Meghan crossed her arms and glared at the others. "Nobody's doing a thing until you explain what in the world is going on in here."
Elyssa gave her the short version, leaving out the details about Underborn's involvement.
"I can't possibly believe a Templar would do such a thing," the healer replied. "And even if they did, what do you expect to find in their living quarters? A signed invitation from Maximus to betray Christian? Emails? A video of the suspect calling the vampires and telling them what to do?" She shook her head. "You need to question the suspects and find out what they know."
"Honey, you never know," Adam said in a placating voice. "Sometimes, if you look hard enough, you can find all sorts of telltale signs people leave behind."
"We don't have time to round them up and play twenty questions." Elyssa resisted the urge to stomp her foot like a child. "Justin's in trouble, his sister is in trouble, and if Maximus knows about our upcoming attack, the vampires will slaughter our people."
"For the sake of argument, you think this betrayal happened within the past few days?" Meghan asked.
"It must have. My father probably told Christian a day or two in advance that we were coming."
"Very well." The Arcane healer sighed and pulled out her wand. "I may have a spell for such a thing, provided any communications happened no more than three days ago, and they happened here."
Adam's eyebrows shot up. "Whoa, what spell are you talking about?"
She offered him a sly smile. "A girl's got to have some secrets."
Bella took a seat. "This should be fascinating."
"Get up!" Fausta said. "You might shed hair, and Jean-Claude will know someone was here."
The Arcane pulled a long strand of hair from the back of the couch. "I think someone already beat me to it."
"You know how you wondered what the walls would say if they could talk?" Meghan said, weaving her wand in an intricate pattern around the room.
"You can bring inanimate objects to life?" Bella asked.
Meghan smiled. "Not exactly." Her wand emitted blue particles of light, which dusted the room in a cold glow. "Everything absorbs energy, and the energy leaves behind a pattern. This spell pulls the sound patterns back out and plays them."
"Holy mother," Adam said. "Do you know what I could do with a spell like that? How much it would help my investigations?"
Meghan's eyes hardened. "Save the discussion for another time, Adam." She opened her mouth to say something else when the faint sound of voices echoed in the room—voices that belonged to someone other than the intruders.
"Oh, Jean-Claude, you naughty man. What are you going to do to me on this couch?" said a female in a sultry voice.
"Let's just say we'll be cleaning up afterward," said a low, French voice.
Bella leapt off the couch, brushing at her clothes as if they were on fire.
Meghan's face burned bright red. "Those were the earlier conversations. Let me forward through to the more current patterns."
Elyssa went to the door to stand watch as Meghan worked her magic. Thankfully, the officers were still in preparations for the upcoming operation. They might not even return to their quarters for the evening. But if Elyssa couldn't find the traitor, she planned to stop the operation one way or the other. No Templar blood would be spilled if she could help it.
Adam appeared at her side. "I need to talk to you."
"Then talk."
He motioned her into the hallway. Elyssa reluctantly stepped outside the door, looking toward the building lobby to be sure they weren't visible to anyone who happened by outside.
"My sister is in Maximus's compound."
"I know."
"She hasn't always been perfect, but she's all the family I have left in the world." He took a deep breath. "Look, there's something you're not telling us. I've been at this investigation gig for too long not to be able to tell when someone is keeping secrets."
Elyssa crossed her arms, her mind searching for reasons not to tell Adam about Underborn. The Arcane geek had helped her and Justin a lot in the short time they'd known him. He'd even given them instructions for finding the assassin. While she definitely didn't want to tell Christian or her father, Adam deserved to know. "It's not really a secret, but I don't want other Templars to know."
"Know what?"
"Underborn has a plan to get Justin out, but he won't commit unless I find the Templar mole. He claims the spy would compromise his people