Chapter 65: Alibi
After Claire left Ben and Reg, she met up with Tonks in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement area where they discussed the situation with Mad-Eye Moody.
"For a moment, I thought you both got lost in the Department of Mysteries," Moody remarked. "But this theory of the windows being cursed is disconcerting."
"I can't help but wonder if this is the work of 'R,'" Claire said.
"'R'!" Tonks exclaimed. "Why would you jump to that conclusion?"
"Well, I don't have any hard evidence," Claire admitted. "But this seems like something they would do, though for what purpose I don't know."
"You can't just go around throwing crazy accusations like that!" Tonks insisted. "That's not how being an Auror works."
"That is true," Moody interjected. "A good Auror considers every possibility. So to solve this mystery, I want you two to start finding out if anyone suspicious has been seen in the Ministry."
"Perhaps we should check with Mr. Munch, who does register every person along with their wand as they enter the Ministry," Claire suggested.
"Excellent idea," Moody agreed. "I'll look around myself in the meantime, and then we'll meet back here to share our findings."
"Sounds good," Claire smiled.
"We won't let you down, Mad-Eye!" Tonks said enthusiastically.
Claire and Tonks then approached Mr. Munch, who had stacks of papers beside his desk.
"Do you have a minute to talk?" Claire asked.
"Nope," Munch said bluntly.
"We're not going to leave until you talk to us," Tonks insisted.
Sighing, Munch said, "Fine, what do you want?"
"Have you seen anyone suspicious recently?" Claire inquired.
"Apart from you, no," Munch answered.
"To be fair, my 'suspiciousness' wasn't intentional," Claire said. "Could we look through your documents to be sure? We promise it won't take long."
"Sure, if it'll stop you two from loitering in the lobby area," Munch replied.
Next, Tonks and Claire knelt beside Munch's desk and shifted through all the papers. Tonks knocked one of the piles down part way, which forced her to take extra time to re-stack them as Munch grumbled under his breath. Apart from Reg coming through twice during the morning, none of the other papers were particularly interesting.
"Do you know why Reg Cattermole came in here twice?" Claire asked Munch.
"I never saw him leave in-between," Munch shrugged.
"This could be a mistake," Tonks said. "Because Reg may have left the Ministry through a different entrance, or Munch wasn't paying attention when he left the first time."
"Either way, it's definitely a break in the case," Claire said. "Thank you, Mr. Munch."
"Just doing my job," replied Munch.
From there, Claire and Tonks went to see Reg in the All-Purpose Room.
"Have either of you found the person responsible for this mess?" Reg asked, while behind him Twycross was shifting through the strewn papers looking for a missing quill.
"I actually found something out from Mr. Munch just now," Claire said. "Apparently, you came into the Ministry twice this morning."
"Twice?" Reg winced. "Rubbish! I came in at my usual time: 8 AM on the dot with several of my colleagues, and I've been in meetings all day regarding the Atrium. You could ask my colleagues, and they'll tell you the same thing."
"All right, then we'll confirm your alibi," Claire decided.
She and Tonks then walked around the room, asking several of the witches and wizards if they came into the Ministry with Reg around 8 AM. One wizard claimed he met with Reg at the Leaky Cauldron for a cup of tea before they went in to work, while Twycross confirmed Reg's story. A witch even said that Reg was indeed tied up with meetings today about new pipes the Atrium needed. When they told Reg their findings, he smiled with relief.
"One last question: have you seen anything suspicious lately?" Claire asked Reg.
"No, but my wand did go missing," Reg answered. "It was in my overcoat when I came in here after having tea this morning, and then it was gone."
"Odd," Claire remarked.
"Not really," Tonks said. "I lose my wand all the time."
"Wait!" Claire abruptly said as her eyes noticed something. Kneeling underneath a nearby desk, she pulled out a wand and held it out. "Is this your wand, Reg?"
"Yes, it is!" Reg took the wand immediately from Claire's hand.
"Maybe you should check your overcoat for holes," Tonks suggested.
"But I don't recall sitting at that desk," Reg recalled, looking at the desk where Claire found his wand. "That's where Mafalda Hopkirk gets her early morning work done."
"Do you suppose someone stole Reg's wand?" Claire speculated.
Reg gasped. "That is a very serious accusation!"
"Do you have any evidence?" Tonks said to Claire, looking surprised.
"We know that on paper, two Reg Cattermoles came in this morning and Mr. Munch didn't see either of them leave," Claire responded.
"But as I said before, it could be a mistake as Reg could've gone out another exit without Mr. Munch noticing and came back later," Tonks repeated.
"Yet several of Reg's colleagues prove that he's been at the Ministry since arriving at 8 AM," Claire objected. "So if the real Reg is standing right in front of us, then the other Reg that came in was a fake. In other words, someone impersonated Reg and stole Reg's wand in order to curse the enchanted windows and blame Reg for it!"
"Blimey!" Tonks exclaimed.
"If it is true, then take my wand to Mad-Eye Moody," Reg insisted.
"Sure," Claire said as Reg gave his wand to her. "We'll get this sorted out soon."
At the Department of Magical Law Enforcement area, Ben was standing near the entrance.
"I've been looking for you," Ben said to Claire. "I want to help you break the curse that's on these windows."
Nodding in agreement, Claire told Ben everything she and Tonks had uncovered including Reg's alibi and missing wand along with Munch's report.
To be continued…