10 Nov 2011, 10am
Niobe Thursby’s flatNiobe Thursby rolled over to find the warm form of sweet
Foy in the bed next to her. Foy mumbled something, and Niobe nuzzled in.
“I’ve decided,” Niobe said with a little smile to herself.
“What have you decided?” Foy asked.
“I live here now. We’re bed people. Sleepy bed people forever.”
“What shall we eat?”
Niobe burst into a fit of giggles. Foy pulled the blanket over their heads and they continued their long lie-in. It was mid-week, but they both found themselves with an odd morning off.
---
Later, a meal. Too late for breakfast, too early for lunch, too humble for brunch. Just toast and coffee. They lounged happily in the warm light of Niobe’s well-windowed flat. Foy’s hair was wrapped in a white satin scarf and she wore breezy light-colored trousers. Niobe was padding around in giant fuzzy slippers, a tank, and shorts.
“I’ve got news,” Niobe said looking over her shoulder.
“I’ll bet you do,” Foy replied from the chair.
“What, do you already know? Are they keeping you in the loop at all?”
Foy shrugged. “Not as much as I’d like. Jonas told me they’re having a trainee take point. I’m trying not to be offended.”
Niobe chuckled. “Ha, they
would do. No, eh, they arrested Draco Malfoy.”
“You’re kidding!” It was Foy’s turn to laugh. “Where’d they dig him up?”
Niobe shrugged. “Dunno. Apparently he attacked an Auror.”
“Can’t believe that.”
“So what d’you think?” Niobe asked. “Think he did it?”
Foy shook her head. “No. I mean, sure, maybe. We didn’t make him too happy, but what - why would he draw attention to himself? If I were him, I’d be laying low the rest of my life. What he did …?”
“Eh. He’s a Malfoy.”
Foy responded with a noncommittal shrug. She hated not knowing and she hated that her and
Giuseppe had agreed to let the authorities handle it. But that promise, it had an expiry; if Level Two came up empty, she and Gio weren’t going to just let it lie. For Merlin’s sake, a private eye getting busted? Did wonders for their credibility.
Niobe joined Foy in the other chair, one leg over the arm.
“I’ve got a theory that doesn’t involve Malfoy,” Foy said after a bit.
“Oooh, tell.”
Foy leaned forward. Her and Niobe’s favorite thing was theories and dot connecting and finding angles.
“I think all these robberies are connected.”
“Level Two won’t say -” Niobe started in, referencing her own article from a few days before.
[1]“No, I know. They don’t have enough to be certain. But I spoke to Amina,” both witches were acquainted with another burglary victim, a witch named Amina Ali who owned a small rare books shop.
Foy continued. “She says when she arrived, everything was out. Just like ours, not like heaps where someone had pulled things out of drawers or cabinets -
everything was out. Everything was open, completely empty, and all the books in an even layer all over the floor. It’s the same spell.”
Niobe mulled this over. “Like everything was dumped at once.”
“Yeah. I mean, it would be faster, right?”
“Sure, but what spell does that?” Niobe asked.
Foy laughed, “I don’t know all spells, Nibs. I need the case file.”
Niobe sank down in the chair. “I know…” she moaned. “I always need the case file.”
“Harass Jonas. He likes you,” Foy said slyly.
“You harass him. He likes you more,” Niobe retorted.
Foy was serious. “No really, he gave you background on that Spectre thing, didn’t he?”
[2]Niobe sighed, “Yea, but he wasn’t happy about it. I had to pull a favor.”
Foy pouted and looked at her nails. “This is all I’ve got.”
Niobe frowned. This robbery had bothered Foy more than she let on. Sure, Giuseppe was having a daily snit about it, ranting and drinking and ranting and drinking, but Foy had kept it cooler. Sorting it out, reassuring their clients, even scouting a new office - it all had to be methodical and that was Foy’s middle name out of her and her partner.
“At least that’s one thing in common. Maybe I’ll have another look at what was stolen. Could be some of it has resurfaced on the black market,” Niobe said.
Foy lit up.
That she could help with. “Not a bad idea, actually. No one’s got need of all that. If they’re connected, the take has to be connected, too. Could be black market.”
Niobe got up again to grab her notes. She nearly trotted, very happy to have a new angle to get after it.
“Black market…” she sang.
fin
[10 Nov] I've Got News [Snapshot]