But Dora was a clean slate. A clean, boring slate. Just like with the file that Mamie had given me on her, nothing August provided led us any closer to proving her involvement in the Tinkers’ Tourney mess.

And trust me, we’d looked.

My eyes were watering, and the smell of newsprint was giving me a headache. “I can’t look at another page.”

Sin glanced up from the census he was studying and yawned. “I have to agree with you. This is making my brain hurt.”

I stretched my arm out on the table, then laid my head on it and looked at him. “Right? I know more about Dora Frigit than I ever thought possible, and yet, I’ve learned nothing that means anything to this case.”

“Same.” He sighed, leaning back in his chair to stretch. “How long have we been at this?”

I checked my watch. “Son of a nutcracker. Almost three hours.”

Sin’s eyes widened in shocked disbelief. “Yikes. August has been really helpful, though.”

“Very.” I sat up as the man himself came down one of the aisles toward us, more books in his arms.

He settled them onto the table where we were working. “I found two more articles about her husband and one about her parents, but I doubt they’ll be much help.”

I smiled weakly. I didn’t have it in me to read one more word. “August, we’re going to call it a night. You’ve provided us with more information than I thought possible, but none of it is helping us with our investigation.”

Crestfallen, he gathered the books back into his arms. “I’m sorry, Princess Jayne. I really thought I could help…”

“You did. You’re an amazing resource. I can’t thank you enough for your time and effort here. The fact that it wasn’t the information we needed isn’t your fault. And now, it’s time for all of us to go home.” I got to my feet, a little stiff from sitting for so long. I smiled. “Why don’t you let us help you put all of these books back?”

“Oh, no. That’s not necessary.” His smile broadened. “I have interns who can do that in the morning.”

Sin laughed. “Perfect. Thanks again, August. We can see ourselves out.”

“And have a good night. Oh, gorgeous flowers you sent to Mamie, by the way.”

August went a little pink as Sin put his hand on the small of my back. Together, we walked through the quiet space without saying another word.

When we got outside, he opened the crawler door for me, then leaned in after I was in my seat and kissed my temple. “Hungry, sweetheart? We missed dinner.”

I nodded, smiling a little. A faint aurora borealis glowed in the dark sky behind him. It was another beautiful North Pole night. “I could eat.”

“Good. We need a break. We need to do something fun and not related to Dora or tinkers or chickens. Where do you want to go?”

“Don’t you think we should check in with my dad? See if the constable found anything?”

“Mamie knew where we were. If something had come up, she’d have tracked us down.”

I blew out a discouraged breath. “Yeah, you’re right.”

He closed the door, walked around and got in behind the wheel. “I know you’re frustrated. I am too. But we’re doing everything we can.”

I stared at him, a thought uncurling in my head like a strand of ice vapor. “Maybe we aren’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“If there’s no news from the constable, that must mean Dora went home and stayed there, right?”

“Seems like a reasonable assumption. Most people are probably in bed by now, I’m guessing. Why should she be any different?”

“Then now would be the perfect time to inspect her work space just like we did with Stanley and Terrance. I mean, why not? We looked through theirs. We should look through hers. Especially because we already know she’s involved in this somehow.”

I could tell by the slight bend of his mouth that he was in. He cranked the crawler’s engine. “Buckle up.”

He got us to the factory in a few minutes, and in a few minutes more, we were in the elevator headed to the tinkers’ floor.

“The place is a lot calmer at night, huh?” He looked through the glass elevator wall at the factory floor. A smattering of elves worked diligently at their stations, crafting the toys that would brighten millions of children’s lives on Christmas morning.

“The night shift is a quieter group. Smaller too. Although in another week or so, the night shift will increase to the same numbers as the day shift. Christmas production schedule.”

He kept watching. “This place is fascinating.”

The elevator stopped at the tinkers’ floor, our badges getting us access once again. “I’m glad you think so.”

We stepped out, and I groaned as I realized I’d forgotten a very important detail. “Snowballs. I can’t remember the number of her workshop. I know we were just up here, but I was so fixated on watching that the number slipped my mind.”

“Forty-six,” Sin said. He was grinning like he was rather pleased with himself. And he was right to be.

“You have a better memory than I do.”

He laughed softly. “Not really. It was in an article I read about her husband.”

“I guess August really did help us. And good on you for paying attention.” I kissed him. He deserved it. And so did I. “Let’s go.”

The inside of Dora’s lab was nothing like Terrance’s or Stanley’s work spaces. It was neat, but not obsessively so. There were no labels on things, and there were a few stacks of papers. Small ones. It didn’t have the energy of either of their spaces either.

It seemed rather…sedate. A lot like the life she lived.

The only thing that really stood out was the framed photo of her husband, Earl Frigit. He was a kind-faced man with a large nose and a slightly receding hairline. There was warmth in his eyes, and I wondered if he’d been looking at Dora when the photo had been taken.

A small spotlight shone on the photo, and the frame was draped in black crepe. A shelf had been installed under it and on that shelf were a few candles, another smaller photo of Dora and Earl together in front of a fireplace, and a single red silk rose.

It was sad and sweet and made me hurt for Dora. “She’s not over him.”

Sin shook his head. “She might never be. He’s been gone for nearly six years.”

“They looked so happy in their wedding picture in the Post.” It was odd to stand in Dora’s space knowing so much about her and yet not really knowing her at all. I suddenly wanted to be out of there as quickly as I could. “Okay, let’s do this and then go eat.”

