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“The CPD’s going through the castle?” I asked.
“They are,” Yuen said. “They haven’t reported anything yet, but if there’s anything to find, they’ll let us know.”
“We have to figure out where the fairies are,” I said. “Aren’t there security cameras all over the place these days?”
“There are more cameras than there used to be,” was all Yuen would confirm. “Petra?”
“I’m on it,” she said, pulling off her gloves and working the main screen again, logging into some kind of a city portal. Shepulled up a map, then zoomed in on the river’s south fork, where the castle was located. The area was covered in dots.
“Those aren’t all cameras,” I said.
“Oh, they are,” she said. “Welcome to the Internet of Things. Traffic-light cameras, speeding cameras, security cameras, laptop cams, body cams. Always wear your good underwear, because someone is probably filming you.”
“Sound advice,” Yuen said with a smile.
There were four traffic cameras near the castle. It took only a few moments to find video of the castle’s gatehouse and front drive, and only a few minutes longer to speed through the window of time between our first and second visits to the castle.
Unfortunately, not a single fairy showed up. The only visible change in the time period was darkness; the torches hadn’t been lit the second evening, so the castle stayed dark as the sun fell.
“Either they’ve got a secret way out of the castle,” Theo said, “or they left by magic. And there’s no way to tell that from the video.”
“There might have been magical vibrations,” I said. “But the castle grounds are enormous, so the ripples might not have spread any farther than that.”
“So we assume they left by magic, as a group,” Yuen said, studying the video. “And they took Claudia with them?”
“Maybe,” I said. “But Claudia wasn’t with Ruadan the night Lulu and I visited. It’s possible she was already gone by then.” And given the condition of her room, that they’d dragged her out in a much more conspicuous style.
“Go farther back,” I said. “Find the period between the Cadogan party and our visit.” If we couldn’t find the fairies leaving, maybe we could find Claudia.
• • •
We searched video of the castle for nearly an hour. And still didn’t have what we were looking for.
“Maybe we don’t have the right angle on the castle,” Theo said.
“There are more cameras in the sector,” Petra said. “But unless we can narrow down a place or a window, it would take days to go through all the video.”
“Zoom out on the map,” Theo said. “Let’s check our options.”
On the screen, the square of green that held the castle became one block in the larger quilt of the city.
And there was an unusual bundle of cameras just up the street from the castle.
“What’s on that corner?” I asked, pointing.
“Gas station,” Petra said after a pause. “Lots of security cameras, including on the pumps themselves.”
“Fairies have vehicles,” Yuen said. “Good thought, Elisa. Pull it up.”
The gas station was busy. Autos and driven vehicles pulling in for gas, people pulling in for snacks or necessities. They all looked human, or humanlike, at least until a large black SUV pulled up to a pump. The passenger’s side opened and a fairy stepped out, looked around cagily, and moved to the pump.
While he waited for the tank to fill, he pulled open the back door. There in the backseat, hands tied in front of her and a vacant expression on her face, was Claudia. She was visible for only a second before the door was closed again.
“Well, well, well,” Yuen said quietly.
The SUV drove off again, giving us a clear view of the license plate.
“I’m pulling the license,” Petra said, logging into another information portal. “And... it’s licensed to Claudia, no last name given, and the address is the castle, so no help there. Permission to track?”
