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I could’ve demanded to search the place, but I believed Green Hair was telling the truth. He seemed way too apathetic to spend energy lying. If he were secretly a monster, I wanted to encounter more monsters like this, who just didn’t care, hated their job, and wanted to go on lunch break.
“Never mind,” I said. “Has anything been…different in the store the last couple of days?”
Green Hair snorted. “You mean aside from our new product line?” He gestured toward a nearly empty display table. The only thing on it was a little placard that readMIRACLEBYAEAEA.
“What’s Miracle?”
“I don’t know,” complained Green Hair. “The last two days, it has sold out in, like, ten minutes. It’s supposed to make you irresistible, but I’ve never even gotten a free sample.”
I frowned at Grover. “You think that’s what she doused us with?”
Green Hair snorted. “Filomena doused you with something? Not likely it was Miracle. That stuff is pricier than gold. You smell more like…” He wrinkled his nose. “Dry Number Two.”
Of course I would get doused with Dry Number Two.
“So let me guess,” I said. “Filomena started producing Miracle on Tuesday?”
Green Hair went back to his phone screen. “I guess. You would think having a new hit product would make her happy, but she’s meaner than ever. Keeps grumbling about having toshare.”
Grover and I locked eyes. I was starting to think our polecat friend was being used for nefarious naiad capitalism, though I wasn’t sure how.
“Who would Filomena share with?” I asked.
“Absolutely no one!” said Green Hair.
“She has competitors?”
“Everyone! But shereallyhates this place.” Green Hair took a business card from his shirt pocket and showed me the name:FANCY WATER. “They’re two blocks away. I keep this card handy so when she fires me I can go work there. That’ll teach her.”
“Someone she hates…” Grover mused. “Maybe a sister?”
“Bet you a vial of rose-scented dissolving fluid,” I agreed. Then to Green Hair: “I’d go ahead and lock up for the day. I don’t think Filomena will be back in time for your lunch break.”
Fancy Water had as much foot traffic as I would have expected from a perfume shop called Fancy Water…meaning none.
Grover and I watched the place from across the street. Nobody went in. Nobody went out. No one looked at us funny. No polecats farted in our general direction.
The facade was more low-key than Aeaea’s. Instead of big picture windows, the main entrance was all frosted glass. I couldn’t see inside and had no idea what might be waiting to kill us and/or spritz us with fragrance.
I could, however, sense a water spirit close by. It wasn’t something I normally would have noticed. Like, I don’t walk down the street and see little glowing blue dots pop up like I’m playing a Pokémon game. But once I’ve been told to be on the lookout for water spirits, I can put myself in that frame of mind. When I get close enough, I can pick up their presence, like I’ve walked into a microclimate where the air pressure is a little different.
“A naiad’s in there,” I said. “You sense Gale at all?”
Grover frowned. “I don’t have weasel radar.”
“Polecat.”
“Oh, stop.”
I smiled. It felt good to get back to our normal banter, even if we were on a dangerous cologne-related stakeout.
I knew we should march right into the shop. The day was a-wasting, and a mustelid’s life might be at stake. But still I hesitated. Maybe almost getting vaporized had made me wary. Or maybe I was learning to be careful as I got older. Nah, that probably wasn’t it.
“I’ve been thinking about Gale’s past,” I said. “She was a mortal witch, right? Apparently really good at making potions.”
Grover nodded. “So maybe she came down here looking for a place to hide out. Filomena figured out who she was. If Filomena offered her a job making…whatever Miracle is, Gale could be raking in the polecat bucks.”
I considered that. “If Gale feels appreciated, she might not want to leave. And if there are three more potion-throwing naiads involved…”
