"Get down here," Edward's voice said.

"I'm not on tonight."

"Get down here."

"Twenty minutes, maybe half an hour." Wondering what had Edward so worried, Martin closed his cell phone and got out of bed. He had planned on a light and leisurely breakfast and then back to bed. "Sorry," he said to the girl he was with. "I seem to be on call anyway, and they want me."

"Come back when you're done. We barely got started."

"No, let's reschedule this. I have no idea what's up or how long this will take. Night after tomorrow night OK?"

"So what's up?" Martin curbed his first impulse to complain: Edward was alone in the back room. Wherever Karelle and Galley were, it wasn't here. Clearly, Edward was in a temper.

"Jan is missing."

"We saw him yesterday. How missing is he?"

"He was due here at 7:00, and before you ask, he turned off his cell phone."

"It's 8:30, all right, almost 9:00, but still, that's late, not missing. Uh, have you talked to his parents?"

"I had Karelle call. His mother said he left Berkeley about 4:30."

"Why? Is traffic heavy?"

"Not coming in. He usually leaves about 5:45, to get here at 7:00."

"Let me talk to Karelle," Martin said. And, he thought, get some coffee and Cambells.

"So what else did Doktor Frau Doktor vanderWitt say?" Martin asked. He had found Karelle and Galley in the small kitchen, tucked away between the even smaller employees' lounge and the large dumbwaiter. He was getting a coffee tray ready as he spoke.

"Oh, a lot of stuff. Jan has been away from home a lot recently-the past three, three and a half, weeks-leaving early and coming home late. He's been riding his motorcycle, which worries her. He got admitted to some place back in the Hague, but he really wants to stay at Cal and he and his father are not speaking about it. Boy stuff, you know."

"It's been a while." Martin picked up the tray and returned to Edward.

"So what he's been doing is being away from home on his motorcycle, apparently before and after his stints here, and also at other times. That may be what he's doing now."

"But she doesn't know where? Or with whom?"

"No. Want some coffee?"

"No. Yes."

"Let me see his book."

"You've been patrolling with him," Edward said.

"I want to see what he thinks of what we saw." Martin went over to the book case, picked up Jan's incident book and, sitting at the table where his Cambells waited, began to read.

"He staked out Ann's house?"

"I told him to stop, that you were handling her."

"He's jealous of me, you know."

"What! Why?"

"He sees that you trust me enough to have me handle things on my own."

"That isn't how we work."

"Yeah, you and I know that. He may think you trust me more than you trust him. I think he's also jealous that you're even this interested in a woman." Martin poured himself a cup of coffee.

"She's a player! I'd be this interested in anyone as strong as she is."

"Which I think is a sensible and adult opinion, but one which a 17 year old can't yet appreciate. Come on, Edward, Jan still reacts on a personal and physical level. From his viewpoint, he thought he knew you, and suddenly you're paying attention to a woman; and not just an average woman, but a very beautiful one. He doesn't see her power, or the danger she may represent, he sees her face."

"Oh."

"Right. The question is, did he stop when you told him to or did he just stop writing about it?" Martin opened his phone and hit the newest speed dial listing:

"Hello."

"Ann, I think I have a problem."

"Where are you?"

"The Lounge." His phone went dead. "I think she's coming," he told Edward.

"Dammit, Martin, I'm not sure this is a good idea."

"From what I saw last time, she's very patient with youngsters, even murderous ones. You and I might get yelled at, we're adults and we should know better, but I think she'll help us find Jan. I'm going to check the door-she may be here already."

She was. Karelle was back at her post and Ann Grove was talking to her. Martin saw Karelle notice him and a moment later, Ann turned around. She was wearing black jeans and a pale green turtleneck sweater, with her hair once more in braids around her head.

"What's the problem?" she asked directly.

"It's not immediate and it does require some explanation," he said. "I hope I didn't alarm you."

"You were equivocal. I tend to assume the worst, it makes playing catch-up so much easier."

"This is Edward Hopkins, who…"

"Who also was of great assistance at the fountain," Ann said helpfully as Martin hesitated. "How do you do?"

"The problem worrying us concerns the third person with us that night," Edward said.

"Ah," Ann said. "The very beautiful boy."

"Who is absent," Martin said.

"We were wondering if you knew where he was," Edward said, rushing in.

"No, he's stopped lurking around Russian Hill. I haven't seen him in almost a week."

