problems from stealing. How about if I ask politely?” Caesar said.

“Good idea,” Zara agreed. “Come on, Juniper. You need to make a decoration for your door.”

“Yes!” Celeste and Sadie celebrated that idea at the same time, and giggles filled the room.

Zara took Juniper’s hand and led her to the arts and crafts area. “What are you going to put on your door?”

“A kiwi.”

“Like the brown fruit that’s green inside?” Sadie asked skeptically.

“No. Like the national bird of New Zealand. A kiwi.”

“Ohhhh!” the girls said together and giggled once again.

In just a few moments, the quartet sat at the table coloring. The sound of giggles and happy conversations enlivened the room.

Juniper selected a piece of paper and began sketching the adorable, native bird of New Zealand. She tried to make it look like her stuffie, Beaky. Holding it up so she could look at it critically, Juniper decided the nose wasn’t big enough. Beaky’s was much more curvalicious. With a few other alterations, she smiled in satisfaction.

“You’re so good at drawing,” Sadie complimented.

“Photography is one of my favorite hobbies. I’ve learned a lot about perspective and angles. You can make something look incredibly different just by shooting the image from a different location. Perspective helps me make the picture resemble what I want it to. Have you seen a real-life kiwi here?” Juniper asked curiously.

“No. We’ll have to go to a wildlife sanctuary,” Celeste suggested. “Kiwis are very shy and move in the dark at night.”

“I’d love for Beaky to see his family,” Juniper shared. When the other Littles looked confused, she said, “Beaky is my stuffie. My friend, Sammi, who lived here when I used to visit, gave me Beaky so I’d remember New Zealand.”

“That’s so neat. You’ve had him all this time?” Zara asked.

“It seems like we’ve been together forever,” Juniper said wistfully. “What kind of stuffies do you have? You have a stuffie, don’t you?”

“Of course,” Zara said with a nod. “Coco is a monkey.”

“He’s super cute,” Celeste told Juniper. “I have a black cat named Hades.”

“And I have a penguin named Edgar,” Sadie piped in.

“Have you had them forever?” Juniper asked, and everyone nodded their heads. “I can’t sleep without Beaky.”

“Completely impossible,” Sadie agreed before adding, “Daddy helps, but I still need Edgar.”

When the other Littles agreed, Juniper looked through the bin of crayons to find a brown one. She carefully colored the feathers, using a darker brown to make them more realistic. By the time she’d finished, it looked amazing.

“That looks like a photo!” Zara exclaimed.

“Do you think it’s good enough to go on the door?” Juniper asked.

“Go show it to your Daddy,” Celeste suggested with a smile.

Juniper stood and skipped across the room to stand next to Magnus’s chair. “Daddy? I’m sorry to bother you. Can I put this up on your apartment door?”

Magnus took the picture and examined it closely. “This is lovely, Little girl. Shall we take it upstairs now and put it on our door? You can start calling it our apartment, Juni. I don’t plan to let you go,” he gently corrected her.

“Our door?” she repeated. “I like that.”

“I do, too. Look, here’s Caesar with dessert for everyone. I’ll get him to watch the cameras for a few minutes, and we can claim our space.”

“And then get dessert?” she asked hopefully.

“And then get dessert,” he promised, smiling at her.