“You got it.”

I went to the cabinet to search like I had in Terrance’s and Stanley’s, while Sin did the shelves. I opened the doors, not sure what to expect. And found a red velvet box. “Hey, look. Another memo box.”

Sin came over to stand beside me. “I realize all the tinkers use them, but it’s interesting that she’s got one just like Stanley did.”

I picked it up and gave it a gentle shake. “There’s something in it too.”

“Work your magic and pick that lock.”

“I don’t have to.” I opened the lid. “It’s not locked.”

Inside was a crisp sheet of folded white paper. Not the cream-colored stuff the tinkers used. “Interesting.”

I unfolded it so Sin could see it too. It took only a few lines of reading to know we’d found something worthwhile.

My dearest Dora,

I hope you are not suffering too much in the wake of my demise. I miss you terribly, sweetheart, but know that we will be together again someday. Until then, I want only the best for you, which is why I am sending you this note and this idea.

The idea is for a machine that produces adhesive glitter sheets. Just like the sticker machine we created the year before I died, except with glitter. I think it’ll be a big hit. And it should win you a place in the tourney.

Be well, my love.

Earl

We stared at the paper for a few seconds longer.

Then Sin cleared his throat. “That’s not weird at all.”

“Babe. That is super weird.”

“I was being sarcastic.”

I snorted. “I know.”

We went back to staring at the paper.

I shook my head. “How does this happen? When did this happen? He’s been gone for almost six years. He couldn’t have just sent this, but she only entered the Glitterskins in this year’s competition. Or did it take her that long to produce a working prototype? I have so many questions.”

“Me too. And the only one who can give us answers is Dora. We need to talk to her. The sooner the better.”

“Actually, I think we should talk to Mamie. Ask her about the paper this note is written on, just like we did with the others. Get a little info, then go talk to Dora.”

“Solid plan. Do you know where Mamie lives?”

“I do.” My stomach growled. Loudly. Like I’d swallowed a yeti.

Sin chuckled. “Okay, listen, it’s late. You’re hungry. This can wait until the morning. No one’s going anywhere, anyway, right? Let’s get you something to eat. What’s still open at this hour?”

I was hungry. Starving, really. And he was right that no one, Dora or otherwise, was going anywhere. “The cafeteria is.”

“Perfect.” He smiled. “Just one request. Can we take the slide?”

I laughed. “Yes. We just have to go down one floor for the nearest one. But what are we going to do with this letter? We can’t leave it here if we want Mamie to look at the paper.”

“I’ll put it in my jacket pocket.”

I folded it in half again and gave it over.

He tucked it away and took my hand. “Lead the way.”

We took the elevator to the floor below, then the slide to the cafeteria. It had been a long time since my backside had been on one of those, and I’d forgotten how fun it was. Especially from so many floors up.

Sin was still laughing as we walked into the cafeteria. “I really have to do that again before we go home.”

I giggled a little. “Your hair is all messed up from the wind.”

He finger-combed it back into place. “Better?”

“Gorgeous as always.”

He snaked his arm around my waist, smiling and giving me a quick peck on the cheek. “Let’s see what’s on the menu.”

We glanced at the specials board and I read them off. “Stuffed pork chops, fish and chips, and pot roast. Plus navy bean is the soup of the day.”

“Fish and chips.”

I nodded. “Same. Plus a big slice of that chocolate peanut butter pie.”

“I’m going with the caramelized pear cobbler with ginger ice cream.”

“Can I have a bite?”

“I’d be worried if you didn’t want one.”

We got in line, got our food, talked to a few folks, but were left alone to eat. Some of that might have been that there weren’t many people in there. Some of it might have been that we sat in my uncle’s booth, next to each other. I had no doubt we were giving off a “privacy please” vibe.

For the first few minutes, we were quiet. Too busy eating. But as the edge of our hunger wore off, the conversation started back up.

“Something’s just occurred to me,” Sin said.

“What’s that?” I dipped a french fry in tartar sauce.

“This note from beyond the grave…you don’t think it’s part of some elaborate scheme to blame me again, do you? I mean, Earl’s dead and…” He shrugged.

“The death angle. Right.” I thought about that. “I don’t think so. At least, I hope not. We’ll know more soon enough.”

“Do you think Earl really could have arranged to send her a note after he died?”

“Sure. From what I learned tonight, he had a rare strain of hypothermia that causes a winter elf not to be able to control their body temperature. It’s not always terminal, but he could have written that and left it with a friend to send in case he didn’t make it.”

“You still don’t sound convinced.”

“That note is so specific. It feels obvious. Like someone planted that note to give her that idea. They wanted her in the competition.”

“Why?”

“Could be a couple of reasons. Maybe a friend knew how down she was and wanted to give her something else to focus on.” I ate another fry. “Maybe they thought a note from Earl would cheer her up. Especially one with a new toy idea in it.”

Sin nodded. “Or maybe someone really wanted her in the competition.”

“That too.” I reached for my dessert. “We really need to talk to Dora first thing in the morning.”

Sin’s fork edged closer to my pie. “You still want to see Mamie about the paper the note is written on?”

“Yes. Mamie, then Dora.” I gave him a stern look as his fork breached the edge of my plate. “I thought you were all about that pear cobbler?”

“I am.” He wiggled his brows. “Right after I have a bite of your pie, Princess.”