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“Enid’s break-in at the Locked Room Library in San Francisco really was connected to this murder all along as I suspected,” Tempest said as they drove across the Bay Bridge. “Those items moved around in the library were a distraction.”

“But from what?” Ivy asked.

Tempest yanked the steering wheel more strongly than was needed as she switched lanes, and she had to right the jeep before crashing into the bridge’s guardrail. Clearly, she needed to calm down. But how could she? They were so close to seeing through the tricks.

“Misdirection was staring me in the face,” she said. “It was leading our attention away from the real purpose of the break-in. I just didn’t see it until we were gathered in the workshop. I figured out the tool that was needed for the trick the invisible intruder used at the Locked Room Library, and then my grandfather’s contacts turned up an interesting fact today: Enid is the trustee overseeing Harold’s estate. Not Cameron. And Enid lied to us about whatever she was up to tonight.”

“You don’t really think she’s the killer, do you?” Ivy gripped her seat. “Did she help Harold fake his death?”

“I don’t know what to think anymore,” Tempest said. “But no. I don’t believe Enid is a murderer. And we haven’t seen any evidence that Harold is alive. But Enid is involved, either knowingly or not. I’m certain now that the break-in is related to the murder.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve solved the trick of the invisible intruder,” Sanjay said. “I was there with you. It was impossible.”

“Nothing,” said Gideon, “is truly impossible. Especially when it comes to Tempest.”

She caught his eye in the rearview mirror. The edges of his eyes crinkled with a smile, and the flutter in her stomach had nothing to do with how fast she was driving.

She wished they weren’t speeding across the bridge to solve a break-in connected to a murder. But right then, more than anything, she wished she and Gideon had more time. Why did she always take things for granted until they were gone?

“You’ve really solved it?” Ivy asked.

“Part of it.” Tempest grounded herself in the present and swerved to go around a slow-moving car. “I know how the intruder was invisible. We never saw someone on the library’s interior video camera—because the burglar never went inside the library at all.”

“Of course he did,” said Sanjay. “We both saw the video—”

“Enid showed the video to me as well,” Ivy said. “You mean the recording was manipulated?”

“Not at all,” said Tempest. “They really did break into the building. But they weren’t in the main library during the ten minutes they were inside.”

“We saw that fake raven cawing at them,” Sanjay snapped.

“We saw Valdemar cawing at motion ,” said Tempest.

“The foyer is too far away to set off his motion sensors,” Ivy insisted. “Even if someone were waving their arms around, it’s too far. If the raven was that sensitive, it would have driven everyone crazy.”

“But the raven’s motion sensor did detect the downed lamps.”

“ Downed? ” Gideon said. “That’s a strange word to use to talk about the lamps that were knocked over.”

“I’m being precise by using that word,” Tempest said. “The lamps that toppled were caught on camera, but the books that were moved were in hidden places that aren’t visible to the camera . The burglar moved the books around earlier , during opening hours, when they wouldn’t be noticed. Then the intruder came back that night and made sure to be caught on the outer camera. Before the burglar went in search of what they were really after, they stood in the foyer, outside the range of any video cameras, and fired a projectile at the lamps.”

“A projectile?” Ivy repeated. “What does that even mean?”

“A nail gun ,” said Tempest. “You mentioned that you couldn’t find your nail gun one day last week.”

Ivy gasped. “You’re right. I thought I’d misplaced it… that could have been the day before or after the break-in.”

“It’s so obvious,” Sanjay sighed. “If only I hadn’t been distracted by this stupid contract… Does a nail gun even fire that far?”

“They do,” Gideon and Ivy said simultaneously.

“But you have to hold down the safety mechanism as you shoot,” Ivy added. “Tricky, but doable.”

“That’s why the brass lampshades were damaged,” said Tempest. “Not from their fall, but because they were each knocked over by a speeding nail.”

“Why didn’t we see the nails?” Sanjay asked.

“Those lamps were made when things were built to last,” said Tempest. “The nails didn’t stick inside the metal frame, but would have gone elsewhere. I’m guessing it never occurred to Enid that a couple of stray nails would be relevant. She must sweep up all sorts of odd junk from the library floor.”

“If the burglar didn’t go inside the library when he got inside,” said Ivy, “then where did he go?”

“Upstairs,” said Tempest, “to Enid’s apartment.”

Everyone was silent as that sank in.

“Remember how I said my grandfather found the person who drew up Harold’s will and trust?” said Tempest. “Enid is responsible for Harold’s trust. She’s the one who has all the paperwork about Gray House Library and all the details of Harold’s finances. She knows how the trust was set up. I think that’s what the intruder was after. Information. That’s why we need to talk with her.”

“It’s all so awful.” Ivy shivered. “They were in her home . Not just the library.”

“I don’t think they meant to hurt Enid,” Tempest assured her. “Remember, the burglar went to the house when she was out at the theater.”

“But the burglar didn’t know that,” Sanjay pointed out. “What time was the break-in?”

“Pretty late,” Tempest admitted, “but she’d told people that she was going to a musical that night.”

Ivy gasped from the back seat. “You mean it’s someone Enid knows personally?”

“It has to be,” Gideon said softly. “If Tempest is right that your nail gun was used, it has to be someone we all know.”

“I don’t know,” Sanjay said. Tempest could see in the rearview mirror that he was sulking. He wanted to be the one to see through the misdirection. “Isn’t it common knowledge that Enid is in charge of Gray House as it gets set up? Why would someone need to see her paperwork? Do you think Cameron thinks she’s embezzling?”

“Harold deemed Enid the responsible one,” Tempest said, “which is why she’s in charge instead of Cameron.”

“Only at first,” Ivy corrected. “It’ll be Cameron’s soon. It makes sense for Enid to be—”

“I’m not criticizing Cameron’s sense of responsibility,” Tempest said. “He doesn’t have experience setting up a library, so Harold’s friendship with Enid and her knowledge from setting up the Locked Room Library makes sense.”

Mollified, Ivy nodded.

“My point,” said Tempest, “was merely that Enid had all the library paperwork, and we have no idea what was in it. Presumably, it’s confidential. And it was probably easier to look through her paper files than break into electronic files. With the misdirection at the library downstairs, as long as nothing was taken from her apartment upstairs, she wouldn’t notice if a few papers were moved around.”

“That’s why the intruder didn’t need to take anything,” said Gideon. “They only needed to take photos of the information they were after.”

Sanjay swore. “I admit defeat. It’s a good theory.”

“It all fits.” Ivy zipped up her pink vest so it covered half her face. “It’s so creepy that someone crept upstairs into her private space above the library.”

“Honestly,” said Sanjay, “I had no idea there could be so much drama in a library.”

Tempest turned off at the exit that would lead them to the Locked Room Library. “Now it’s time to see what Enid knows—and what she’s hiding.”