Chapter 30 Jayne
“Snowballs. I didn’t remember about the initials in the planner. You think I should call Larsen back and tell her?”
Sinclair shook his head. “I’m sure she’ll realize it. She has the planner. Did they say if they were going to go speak to this Serja?”
“No, and I got the sense she didn’t think it was a big deal. She said again that the True North people are royalists and nothing to be concerned about.”
He frowned. “That might be true, but I think it’s a lead worth following up. If my parents will watch JJ, we could run out there tomorrow morning and see what she has to say about all of this.”
“We don’t know where she lives.”
“Couldn’t Ezreal figure that out?”
I nodded. “Yeah, probably.” I looked at my in-laws. “You guys up for some babysitting tomorrow morning?”
“Did I hear there’s more babysitting to be done?” Zinnia walked in with JJ on her shoulder. She was rubbing his back. “I’m happy to help out, but I’d still like to get to that yarn store again.”
I had to smile. JJ was now wearing a tiny crocheted sweater vest in blue with a white snowman on it. “Zinnia, that vest is adorable.”
“Thank you.” She smiled. “You can see why I need more yarn.”
“Totally. Okay,” I said. “How about this. Sin, you and your dad go to the gym and the pool in the morning. Lila, you and Zinnia can hit the yarn store. While you guys are out doing that, I’ll get Serja’s address from Ezreal, along with anything else he can tell me.
When everyone gets back, you and I will go speak to her, and the Crowes will be on grandparenting and great-aunt duty. ”
Sin nodded. “That works for me.”
Lila, Anson, and Zinnia all chimed in that it was fine with them.
“One thing,” Anson said to me. “Couldn’t you call Ezreal and ask him for that information now?”
I looked at the time. “He may have left for the day, but yes, you’re right, I could at least leave him a message.”
“Just a second,” Sin said. “Is there a chance anyone else might hear his voicemails? This might be information better kept quiet, at least until we know who we can trust. He has an administrative assistant, right?”
“He does. You think there’s a chance Lara could be involved?”
“How well do you know her?”
“I don’t know her at all. I guess I see the point. I’ll just leave him a message asking him to call first thing. In the meantime, while you and your mom are fixing dinner, I’m going to look through those citizen registries Ezreal sent up and see if I can find Serja myself.”
“You want help?” Anson asked.
I nodded. “You want to find the book that Vintorf would be in and haul it over here, that would be great. They’re all in the dining room on that cart.”
He held his finger up. “The princess has given me a command.” He got down from his stool and went to get it.
Laughing, I dialed Ezreal’s number. As I suspected, after a single ring, I got his voicemail.
You’ve reached Ezreal Zur’dar, Palace Steward. I am currently unavailable but will respond as soon as I return to my office. Please leave your message at the tone.
As soon as I heard the tone, I spoke. “Ezreal, it’s Jayne. I need help with something. Nothing crazy, I promise. Just some info. Can you call me when you get in? Thanks.”
I hung up as Anson was setting the citizen registry on the counter in front of me. “Here you go. Vintorf should be in there. Looks like it has all the V names.”
“Perfect.” Before I opened it, I glanced at Zinnia, who was walking JJ around and seemed to be singing softly to him. Spider and Sugar were following her. It was the strangest and sweetest parade I’d ever seen. “You okay, or do you need me to take him?”
Smiling, she shook her head. “I’m good. Unless you want him?”
“If he’s happy and you’re happy, I’m happy.” I turned my attention to the registry, opening it and flipping pages until I reached Vi. I found the page and drew my finger down the names looking for Vintorf.
Nothing.
I frowned. “She must be relatively new to the NP. She’s not listed. The other possibility is that she’s married, listed under her husband, and didn’t take his last name.” I glanced up at Sin. “If that’s the case, the registry won’t help.”
Sin was getting plates out. “Will Ezreal be able to find her then?”
“If she can be found, he’ll do it. Don’t ask me how. He has his own magic like that. Maybe she’s in Little Reykjavik. Elmira said that’s where a lot of the True North people are. I can at least mention that.”
“For sure,” Sin said.
Anson patted my shoulder. “You tried.”
Lila had just set a big pot of water on the stove to boil.
“Yep.” Didn’t make me feel any better, though.
I took a final swig of my Dr Pepper, then went to help Sin.
I carried the plates to the dining room, which was fortunately clear of gifts, my mind working as I set the places.
Maybe this Serja woman wasn’t anything. Maybe she was just a citizen who supported the monarchy and believed that a winter elf should sit on the throne.
I certainly agreed with her. The North Pole was the winter elf homeland. Whoever wore the crown became the Winter King or Queen, an integral part of the magic that went on here. My dad’s job couldn’t be done by a vampire or a witch or a werewolf. It couldn’t be done by anyone but a winter elf.
Even Anson, with his incredible illusionist powers, couldn’t control winter. Not even my uncle, who was Santa Claus, had the kind of skills my father did. Few people realized, outside of the North Pole, how closely together the Winter King and Santa worked.
It was the job of whoever sat on the Winter Throne to ensure Santa was able to deliver all those gifts. Even in a blizzard, my father could make a way. Something I would someday have to do. And so, eventually, would JJ.
I went back to the kitchen for silverware, which Sin had ready for me. As I laid the forks and knives around the table, I pondered a different question.
Why would Delton have had Serja Vintorf in his planner? If she’d been in to see him at the archives that morning, there was no record of it because she hadn’t asked for any resources. It was a shame that was the only way a visitor might be recorded.
If I could get a picture of her, I could ask the palace guards on duty that day if they’d given her entrance.
Although maybe she hadn’t gone to see Delton. Maybe that note in his planner had been about a phone call. I could ask Larsen to look at the Tinselwicks’ phone records. That might yield something.
Unless Delton had gone to visit her.
I set down the fork in my hand and stared back toward the kitchen. Could Delton have gone to see Serja? If so, why? Was he a member of True North? Even if he was, what did that mean?
Nothing I could think of.
There was one other possibility. One I didn’t really want to give head space to.
Maybe Delton had been having an affair with Serja.
I had no idea of her age, but as Sin had said, anything was possible.
We’d certainly seen enough craziness to know that was true.
I didn’t want to think Delton was even capable of that kind of infidelity.
I liked Elmira. And I knew she’d be devastated by such news.
That couldn’t be it. Could it? It might explain why Percy was so angry. But then why would he be involved with True North?
My head and my heart were starting to hurt from the idea. Grumpy as he’d been, Delton had always been a symbol of winter elf fortitude to me. His staunch belief in doing things by the book and his loyalty to his job were the kinds of traits that made men like him the backbone of North Pole society.
I supposed I could ask Larsen to see if SV turned up anywhere else in Delton’s planner. That and the phone records would tell some kind of story. Either that he’d known her or it was a one-time thing.
Until then, I refused to believe he’d run around on Elmira. It was completely out of character.
That still left me with a lot of other possibilities. And the question of Percy remained. Was he somehow involved?
Time was ticking. I did not want to go into Naming Day with some lunatic out there who thought my son was an illegitimate heir. That person might be capable of anything. I would not allow my son to be hurt.
We had to figure this out, and we had to do it quickly.
I took my phone out of the pocket of my leggings and dialed Larsen.