Page 26 of Wynter

“The safe door was closed,” I add. “And Dominick asked me to step out of his office while he opened the safe. I only went back in after he closed it.”

“Did anything seem off to either of you?” Liam adds. “Anything unusual?”

“Yes,” Dominick says.

“What?” Liam asks him.

“Nothing.”

“Any detail, however small, could help us crack this case,” Liam presses.

Dominick groans. “All I know is, I closed the safe. And only my brothers and I know the combination.”

“So we might be dealing with a professional,” Bert speaks up, seeming to show interest for the first time.

“A professional who steals pastries,” I mutter.

“Zoe has a good point.” Liam frowns. “The facts just aren’t adding up.”

I’m inclined to agree. None of the other shops had their safes broken into. The thief cleared out the registers at O’Malley’s Pub, Beastie Besties, and Iris’s flower shop. Took some baked goods from Buttercup’s Bakery, and a pot roast at O’Malley’s. And what kind of thief even steals a pot roast? Plus, there were the two healing crystals from the new yoga shop. And according to Lumi, who owns it, they weren’t even that expensive. So what does that all mean?

Either the earlier robberies were just trial runs—in which case we are dealing with a pro—or we’ve got two thieves on our hands. Like Mini and her accomplice? That or Dominick is wrong, and he forgot to lock up the safe.

“Can we talk to you in private for a minute, Zoe?” Liam asks, and he and Bert pull me aside.

I consider telling them my suspicion about Mini, but I don’t have any proof. And if I bring her up, I’ll have to explain why I locked her up in my apartment with a containment spell. That, and if she’s the thief, she wasn’t working alone.

I keep quiet and let Liam take the lead. He asks a lot of the usual questions, but I don’t have anything useful to add. There wasn’t anyone lingering by the door when I arrived at any of the shops, or the brewery, and there wasn’t anyone there when I left. I definitely didn’t bring anyone else with me. And I didn’t see or hear anything suspicious while I was there.

Liam and Bert don’t know it, but my time at the agency taught me to notice small details. And so far, the only thing that stands out is whatever Dominick didn’t want to mention in front of Liam and Bert.

As soon as they finish questioning me, I leave them to talk about the case and go find the brewery owner.

“What was the thing you didn’t want to tell the officers earlier?” I ask.

“What?” Dominick frowns.

“Didn’t you say you noticed something that seemed unusual?”

“Yes?”

“Well, what was it?”

“Nothing.” Dominick runs his hand through his hair. “I was exposed to the magic in yesterday’s explosion.”

“And that was the reason you didn’t want me touching any of the spilled beer?”

“Yes.” He hesitates, gritting his teeth.

“You think that has something to do with the robbery?”

“Yes.” Dominick lets out a frustrated sigh. It’s clear he doesn’t want to have to explain himself. “I can’t say the opposite of yes,” he finally says.

“So you can’t say no?”

“Yes. It’s temporary, I think. Either way, I need to fix it and quick before my brothers find out.”

The door bursts open again, interrupting him. I spin around, my heart leaping at the thought of seeing Ghost, but a small girl with long hair rushes into the brewery with one of Dominick’s brothers.