With Crow's help Gwen tried to use the time before Honoria was back to get hold of some other memories, but they didn't succeed.
At lunch time she joined Isabelle, Roberta, Timothy, and Eleanor, who had meanwhile developed a habit of sitting together. Timothy got up.
"You can take my seat, Gwendolyn," he offered his chair with a chivalrous smile. "I must leave. I've been called to investigate a case of a haunted muggle supermarket," he informed them, grinning. "Isn't it hilarious where some ghosts turn to to attract attention? See you!"
Roberta laughed and took a forkful of her mixed salad. They all said good-bye to him, and Gwen sat down.
"I'm still waiting for Honoria," Gwen told Isabelle, softly, while spreading her serviette across her lap. "We found another memory, the strand's only tiny, but you never know. I need the pensieve, which she used yesterday."
Isabelle rolled her eyes. She, too, knew Honoria's absent-mindedness. "Moi, I haven't seen her all-morning," Isabelle told her, under her breath.
Gwen nodded: "It's all right. Bob will inform me as soon as she turns up." She munched on her favourite dish, a Cornish pasty. Then she added more loudly: "What about our tickets, Roberta?"
"I am still working on it," the latter replied, her grey eyes twinkling. "But don't worry, my source told me it'll take only some days."
Isabelle clapped her hands together: "I am so looking forward to seeing the World Cup final. And Nicolas is thrilled."
Eleanor looked a bit sad, but she had decided not to go with them.
Roberta plunged into an extensive analysis of the English team, who would soon play against Liechtenstein. Gwen tried to understand her reasoning, but failed dismally, and lost herself in the admiration of Roberta's shining black hair, her startingly grey eyes, and her lively manner and enthusiasm.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder: "Fancy a cigarette in the smoking room, when you're finished?" Manisha, bearing a tray with steaming Machha Jhola, flashed her a dazzlingly white smile.
"Yes, of course," Gwen replied, slightly dazed.
"Don't you want to come to the Magic Gym with us?" asked Isabelle reproachfully. She had nearly finished her Quiche Lorraine. "I need to go today, this is lovely, but a bit heavy on the estomac."
"We went there Monday, and Tuesday," Gwen defended herself, "and I feel stiff and aching. My legs need a break." She grinned ruefully at Roberta and Eleanor, while Manisha withdrew contently to join the dark-clad Suplinius Crow, the tight-lipped Jacobus Mayfield, and the plump Evelyn Anderson at a table nearby.
~ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo~
As usual, the air of the Smoking room was heavy with blue smoke. Manisha and Gwen lit their cigarettes and inhaled deeply, smiling at each other.
"Do you know that we, too, are going to see the Quidditch World Cup final?" Gwen asked, blowing fume into the air, and pointing her wand at it to give it the form of a – blue – Snitch.
"We're going Roberta, Isabelle, her oldest son, and I."
Manisha laughed: "Oh, that's lovely!" She tried to imitate Gwen by blowing a blue goal hoop above their heads. "Then we might see each other there. There will, however, be a lot of wizarding people. But we could try. What seats have you got?"
"Oh, we still don't know. Roberta is trying to get us tickets." Gwen looked around and found a service elf. "I'd like a pumpkin juice, please."
"For me a capuccino, please."
The elf nodded and hurried outside to get their drinks. Gwen took off her glasses to clean them.
"I've been wondering," she turned to Manisha, "whether you could explain to me some of the finer points of Quidditch."
Manisha raised her eyebrows.
"Er… I know the basics," Gwen hurried to reassure her. "But it would be nice if you could…"
"Hi Manisha, how are you?" Walden Macnair was suddenly standing behind the two smoking witches.
Manisha whirled around, her big round earrings tinkling. "Hallo," she said awkwardly. "I'm fine. How're you doing?"
"Great." He laughed a dire laugh, his small eyes glittering darkly. "Have you got a cigarette for me?" he asked, grinning broadly.
She handed him one without saying a word, obviously hoping he would leave them alone after that, which he did, after thanking her for the cadget, lighting it with a spell from his short wand, and inhaling deeply. He withdrew into a far corner of the room, as if he were waiting for someone.
"Strange fellow," Gwen looked at Manisha expectantly.
The elf arrived with their drinks, put the pumpkin juice before Gwen, and the capuccino before Manisha. The witches handed her some sickles.
"Yes, isn't he," Manisha replied in a drawling voice, "I once worked in the Spirit Division on Level Four, that's near the Beast Division – where he works. He's an executioner. He kills dangerous animals."
