"I'm sorry. He's gone. I hope it was helpful," Scrooge said.
Granny stood up. "It was more than helpful. We now know who killed Oberon and all we have to do is track down this Cobweb. If only detective work were always this easy."
"Forget detective work," Scrooge said. "Sabrina could make a bundle as a psychic."
Sabrina cringed.
The group thanked Scrooge for his help and then exited the room, where they found Tim struggling with his desk, again. They helped him set it upright and then paid Scrooge's fee.
"Satisfied customers, eh? Well, well, that's good news," Tim said as he counted the bills. "The guvnor tends to get a lot of bad connections these days. I was a big fan of your mother, by the way. She was good people."
Daphne rested her elbows on his desk and smiled brightly. "Would you say it for me?" she asked.
"Say what?"
"You know! The line," the little girl begged.
Tim frowned, rolled his eyes, and took a deep breath. "God Bless Us, Every One," he grumbled.
Daphne clapped her hands and giggled like she'd just stumbled into a surprise party.
"I should start charging for that," Tim muttered.
"So we know who killed Oberon. What do we do now?" Sabrina said when the group stepped back out into the street.
"Mustardseed said to report everything to Oz," Granny said as she raised her hand to hail a cab. One quickly pulled over.
"Where to, folks?" the cabbie said.
"Macy's department store," Granny said, as she helped the girls into the taxi.
"I'm feeling tired," Mr. Canis said from the sidewalk. "I believe I could use some time alone. Do you think you can manage without me?"
Granny nodded. "Do you need a ride?"
Mr. Canis shook his head. Relda waved good-bye, and the taxi pulled away from the curb and headed north toward Macy's.
Daphne clapped her hands. "We're off to see the Wizard."
Sabrina rolled her eyes. "You've been waiting all day to say that, haven't you?"
Daphne grinned from ear to ear.
When they arrived at Macy's, they found a huge crowd of people pushing their way into the store at the same time that an equally huge crowd was trying to get out. Sabrina was not surprised. After all, Christmas Eve was just three days away and what would the holidays be without thousands of panicked shoppers scrambling for last-minute gifts? Granny urged them all to hold hands as they politely moved through the mob.
"Mommy!" a small child cried as he pointed at Puck's cocoon. "I want that for Christmas!"
Sabrina snickered to herself, imagining the stinky sac underneath a Christmas tree. She would love to see Puck's face when he crawled out of it only to find a weird little boy staring at him.
"So, did Oz say what he does at the store?" Daphne yelled above the crowd.
"No, but I'm sure if we ask, someone will help us find him," Granny Relda said. "He's a bit of a character. Everyone must know him."
"I found him," Moth said, pointing at one of the many huge picture windows that ran along the sides of the block-long building at Herald Square. There was Oz behind the glass, working on a window display featuring several elves who were supposed to be assembling toys in a red-and-green factory. The elves were robots, run by electricity, yet they moved like human beings, laughing, waving, and pounding away on their toys. One, however, had obviously gone haywire. It was pounding on its robot brethren. Oz stood nearby, aiming his silver remote at the malfunctioning elf. A throng of people pressed against the window, watching the wizard work on the remarkable creations and giggling at his troubles. Sabrina glanced down the street and noticed that there were similar crowds ogling the other windows, which featured scenes from
The Night Before Christmas, A Christmas Carol, and
The Nutcracker.
Each window display was more magical than the last. Sabrina remembered that L. Frank Baum, the man who had written about the land of Oz, had described the Wizard as a mechanical genius, able to create realistic, even frightening illusions. He was so talented, he had once convinced the entire country of Oz that he was a powerful sorcerer.
Granny maneuvered through the crowd and tapped on the window. Oz turned with an irritated expression, which disappeared when he spotted her. He waved for her to come inside and then climbed out of the back of the window display.