Myka and Claudia entered The Olympian's Nectar and noticed something was wrong. They smelled fudge. Myka slowed down and took a deep breath of the air. "Claud, do you smell-?" Myka asked Claudia, trying to confirm her suspicion.
"I sure do, Mykes. And look over there. Suspect number one doesn't look too happy." She nodded toward a man with his head in his hands, fidgeting with his hair.
" Look at him. He's upset about something. Let's go talk to him." Myka and Claudia walked over to the man and sat across from him in a booth.
"Excuse me, sir. We're with the secret service. Do we mind if we asked you a few questions about a fire that happened a little while ago?" Myka asked. The man looked up, his face white and his hands shaking.
"Why would you think I'd know anything about that?" He asked nervously. Claudia glanced down and noticed his filthy hands. His jacket was also covered in soot.
"Well, we noticed your hands and jacket were covered in soot. We were just wondering if you know what happened." She explained.
"Um, no, I don't. This is from my fireplace I was adding wood..." The man mumbled under his breath. He was incredibly nervous now, Myka noticed. He knows something she thought.
"Um, sir?" Myka asked softly.
"Please, just tell me if she's ok. Please tell me she's ok. If she wasn't, I...I don't know what I'd..." The man trailed off and suddenly found his lap very interesting. Claudia looked down at his wrist and noticed a watch. Engraved on the watch was Happy Birthday, Daddy! Love, Rachel ❤.
"Is Rachel your daughter?" Claudia asked. The man's head shot up and looked straight at Claudia. "Is she ok? Please tell me!" The man asked desperately; his face growing paler by the second. Myka and Claudia exchanged glances. Finally, Myka spoke up. "Rachel is fine. She's surprisingly calm considering what happened. But she's completely fine." The man's face was flooded with relief. His eyes filled with joy. The color returned to his face as he whispered, "Oh thank the gods!" He buried his face in his hands as he sighed and sobbed releasing the burden that had weighed heavily on his mind ever since the fire. Myka and Claudia gave him a moment to calm down before saying "Please tell us what you know. We only want to help." The man's expression changed from suspicion to gratitude from meeting the girls to after hearing the relieving news.
"Ok. I'll tell you. But not here. Follow me." Myka and Claudia followed the man to the back of the diner where the man turned around and started whispering.
"I don't even know where I got it. I just found it. I knew Rachel loved dragons so I was going to give it to her. But then I had the fight with her mother." He explained.
"What was the fight about?"
"The pendant. She thought it was too childish for her...she thought Rachel needed to grow up. I told her it was harmless, but she wouldn't listen. Then she stormed off and I left too. I came back a while later, planning on giving it to Rachel anyway but I was too scared. So I rang the door bell to distract her and set it on the windowsill.
"Mr...?" Myka started looking towards the man asking for his name.
"Andrews," The man finished.
"Mr. Andrews, we believe the pendant is what caused the fire, but it was nowhere to be found when we found Rachel outside the house. Do you know what might have happened to it?" Myka asked. The man looked up at her and ran his hands through his hair nervously.
"What do you mean the pendant caused the fire? How is that possible?" Mr. Andrews asked them, his voice dry and thick with fear.
"The world is full of objects that cause mysterious things to happen, and it's our job to track them down and take them away before too many people get hurt. " Claudia said.
"I have it here. I don't remember taking it back." The man held out the dragon pendant, glowing a brilliant turquoise. Claudia grabbed it quickly and dropped it into a purple bag where it sent a few sparks up before its glow dimmed to nothing.
"Thank you, Mr. Andrews." Claudia put a hand on his shoulder and smiled softly. The girls walked out of the diner and flew back to the warehouse where Artie was checking in with Steve and Pete.