Gwen took a drag. "Do you think he is … dangerous?"
Manisha looked at her, dumbfounded. "Now, now, Gwen. You mustn't let your imagination run away with you." She gave a somewhat hysterical laugh. "He's a Ministry employee performing an official job function. He is not a popular figure, I'm right there with you, but that doesn't mean he is a… Well, you wanted me to explain something about Quidditch. What do you want to know?"
Gwen realised that she couldn't find out more about Macnair from Manisha, and tried to concentrate on the topic at hand.
~ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo~
When Gwen was about to enter the Death Chamber, some paper airplanes of a pale violet colour followed her at a swoop. Along the edges of their wings she could see the usual Ministry of Magic stamp. On one of them she could decipher her own name, Gwendolyn Bale, Death Chamber, Department of Mysteries.
She closed the door behind her, reached for the memo, and opened it. It consisted of only four words: "Hon is back. Bob"
She re-opened the door to the Circular Room, and rushed to the Brain Room. Under the bright lamp lights, Honoria, Bob and Isabelle were standing and talking animatedly. When they noticed Gwen, they all laughed good-naturedly, and Honoria hurried towards her, her flowing robes fluttering behind her.
"I'm so sorry, Gwen, really. I heard I caused you a lot of trouble…," she exclaimed, contritely. "But I simply forgot to give the pensieve back to Bob. It's been in my office the whole time. And since I left the Department late last evening, I thought I'd relax a bit this morning… I should have noticed when I read my tarot card this morning: Six of Swords."
"Not to worry," Gwen waved her hand in dismissal, smiling, "not to worry. You didn't cause me exactly trouble, just a tiny delay. Nothing we couldn't handle."
"I'll get you the pensieve at once," Honoria promised, and bolted towards her office.
When Gwen finally received the pensieve, she went back to the Death Chamber. She let Crow know that she was back and entered Archie's office. Marilyn Beresford was there, talking to a tall, bald black wizard wearing a single gold hooped earring. Gwen remembered that she had seen him once in the Aurors' Headquarters. The wormwood didn't utter a peep for once.
"Hallo Miss Bale, Kingsley – may I introduce you to each other," Mrs Beresford asked. "This is Kingsley Shackebolt. Gwendolyn Bale."
They shook hands.
"Miss Bale is helping us in this murder business," Mrs Beresford told Shackebolt, who nodded. "She's an expert from the Brain Room." Gwen blushed in spite of herself.
"I brought the pensieve," she explained. "We managed to extract another memory, and I'll have a look at it right now." She didn't want to mention the delay caused by Honoria.
Crow entered the room, and greeted Mrs Beresford and Kingsley Shacklebolt in his dark drawling voice.
Gwen looked around, confused. "Where is the vial, Mr Crow?" she asked the dark-clad wizard, after having turned around several times. "The vial with the memory."
"You put it there," Crow pointed at the cabinet on the wall, frowning. "And I haven't touched it ever since."
"You're right," Gwen said, ignoring his ironic tone of voice. "I placed it there and left in order to find the pensieve," Gwen said. "You and Mrs Beresford were the only ones in this room, weren't you?"
"I left after you," Crow stated, drawing himself up. "It's not that I have no other work to do."
He waited. Gwen looked around nervously, but couldn't find the vial anywhere.
"The question is: Was it still here when we continued our work on the brain before lunch?"
Crow wondered.
He's clever, Gwen thought, and a quick thinker.
They both looked at each other for some seconds without speaking.
"Mrs Beresford, did you perhaps take the vial?" Gwen asked the Auror hesitantly.
Marilyn Beresford, who had been talking to Shacklebolt, turned around. "What vial?" she asked perplexedly.
"The one I left in the cabinet."
"No, Miss Bale, certainly not. Apart from that, we came back just some minutes before you two appeared."
"When did you leave the office in the morning?" Gwen asked confusedly.
"When…? What…? I left shortly after Mr Crow. Why do you ask?"
"Mrs Beresford," Gwen gulped and took a deep breath. "I have bad news for you." She gave her a significant look.
Kingsley Shacklebolt grasped her meaning instantly, bid them all good-bye in his deep slow voice, and left the office.
Mrs Beresford turned back to Crow and Gwen. "What in Merlin's name is the matter?" she asked in her hoarse voice.
"It seems a vial with one of the victim's memories has disappeared. I'm afraid someone must have stolen it," Gwen told her, gloomily.
~ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo~