The Fairy Godmother Part 109

“And how long have you been working here?” Enid asked Mavis when she arrived with the chips.

“Only a few months,” Mavis replied. “Maud employed me to find out how someone managed to send you some poisoned mushrooms,” she added smiling at Myrtle and pushing the plate of chips towards her.

“So where did you learn about computers?” Myrtle asked, looking at a text on her phone.

“Don’t trust her,” the message came from the mirror. “And don’t eat the chips, she’s sprinkled something on them and it isn’t salt and vinegar.”

“Any suggestions on how to get out of this situation?” she texted the mirror.

“Yes, where did you learn about computers?” asked Enid, trying to distract the girl from Myrtle’s messaging.

“It’s nowhere you’d know about,” Mavis replied somewhat evasively.

“Say you’ve forgotten something in your rooms,” suggested the Mirror. “Something that they don’t have here.”

“I’ve left my memory sick behind,” said Myrtle.

“Do you need it?” asked Mavis.

“It’s got a lot of log on things,” said Myrtle standing up and picking up the Mirror.

“I’m sure you will remember them as soon as the screen comes up,” smiled Mavis. “It’s amazing how these things come to mind.”

“Usually I would agree with you,” smiled Myrtle. “But lately I have been forgetting the simplest of things. Baby brain, I’d forget my name if it wasn’t on my bracelet,” she added holding up the bracelet with Myrtle written on it.

“But you must at least have the chips,” said Mavis. “Don’t want you getting faint on the way back.”

“I’ll be fine,” smiled Myrtle heading for the door. “Come on Mother,” she added holding the door open.

“Of course,” said Enid, grabbing her laptop and following her daughter out.

“What was all that about?” Myrtle asked the Mirror as soon as they were clear of the cafe.

“I was going to ask you that,” said Enid, looking at her daughter.

“I remembered Mavis, only she wasn’t called Mavis when I saw her last,” said the Mirror.

“What was she called?” asked Myrtle.

“Belladonna,” said the Mirror. “My previous mistress employed her because of her knowledge of poisons.”

“Belladonna,” muttered Enid. “The name rings a bell. An alarm bell.”

“I’d better warn Maud,” said Myrtle. “Don’t want her eating the chips.”

“I’ve already done that,” said the Mirror.

“You don’t think she tried to poison Myrtle?” asked Enid.

“I would be very surprised if she didn’t have a hand in the last attempt,” replied the Mirror. “And she doesn’t like leaving a job unfinished.”

“You thought she would put poison on the chips?” asked Enid.

“The moment I saw her,” said the Mirror. “But I didn’t want her to suspect anything.”

“So we walk all the way back to Myrtle’s rooms,” said Enid.

“I don’t think that is a good idea,” said the Mirror. “I would be very surprised if they don’t know where you live. It might not be safe.”

“I’d better contact James,” said Myrtle. “I don’t want them using him as a hostage.”

“That’s a good idea,” said the Mirror.

“So, it’s my place,” said Enid.

“No, for the same reason,” said Myrtle, pressing the send button.

“So where do we go?” asked Enid. “Because we can’t spend the day dashing round everywhere.”

“No,” said Myrtle, taking a short cut through the park to the laundry. “But I suspect that Velvet might be able to help us.”

“Velvet!” squeaked Enid.

“Have you never wondered why there are no laundry vans driving round the streets?” Myrtle asked.

“Hadn’t really thought about it,” said Enid. “It goes off dirty, if I’m in a rush I wand it, and it comes back clean.”

“And any other delivery vans for that matter,” Myrtle asked.

“Likewise, it’s not something I think about,” Enid smiled.

“There are a whole series of underground tunnels for the distribution of all sorts of goods and services,” said Myrtle.

“So?” asked Enid.

“They have a network which is separate from the one that we use,” Myrtle replied. “Velvet should be able to get on that.”

“How will that help us?” asked Enid.

“I’m not sure, but we need to find out what has been put on the Fairy network so that we can find a way to counter it,” said Myrtle. “They make it sound like it is something big, but it could be all show.”

“It seems to have set off a series of updates that freeze the computer,” replied Enid. “That sounds pretty big to me.”

“As far as I know, that has only hit Violet’s laptop,” said Myrtle. “Ethel said that it would take a day or two at least to download all the updates. Then it has to install them.”

“What are you saying?” asked Enid.

“This has stopped the Head of the Fairy Godmothers from using her laptop and has probably reduced the usage of computers by anyone else to the minimum, just in case it starts doing an update. Or to put it another way, the office is not working at full capacity, so they have achieved their objectives anyway,” Myrtle explained.

“But why?” asked Enid.

“Violet went to the College to talk them into including computing in their syllabus,” said the Mirror. “Perhaps they thought this would strengthen their argument against change.”

“I can follow that logic,” said Enid. “Except the actions of Thistle have probably lost her her job and any argument she might put forward.”

“It could be that someone has used the Fairy College to further their plan,” said Myrtle. “Thistle didn’t sound like she knew what was going on as far as the computer system went.”

“You mean this Liam cooked up a plan which involved getting control of the Fairy network and he is using Thistle to achieve this?” asked the Mirror.

“Devious,” said Enid.

“It may even be that someone is using Liam to do this,” said Myrtle. “We need to a way of finding out what he knows.”

“The Royal Suite,” said Enid slowly. “They have put him in the Royal Suite.”

“What of it?” asked the Mirror.

“A few years ago Lily asked me to sort out some equipment to keep an eye on one of our visitors. I got Ethel to put up some cameras that fed the footage straight to my laptop,” said Enid. “We were supposed to take it down after the guest left, but Lily liked the idea of having it there, so it was left.”

“Nice idea, but Ethel would know about it,” said Myrtle.

“Except, we put the idea that it had been taken down, in her mind,” said Enid.

“That poor girl, everybody has been trampling round in her head without a thought to her,” said Myrtle.

“I’ll apologise to her when we’ve got this sorted, but at the moment she isn’t someone I care to trust,” said Enid.

“It isn’t her fault,” said Myrtle. “It isn’t as if she knows what she’s doing.”

“I know,” sighed Enid. “It’s just, I’m so used to asking her help with computers.”

“When was the last time she helped with your laptop?” asked the Mirror. “It may not be the solution that we think it is.”

“Actually,” said Enid and everyone looked at her. “I know I used to be keen on Ethel sorting out everyone’s computers, but I never got her to look at mine. I was always to busy using the blasted thing.”

“Good,” said Myrtle. “So that reduces the chances of them having got to it.”

“Are there any remote links into it?” asked the Mirror. “They don’t have to get hold of the laptop to get into it.”

“Ethel kept nagging me about it,” said Enid. “In the end, I put the thought into her head that she’d done it and that sort of shut her up.”

The Fairy Godmother Part 109

“And how long have you been working here?” Enid asked Mavis when she arrived with the chips.

“Only a few months,” Mavis replied. “Maud employed me to find out how someone managed to send you some poisoned mushrooms,” she added smiling at Myrtle and pushing the plate of chips towards her.

“So where did you learn about computers?” Myrtle asked, looking at a text on her phone.

“Don’t trust her,” the message came from the mirror. “And don’t eat the chips, she’s sprinkled something on them and it isn’t salt and vinegar.”

“Any suggestions on how to get out of this situation?” she texted the mirror.

“Yes, where did you learn about computers?” asked Enid, trying to distract the girl from Myrtle’s messaging.

“It’s nowhere you’d know about,” Mavis replied somewhat evasively.

“Say you’ve forgotten something in your rooms,” suggested the Mirror. “Something that they don’t have here.”

“I’ve left my memory sick behind,” said Myrtle.

“Do you need it?” asked Mavis.

“It’s got a lot of log on things,” said Myrtle standing up and picking up the Mirror.

