Chapter 23

Brownies Official Headquarters, Roya Lane, London, England, United Kingdom

If Gen hadn't recently watched Paul, the Great Librarian, open a large shelf of books creating a door where there had only been a wall, then she might have been skeptical in this situation. When Liv sidled up next to a solid brick wall and knocked, Gen had her doubts, but she remained open-minded.

After a moment, a voice echoed back from seemingly nowhere, asking, "Who is there?"

Liv cleared her throat and said, "Warrior Beaufont from the House of Fourteen and special guest, Gen Beaufont from the Rogue Riders."

Within seconds, a small door appeared at the bottom of the brick wall. It appeared almost too tiny for the women to get through. But when Liv dropped to her hands and knees, Gen decided not to argue on the point and to follow her friend through the opening, even if she was afraid of getting stuck.

Following behind Liv's boots, Gen scooted through the narrow opening, having no idea where she was going or who or what she'd meet. But that was the thing about her new family. Gen trusted them implicitly. And if Liv said that she was taking her to people who could help then she was going to believe her.

When they came to a low ceiling room, Liv sort of stood, although stayed somewhat hunched over. She pointed to a desk and chair with filing cabinets in a small room off to the side of the opening they'd come through.

"That's where Priscilla, the receptionist usually sits," Liv explained. "She's out right now with one of the boys, so we'll just go all the way through and meet Mortimer."

"Who is Mortimer?" Gen asked, wondering if he was a tiny magician based on the low ceilings and small office furniture.

"You'll see," Liv said over her shoulder. "It's better if I explain this to you with visuals rather than with words."

Gen again decided not to question this person she trusted, although she was growing increasingly curious and her imagination was inventing all sorts of strange and wild explanations.

When they came through into the next room and Gen laid her eyes on the creature sitting behind the desk, she had a ton of more questions. She'd never seen such a cute and tiny little creature. It wasn't a man as much as an adorable being with large eyes and ears and lots of soft brown hair.

Strangely, the creature was wearing a business suit, making him very much appear like a man, but Gen got the distinct impression that he wasn't really.

"This is Mortimer," Liv said, holding out a presenting hand to the little guy who stood from his seat behind his desk, but his height didn't change much. "He's the leader over the Brownies."

"Nice to meet you, Mortimer," Gen said, keeping her head low so that she didn't bang it on the low ceiling. "And…ummm…what are Brownies?"

Mortimer smiled, his large brown eyes twinkling. "It is so nice to meet you, Genevieve Beaufont, Rogue Rider and Founder of the House of Fourteen. A true and ultimate honor. I know you prefer to go by Gen, which I will call you from now on." He bowed low, his voice squeaky and so very cute.

"Thank you," Gen said, cutting her eyes to Liv, a look on her face that said, "an explanation might have been a little okay…"

"Brownies are magical elves who clean mortals' houses at night," Liv began to explain, holding a proud hand out at Mortimer who was hopping up to get back in his chair. "They find mortals and sometimes other races of individuals who are truly good and deserve to have chores done for them. Then they wait until they fall asleep and make their house spotless overnight, rewarding them for being good."

"Wow," Gen said, smiling at the adorable creature settling back into his seat. "That's very sweet of you. What a nice job you do."

"It's our honor," Mortimer squeaked. "But it also helps the world because we take that burden off good individuals so that when they awake, they can continue their good deeds."

"I like the cyclical process of this," Gen said, glancing at Liv.

"I thought you might," Liv stated. "But for our purposes, we have another advantage that the Brownies help us with."

Mortimer nodded. "That's right. Because Liv Beaufont, Warrior for the House of Fourteen is purely good, and you Gen, I know to be as well, we offer you our help and insights."

"Wait, what?" Gen asked, looking between Liv and the Brownie for clarification.

"You see, Mortimer monitors most mortals," Liv stated. "That's how his office can determine who qualifies for his assistance from his Brownies. Those little guys see a lot. More than we could possibly. So if there's something that's been going on with the Los Angeles police force and their officers, well, I believe that my friend, Mortimer will know about it."

Gen gasped, putting together all the brand new information and simply floored by it. "Oh, wow, that's so smart."

"It's genius," Liv stated proudly, turning her attention to the tiny little guy sitting behind the desk like a real person. "So what do you say, Mortimer? Can you help us determine what's happening with the Los Angeles police?"

The little Brownie stared around at his desk, searching and then picked up a thick file. "Yes, but I hope you're ready for something crazy. Something really confusing is happening with Los Angeles law enforcement and I believe only a Beaufont can get to the bottom of the true cause."