Page 47 of House of Malice
Alecto glanced at Jolene in question.
“Well, okay, we don’t have to tell them what’s going on,” Jolene said. “But we at least can try to ask them about the past or something.”
“Blaze already asked his mother,” Alecto said. They reached the building, and she opened the heavy wooden door, waiting for Jolene to enter first. “And he even tried talking with Galliermo about it. They completely shut him out.”
Jolene rolled her eyes. “What a surprise. Galliermo Leveau didn’t want to talk to his son.”
Alecto smirked, even though her heart hurt for Blaze.
“I think if we tried talking to my aunties, we might get some answers,” Jolene said. “Remember, during the Yule party at Andro’s, my auntie Lyra was the one who mentioned the murders from the past.”
They climbed the stairs to the second floor, where Miss Bellthrove’s office was.
“You might be right,” Alecto said after a moment. “Lyra might be willing to talk, and it would be good at least to try.”
Jolene nodded, unwrapping her huge scarf.
“Now we just need to convince Val that it is a good idea,” Alecto said.
“I’ll leave that to you, honey,” Jolene said. “She will listen to you.”
Before Alecto could ask why Jolene thought that, they reached the administration, where Miss Bellthrove sat behind the desk, typing away at her typewriter.
“Good morning, Miss Bellthrove,” Alecto and Jolene said at the same time.
She lifted her head, her thick glasses resting low on the bridge of her nose. She smiled such a bright smile, you could think seeing Alecto and Jolene was the highlight of her day.
“Good morning, girls!” Miss Bellthrove chirped. “Aren’t you early today. It is still so cold outside in the mornings, right? Ah, I can’t wait for summer. Tell me, what brings you here today?”
Alecto pulled out the paper that Professor Fallo had given her and passed it to the secretary. “I need you to grant me permission to enter the archives. It’s for an assignment.”
“That must be one serious assignment,” Miss Bellthrove said, reading the paper.
“Yes, for Professor Fallo’s class,” Alecto said. “I’m writing about Mistress Venefica and her trial, so I will need to read a lot of documents.”
The secretary looked up from the paper, her eyes wide. “Oh, how fascinating!”
She put the paper down and placed both hands flat on top of it. For a moment, she didn’t say anything, just stared at Alecto. “You know, usually, all the requests have to go through Dean Gondalez,” the secretary said. “He is usually the one who handles the approvals. Part of his many responsibilities.”
Alecto’s heart sunk, but she didn’t reveal her disappointment. She nodded.
“But seeing you have a deadline for the paper, and you have exceptional grades, I think I might grant an exception here,” the secretary said. “It might take a while for the Dean to get to your request, and by that time, you might be too late to turn in your paper. We wouldn’t want to fail your assignment.”
Alecto blinked, taken by surprise. She glanced at Jolene, who was equally shocked.
Miss Bellthrove took the large iron stamp that rested on the corner of her messy desk and slammed the request paper. Then she took out another paper and stapled them together before returning them to Alecto.
It was an instruction manual on how to access the archives and all the rules guests had to follow while visiting.
“Thank you, Miss Bellthrove,” Alecto said. She hesitated for a moment, not daring to push her luck, but then asked, “Am I able to bring someone with me into the archives? I would appreciate the help sorting through all the documents on the trial.”
Miss Bellthrove blinked twice and then smiled. “Usually, the request has to specify how many people need to enter the archives, and then the Dean decides whether it is appropriate or not. But I don’t see any harm in bringing a friend or two to help you with your assignment. As long as you are respectful and tactful while you are there.”
It was hard to read anything from the secretary’s smile and pleasant yet blank expression. But Alecto smiled back, nodded, and thanked Miss Bellthrove.
When she and Jolene left the building, Alecto turned to her friend. “Do you think it means…?”
“Yes,” Jolene said. “I think it means she’s on our side.”