“I’m sure you will remember them as soon as the screen comes up,” smiled Mavis. “It’s amazing how these things come to mind.”

“Usually I would agree with you,” smiled Myrtle. “But lately I have been forgetting the simplest of things. Baby brain, I’d forget my name if it wasn’t on my bracelet,” she added holding up the bracelet with Myrtle written on it.

“But you must at least have the chips,” said Mavis. “Don’t want you getting faint on the way back.”

“I’ll be fine,” smiled Myrtle heading for the door. “Come on Mother,” she added holding the door open.

“Of course,” said Enid, grabbing her laptop and following her daughter out.

“What was all that about?” Myrtle asked the Mirror as soon as they were clear of the cafe.

“I was going to ask you that,” said Enid, looking at her daughter.

“I remembered Mavis, only she wasn’t called Mavis when I saw her last,” said the Mirror.

“What was she called?” asked Myrtle.

“Belladonna,” said the Mirror. “My previous mistress employed her because of her knowledge of poisons.”

“Belladonna,” muttered Enid. “The name rings a bell. An alarm bell.”

“I’d better warn Maud,” said Myrtle. “Don’t want her eating the chips.”

“I’ve already done that,” said the Mirror.

“You don’t think she tried to poison Myrtle?” asked Enid.

“I would be very surprised if she didn’t have a hand in the last attempt,” replied the Mirror. “And she doesn’t like leaving a job unfinished.”

“You thought she would put poison on the chips?” asked Enid.

“The moment I saw her,” said the Mirror. “But I didn’t want her to suspect anything.”

“So we walk all the way back to Myrtle’s rooms,” said Enid.

“I don’t think that is a good idea,” said the Mirror. “I would be very surprised if they don’t know where you live. It might not be safe.”

“I’d better contact James,” said Myrtle. “I don’t want them using him as a hostage.”

“That’s a good idea,” said the Mirror.

“So, it’s my place,” said Enid.

“No, for the same reason,” said Myrtle, pressing the send button.

“So where do we go?” asked Enid. “Because we can’t spend the day dashing round everywhere.”

“No,” said Myrtle, taking a short cut through the park to the laundry. “But I suspect that Velvet might be able to help us.”

“Velvet!” squeaked Enid.

“Have you never wondered why there are no laundry vans driving round the streets?” Myrtle asked.

“Hadn’t really thought about it,” said Enid. “It goes off dirty, if I’m in a rush I wand it, and it comes back clean.”

“And any other delivery vans for that matter,” Myrtle asked.

“Likewise, it’s not something I think about,” Enid smiled.

“There are a whole series of underground tunnels for the distribution of all sorts of goods and services,” said Myrtle.

“So?” asked Enid.

“They have a network which is separate from the one that we use,” Myrtle replied. “Velvet should be able to get on that.”

“How will that help us?” asked Enid.

“I’m not sure, but we need to find out what has been put on the Fairy network so that we can find a way to counter it,” said Myrtle. “They make it sound like it is something big, but it could be all show.”

“It seems to have set off a series of updates that freeze the computer,” replied Enid. “That sounds pretty big to me.”

“As far as I know, that has only hit Violet’s laptop,” said Myrtle. “Ethel said that it would take a day or two at least to download all the updates. Then it has to install them.”

“What are you saying?” asked Enid.

“This has stopped the Head of the Fairy Godmothers from using her laptop and has probably reduced the usage of computers by anyone else to the minimum, just in case it starts doing an update. Or to put it another way, the office is not working at full capacity, so they have achieved their objectives anyway,” Myrtle explained.

“But why?” asked Enid.

“Violet went to the College to talk them into including computing in their syllabus,” said the Mirror. “Perhaps they thought this would strengthen their argument against change.”

“I can follow that logic,” said Enid. “Except the actions of Thistle have probably lost her her job and any argument she might put forward.”

“It could be that someone has used the Fairy College to further their plan,” said Myrtle. “Thistle didn’t sound like she knew what was going on as far as the computer system went.”