"You noticed him," Martin said.

"Martin," Ann said. "Not only is he very beautiful, he has a BMW K1200LT, which is a very nice, not to mention uncommon, motorcycle."

"I hope you're not angry," Edward said.

"Only if you told him to watch me."

"It appears that was his own idea," Martin said.

"Why?"

"Ann, it's obvious that you are powerful. You claim to be not human, and I hope that's true."

"Why?" Ann interrupted to ask.

"If you're lying about that, you may be lying about other things, including your intentions. If you're deluded, if you're human but crazy, your behavior may be irrational; and either way, you're still powerful."

"Very good," Ann said, smiling. "However, that statement is true, I am not human; further, my intentions toward you and your friends are not maleficent."

"We're glad to know that. Still, Edward and I have discussed you. We're curious about you, and how you may impact our two communities. That seems to have aroused Jan's interest."

"What is his name, anyway?"

"Jan vanderWitt."

"All right. How did he get my address?"

"Phone book, on his lap top."

Ann nodded approval. "Sensible and direct. Does he know anything else about me? Beyond what he saw, that is."

"Oh," Martin said. "Shit." He pulled out his own incident book and found the entry about the fountain. "Logan Powell Turner, Gillian Ferguson and that little magic shop on Grand."

"The Porsche," Edward said. "Turner's. Jan made a note of the plate. Apparently he saw the car when he went back for the lion's head."

"Clever boy," Ann said. "Clever boys are always trouble. Is he any good with his computer? Does he know how to search commercial and civic data bases?"

"He taught us."

"Figures," Ann said.

"From what he knows," Martin said, "he could discover the same data about Turner that he found out about you."

"Probably more. Logan is human, with a family and a history. Jan couldn't possibly track me back beyond 1999. Unless he has gone south, to the town where I was living before I moved here, the only opening he has is what Martin reported. Now, Gillian doesn't know anything, Logan isn't really a danger at the moment, at least not magically, but the little shop on Grand is unsavory, to say the least."

"Which Grand?" Martin asked.

"Yes. There are several Grands-streets, avenues, courts, all over the area," Edward said.

"Is Jan logical?"

"Yes and no," Martin said.

"Not always," Edward said.

"Right," Ann said. A piece of paper and a pen appeared on the table in front of her. As she spoke, she wrote: "The magic shop is in South San Francisco, 1550 Grand Street; Logan and Gillian both live in Woodside. Leave Gillian alone, I haven't managed to talk to her parents yet. If Jan's logical, he might try local shops first, and compared to Oakland or Fremont, South San Francisco is right next to Woodside, at least geographically."

She regarded the two men as she put down her pen. "Which of you is the more skilled at magic?"

Martin and Edward glanced at each other. "Well,…" Martin began.

"I thought so," Ann said. "There aren't even burn-before-capture spells on all these no doubt incredibly incriminating journals."

"Uh, no, there aren't," Edward said. "That sounds like a really good idea, though."

"And Jan?"

"He's never mentioned…" Martin's voice trailed off.

Ann regarded the two men again.

Martin and Edward had no trouble noticing that she displayed an increased level of annoyance.

"I will point out that your young student has gone off, alone and without leaving the customary trail of breadcrumbs, in a pursuit which might involve him with a murderous spoiled brat and an unknown but obviously very unsavory hustler, each of whom may be willing to employ magical tools against anyone who annoys them."

"Well, yes," Edward said. "That would seem to be the case."

"I find your instruction less than adequate," Ann Grove said, very mildly.

Right, Martin thought.

"The only thing in your favor is that it is very difficult to keep ahead of someone as clever as Jan appears to be."

"He only fools us once," Martin said.

Ann considered him coolly for a moment, then nodded and changed the subject: "Martin, are you willing to accompany me?"

"Why?" Edward said.

"As a witness to my good, or at least neutral, intentions; and to reassure Jan, who may object to being rescued by me."

"Rescued?" Edward demanded quickly.

"Discovered," Ann said, "where he shouldn't be and told to go home. Teenagers are touchy."

"Where?" Martin asked.

"The shop first."

"It's open at this time of night?" Edward said.

"I have no idea," Ann said. "And it really doesn't matter."

"Surely," Martin said.

"Wait," Edward said, but his voice faded out along with the rest of the back room as Ann took Martin's hand.

Go to Part 1e

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