“So we show Chief Burke the evidence, and he arrests Roger?“ I said.
“I think he's going to get fired before he's arrested,“ Luis said.
“Fired? Who's going to do that?“ The last several times Mutant Wizards had fired anyone, I recalled, they'd dumped the job on Liz, due to Rob's complete inability to say a harsh word to anyone.
“Some people thought maybe you could do it,“ Luis said. “But Rob says the chairman of the board will take care of it.“
“The chairman of the board?“ I repeated.
Luis nodded.
“I'd better go see if they need me,“ he said, and ducked out of the room.
“Who's the chairman of the board?“ Michael asked.
“Mother, of course,“ I said. “She came up this morning, armed with all her decorating supplies. Lucky for us last night's excitement has distracted her from measuring the Cave for drapes.“
“Your mother's going to fire Roger?“ he mused. “That should be worth seeing. Not that we're going to stay to see it.“
“Of course not,“ I said.
“Come take a look,“ Luis said, sticking his head back into the room. “Roger found out what we did to his site.“
“You mean you didn't just shut it down,“ Michael asked.
“That would be too easy,“ Luis said.
“So what did you do?“ Michael asked.
“It was Meg's idea.“
“My idea?“ I exclaimed. “You mean you really did that?“
“Did what?“ Michael asked.
“We took down his site this morning,“ Luis said. “After backing up everything to turn over to the cops, of course – and replaced all the pictures.“
“With screen shots from Nude Lawyers from Hell,“ I explained. “I suspect that after the initial surprise, traffic on his site is going to drop way off pretty soon. Did you get his backup CDs?“
“Oh, we got everything,“ Luis said, chuckling.
We followed Luis out into Cubeville. Roger was standing in an open space in the middle, holding a CD in each hand. A dozen or so CDs were lying on the floor around his feet.
“Dammit!“ he yelled, shaking the CDs over his head. “I want my files!“
Smothered laughter rippled through the room, and then, from behind him, a CD arrived, rolling on its edge like a hoop, until it hit his foot and plinked to the ground with the others. Roger whirled as if attacked.
“I want my files!“ he bellowed again.
“Roger, dear, we need to talk to you.“
Roger whirled again to face Mother, who had come up behind him, a bland smile on her face. Roger froze, like a mouse that suddenly spots a snake. If it had been anyone but Roger, I'd have felt sorry for him. Mother gestured, and Roger followed her into the conference room. I could see through the room's glass walls that Rob, the chief financial officer, the human resources person, Jack, and Chief Burke were already waiting inside.
“I'd better see if they need me,“ Luis said. “You want to get in on this?“
“You'll manage without me,“ I said, and he scurried off.
“Meg?“
I turned to see Doc peering out from the reception room.
“Do you want to say good-bye?“ he asked.
“Oh, right,“ I said, grabbing his hand and shaking it. “It's been great meeting you.“
“Thanks,“ he said. “Actually, I mean to George and Spike. I'm ready to leave now.“
“Spike?“ Michael said. “You're giving him Spike?“
“Not giving,“ I said. “He's going to take Spike for training.“
“Aggression-reduction therapy,“ Doc added.
“I cleared it with your mother,“ I said. “She was very pleased to learn that Spike would be spending a rejuvenating few weeks in the Caerphilly Canine Rest Spa.“
“I really owe you one for that name, by the way,“ Doc said. “That's going to double my business; I can tell already.“
We followed Doc to the reception area and bade farewell to George and Spike. Neither of them seemed upset at the idea of parting from us, and unlike Michael and me, they weren't particularly good at faking it.
“Here, let me help,“ Michael said, taking Spike's leash so Doc would have both hands to hold George's cage.
“I'll meet you down at the car in a minute,“ I said. “I just need to get a few things from the reception desk.“
“You're not going to take all that to California?“ Michael said, looking dubiously at the copier-paper box I was packing.
“No, but I don't want to have to come in here to get any of it when we get back in town,“ I said. “Way too dangerous – before you know it, I'd agree to help out just for a little while.“
“Good thinking,“ he said. “See you down at the car.“
As I was finishing up my packing, Chief Burke strolled up.
“I guess I have to thank you,“ he said, offering his hand. “Not that we wouldn't have figured out who the Ninja really was sooner or later.“
“Might have taken you a while,“ I said. “Up until she pulled a gun on us, I thought she was the Iron Maiden.“
“Oh, no,“ he said, chuckling. “You were the Iron Maiden. We found several earlier versions of that blackmail file on his hard drive, and the first time the Iron Maiden appeared was a day or two after you came on board here.“
“That's the last mystery solved, then,“ I said. “I can leave with a clear conscience.“
“You're leaving?“ he said.
“Not leaving Caerphilly, except for a vacation,“ I said. “But yes, my days at Mutant Wizards are over, thank God.“
“That's a pity,“ he said. “I guess you won't get to work on that new game your brother talked me into helping him with.“
“Let me guess: he's doing Cops from Hell.“
“Please,“ the chief said with a frown. “Police from Hell.“
“Sounds like a winner,“ I said. “Good luck with it.“
“Ah,“ he said. “Here they are.“
Several uniformed officers appeared, escorting Roger. The chief watched with satisfaction as they herded him out the door, then tipped his hat and followed them out of the office.
“So you're leaving us.“
I turned to see Jack Ransom leaning against the entrance wall.
“I've done what I set out to do,“ I said. “And running an office really isn't my line.“
“That's a pity,“ he said. “You're good at it. Only a couple of weeks, and already things are light-years better.“
“That's because all the real problem cases have been killed off or arrested,“ I said.
“And just when I thought things were going better for me, too,“ he said. “Did you hear about my promotion?“
“No – what to?“
“Head of all development,“ Jack said. “Apparently Rob was waffling on who to choose – wasn't sure I had the necessary daring and creativity, he said. But when he found out I was responsible for the Nude Lawyers from Hell version, that clinched it.“
“So all's well that ends well,“ I said.
“Almost all,“ Jack said. “I was hoping the absent boyfriend would turn out to be… well…“
“Permanently absent?“ I suggested.