“You mean this Liam cooked up a plan which involved getting control of the Fairy network and he is using Thistle to achieve this?” asked the Mirror.

“Devious,” said Enid.

“It may even be that someone is using Liam to do this,” said Myrtle. “We need to a way of finding out what he knows.”

“The Royal Suite,” said Enid slowly. “They have put him in the Royal Suite.”

“What of it?” asked the Mirror.

“A few years ago Lily asked me to sort out some equipment to keep an eye on one of our visitors. I got Ethel to put up some cameras that fed the footage straight to my laptop,” said Enid. “We were supposed to take it down after the guest left, but Lily liked the idea of having it there, so it was left.”

“Nice idea, but Ethel would know about it,” said Myrtle.

“Except, we put the idea that it had been taken down, in her mind,” said Enid.

“That poor girl, everybody has been trampling round in her head without a thought to her,” said Myrtle.

“I’ll apologise to her when we’ve got this sorted, but at the moment she isn’t someone I care to trust,” said Enid.

“It isn’t her fault,” said Myrtle. “It isn’t as if she knows what she’s doing.”

“I know,” sighed Enid. “It’s just, I’m so used to asking her help with computers.”

“When was the last time she helped with your laptop?” asked the Mirror. “It may not be the solution that we think it is.”

“Actually,” said Enid and everyone looked at her. “I know I used to be keen on Ethel sorting out everyone’s computers, but I never got her to look at mine. I was always to busy using the blasted thing.”

“Good,” said Myrtle. “So that reduces the chances of them having got to it.”

“Are there any remote links into it?” asked the Mirror. “They don’t have to get hold of the laptop to get into it.”

“Ethel kept nagging me about it,” said Enid. “In the end, I put the thought into her head that she’d done it and that sort of shut her up.”

“I don’t know whether to feel annoyed that you have been manipulating Ethel’s mind so much or re-leaved that your laptop should be safe to use,” said Myrtle.

“Do you have a plan?” asked the Mirror.

“I think so,” said Myrtle as she saw Velvet standing in the doorway to the laundry.

“Where do you think you are going?” came a voice from inside.

“It looks like rain, I’m going to get the washing in, would you care to give me a hand?” Velvet asked.

“Can’t you leave it out?” the voice asked.

“That would look suspicious,” said Velvet.

“Get it in then, but don’t take long,” the voice snapped as she walked over to the first of the lines.

“What the hell have you been up to?” hissed Velvet.

“Someone is trying to take over the Fairy network,” said Myrtle. “We are trying to prevent it.”

“You have a plan?” asked Velvet.

“Something like that,” said Myrtle. “We need to get to use the delivery network.”

“There is access to the tunnels through the door to the left, I can get you a couple of minutes when I take the first load of washing in,” said Velvet. “Sort this out quickly.”

“I’ll do my best,” said Myrtle.

By Janice Nye © 2021

“I don’t know whether to feel annoyed that you have been manipulating Ethel’s mind so much or re-leaved that your laptop should be safe to use,” said Myrtle.

“Do you have a plan?” asked the Mirror.

“I think so,” said Myrtle as she saw Velvet standing in the doorway to the laundry.

“Where do you think you are going?” came a voice from inside.

“It looks like rain, I’m going to get the washing in, would you care to give me a hand?” Velvet asked.

“Can’t you leave it out?” the voice asked.

“That would look suspicious,” said Velvet.

“Get it in then, but don’t take long,” the voice snapped as she walked over to the first of the lines.

“What the hell have you been up to?” hissed Velvet.

“Someone is trying to take over the Fairy network,” said Myrtle. “We are trying to prevent it.”

“You have a plan?” asked Velvet.

“Something like that,” said Myrtle. “We need to get to use the delivery network.”

“There is access to the tunnels through the door to the left, I can get you a couple of minutes when I take the first load of washing in,” said Velvet. “Sort this out quickly.”

“I’ll do my best,” said Myrtle.

By Janice Nye © 2021