I rolled my eyes. “Joke’s on you. I met Siofra when I was a child. So I have met a leprechaun.”
“Yes, but she lived in Ordinary,” Bertie said. “She followed our rules.”
“All right. Explain to the youngster why I should be worried about a leprechaun.”
“Magic, most of it, nearly all of it, will not affect a leprechaun,” Bertie said. “They are protected by their inherent luck.”
“Is that a problem?”
“It will make him a very difficult enemy to defeat,” she said.
“We don’t need to make him our enemy. Look,” I said standing. “I think you’re getting ahead of the issue. If he loves Ordinary as much as he should, we’re totally going to get more people attending our events than Boring. Robyn will come here, work for you, problem solved.
“If he hates Ordinary, then you will throw some fantastic festivals, and we will still beat Robyn. We have a wonderful town, exciting events, plus the ocean and other natural beauty that Boring simply does not have.
“If, for some reason, you do have to go to Boring for a year, we will keep the home fires burning. Robyn will be damn lucky to have you, and we will demand she give you back on the three-hundred sixty-fifth day at midnight, or we will launch a war against her territory.”
Bertie’s cheeks had gone a little pink as if she were overcome with emotion. She looked away and swallowed before answering.
“Yes,” she said. “Of course.I’mnot the one concerned for the outcome. But since you may not have understood what we are working with, nor what was at stake, I thought it best to bring you here and inform you.”
“Sure,” I said. She had to have been a little concerned about it all, from the tension draining from her shoulders.
“I appreciate you keeping me in the loop. Is there anything I can do to help with the upcoming event?”
“The murder mystery? No, that’s fine. I have all the actors hired and the venues prepped. Really, Delaney, if you wanted to be helpful, you would have offered months ago.”
“I did offer months ago. You told me it would be too close to my wedding, then said something like you needed people who would be focused and committed to the mystery, not daydreaming about a honeymoon.”
“That does sound exactly like what I’d say,” she agreed. “And my decision stands. Please leave. I have a lot of work to do.”
I pointed at the open folder. “You sure you don’t need me to sign off on any of that?”
“Good-bye, Delaney. If you make time to have coffee with Mr. Baum, please remind his viewers that we have weekly events, rain or shine.”
She was already working on her keyboard, having spun the screen so she could see it again.
“Can do. Bye, Bertie.”
Than opened the door and stood aside for me to walk through.
“That was…something,” I said, as we walked down the empty hallway, our footsteps echoing back to us. “Did you sign up for the murder mystery?”
“Yes,” Than said. “I did. Would you care to guess if I am the murderer?”
I shouldered open the door and shot him a look. “You’re totally the murderer.”
“Yes,” he repeated, pleased. “Of course I am.”
“You’re lying.”
“Of course I am.”
“Be that way. Is she making you dress up?”
“Dress up?”
“You know, put on a costume?”
