Page 9 of Dead and Gone

But he's fidgety. Increasingly interesting. "We should go now," I announce.

"Thank god," says Leif beneath his breath.

"Do you have a gift shop?" pipes up Holly.

"A gift shop?" I say. "What gifts could people possibly want from a museum?"

"A shop with mementos of the visit." Holly looks to the curator and pointedly adds, "To make extramoney."

The curator pauses for thought. "I sell pens and magnets. And postcards."

Holly sighs. "Nothing else?"

"Nothing apart from the local history book I wrote."

"Fascinating," I say, and head out of the room, mind whirling with questions and plans.

Holly selects a blue pen with the town name and crest etched along the side, and Rowan buys the book.

"Bloody hell," Rowan mutters as we leave, Leif trailing behind, having also bought some overpriced items. At leastthatseems to have endeared us a little to the curator. "I paidten poundsfor a thirty page long book."

"The curator could also use the money to pay for an investigation into Marvin's disappearance," suggests Grayson. "Another case for Thornwood's dark and deadly Nancy Drew?"

"Good grief," I retort as the door to the museum swings closed behind us. "Firstly, stop calling me that, and secondly, I've no interest in locating the remains of a 100-year-old stuffed mole."

"According to Insta, Marvin last visited London," says Leif, as we head towards the bus stop, catching up to me. "For you."

I look at the pen in his outstretched hand, white and printed with the museum name in blue. "What's that?"

"Leif could never leave a gift shop without buying something for you," says Rowan with a chuckle. "You can use the pen to make notes when solving the Mystery of the Missing Mole."

Ah. Leif and his constant bestowal of gifts. I'm still considering what to buy him to reciprocate, but as I've purchased few gifts in my life, I've no idea.

"Thank you, Leif." I look to Rowan. "And I may make notes about the museum, but not the mole. Do you think you sensed residual magic on the cabinet from past exhibits or that an item could be magical?"

"Something inside that cabinet is definitely magic soaked."

"Well then, we'll return when the place is empty and examine further." I smile. "I suspect the ivory box must contain what we want. The jewelry would've emitted stronger magic."

Rowan halts. "Oh, great. How did I know that's exactly what you'd do next?" he mutters.

People do tend to mutter around me, especially when I share my plans.

4

Few cars werein the museum car park in the daytime, and none are parked in the small area behind the building this evening. With nothing to lurk behind, Rowan and I stick to the shadows and avoid security lights as we scout for the cameras the curator mentioned.

I'm dressed in one of Rowan's hoodies that hangs halfway to my knees, worn over my usual black attire, but as requested, I swapped my favored Docs for sneakers tonight. I could argue with Rowan that as a half-vampire, I'm stealthier even in big boots, plus I can move fast into the dark, but I don't want him to change his mind about helping out.

Not that I believe Rowan will, despite his initial protests.Henoticed the secret because he chose to search the museum and is as keen to get a hold of the item as I am. Perhaps he's becoming more of a Dr. Watson than the Moriarty he originally was to me.

UnlessRowan's attraction to the box suggests darker magic is attached since that's always a pull for him.

Now we're here, Rowan is less sure he wants to be. He huddles against the rough brick wall of the museum, handsburied in his pockets. "If someone robbed the place recently, the curator might have extra security. Like a person."

"I doubt the museum could afford that." I peer at the closest cameras. "And our mind magic would work if they do have a security guard, which seems unlikely."

Rowan's desire to outsmart and outwit everybody includes humans, and he took time to learn their 'magic'—he has a talent for and knowledge of IT, unusual for a witch. This includes disabling computer systems so that if the camera picks us up, Rowan will wipe the footage. I'm not concerned—we've established that the museum's security isn't top-class technology.

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