Many, many thanks to you - you who have been reading and reviewing this fic! I have my hands full as it is at the moment, and to get feedback from you guys makes me very happy :)

And to the beta - seriously, I don't know how I would have done this without you. *sniff*

Disclaimer: All life, the universe and everything else in the Fowl fandom belongs to Mr. Eoin Colfer; I don't anything.

Chapter 7: Fishier and Fishier

Operations Booth, Police Plaza

The penny dropped like a dwarf's underpants hurled down a titanium pipe.

Commander Kelp was not happy. Foaly was not happy. And the Council members were not making things easier – they were still unable to come to a decision on how to handle the present crisis.

'Solinium pulse to white out the cameras,' said Foaly hollowly, when the LEP officers he had sent to check the cameras came back with their reports. 'Fake video feed to fool a genius.'

'I've sent some of my officers over to stand guard at Merrick's,' said Trouble. 'And it says in this report here that the weapons detectors installed in every room of the house were still working.'

'Of course,' said Foaly, munching on a carrot gloomily. 'The murderer used a knife to fox the sensors. Clever.'

'I don't like how this is turning out, Foaly,' Trouble said. 'And where is Holly with the Fowl boy?'

Fowl Manor

'Is Butler coming along?' asked Holly as Artemis entered the room.

'He'll drive us there,' he said.

'But he's not coming to Haven with us, is he?' she said. 'You're just going for an interrogation – nothing dangerous. Retrieval will be with us until you meet the commander in a secure place. And Butler…'

'I'm not going to risk Butler's life again by asking him to accompany me,' said Artemis. 'The heart attack a while ago has made him somewhat…older. No, I will ask him to stay behind to guard my family. I hope I can make him understand.'

'Good luck with that.'

'Do you want anything to eat?'

'I don't think I have the appetite to eat, Artemis,' said the elf. 'Let's just wait here till sunset, shall we?'

Operations Booth

'Guess what?' said Foaly.

'Yes?' said Trouble, looking up from the reports his officers had given him.

'The Council got wind of Artemis coming to Haven. And they've agreed.'

'That's something you don't hear every day,' said Trouble, chuckling. 'Remind me to kick their bureaucratic behinds the next time I see them – they've agreed on something we're going to do anyway. Idiots.'

'You won't dare, I know,' said Foaly, grinning. 'You're a commander, Kelp.'

'Then I might just have to kick yours.'

That shut the centaur and his smart mouth up.

Tara, Ireland

'Where do you plan to set up your equipment, Artemis?' said Butler as the Bentley came to a stop.

Artemis caught the question in the manservant's eyes as he stepped out of the car, but he chose not to comment on it. The next part of his plan required trickery, and knowing Butler, the man would probably resist whatever ploy that Artemis could think of to fool him. The teenager himself felt a pang of remorse as he thought about what would happen next, but the feeling was swiftly repressed as he pretended to scan the place for a suitable spot.

It was Holly's turn. She had been shielded during the ride in the car, sitting on the floor of the Bentley to prevent Butler from noticing a strange shimmer in midair. As soon as Artemis left the vehicle, she shut down her shield and went to talk to Butler.

'Hello, Holly,' said the man, hardly blinking when she appeared out of thin air. This was what he had expected, after all.

'Everything will be all right, Butler,' she said, her voice laced with the mesmer. Trust Artemis to think up of a plan that would make her feel guilty. Butler didn't deserve to be mesmerized, but it was the quickest way that they could convince him to leave and return to Fowl Manor.

'No,' said Butler, shaking his head slowly.

Holly gritted her teeth, pushing more magic into the mesmer, willing the man to submit to her will. This was not the first time that she had encountered resistance from him when using the mesmer.

'Please, Butler. Just go back to the Manor and everything will be okay. Artemis is in good hands,' she said.

Butler nodded, once, twice. She didn't know if he had finally given in to the magic, or he was saying yes of his own free will. Either way, it was essential that she and Artemis meet the Retrieval team in the Tara terminal before sundown; Commander Kelp would not take too kindly to the delay.

'I promise to bring Artemis back safely,' she whispered in her usual voice, resting a hand briefly on Butler's shoulder. 'See you soon.'

And then she was out of the car and Artemis was closing the door behind her. Butler started up the Bentley and moved off in the last light of the day.

Operations Booth

'Council member Ariya's missing!' yelled a techie as he dashed into the booth. 'Foaly! Cahartez wants you to check if her signal's anywhere near here or in Atlantis!'

Foaly caught the excited pixie before the techie ran headlong into the plasma screens. 'What signal?' he demanded.

The pixie shook himself, coming to his senses. 'Phone signal.'

'Wasn't she at the meeting, Kelp?' said Foaly out of the corner of his mouth as he logged into the phone records of the Lower Elements Police.

'She couldn't make it, said she had to meet the Atlantean ambassador,' said Trouble. 'We didn't think there was anything wrong at the time.'

'I can't get her phone signal,' said Foaly. 'Any other devices I can track?'

'Try her handheld computer.'

'Let's see…nope, no go.' Foaly got up from his swivel chair and headed to the door, much to the commander's surprise.

'And where are you going, Foaly?'

'I need to tell Caballine I'll be late,' the centaur called as he left the booth.

E1 Chute, Tara

'Councilwoman Ariya has been found dead in her office along Mackerel Road,' said the reporter.

Artemis glanced at Holly across the shuttle. All other eyes in the shuttle were on the TV screen, watching as reporters from news stations in Haven gave their opinions and updates on the latest murder.

'That's political murder, that is,' said one of the Retrieval officers. 'I bet you a can of beetle juice that there's something going on.'

'A conspiracy, you mean?' said Artemis, smirking.

The Retrieval officer gave him a look of distrust and turned his face away. 'Smart arse, isn't he?' he said to his colleague.

Holly shook her head and held a finger to her lips. Quiet, Artemis.

Artemis took the hint. This wasn't the right time for smart comments, and there were fairies who would only be too glad to show him how to shut up.

A/N: Chapter title is from Alice's famous phrase: "Curiouser and curiouser." With a story title like that, methinks references to Carroll's books would be almost inevitable.

Pretty short chapter, isn't it? And I didn't realise how much I split the narrative until I read it again weeks later...

As always - reviews would be yummy!