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Somehow, Hathaway had been left in charge of Amelia, the small daughter of the witness Lewis had been questioning. When Lewis poked his head into their office, he found Hathaway and the little girl sitting on the floor.
"I am a famous pilot!" Amelia proclaimed.
"Who am I?" Hathaway asked, dutifully allowing Amelia to decide what he would do in the game.
"You're a beautiful princess," the girl said, throwing her arms wide in excitement.
"Right. Thanks very much," Hathaway said. "What do beautiful princesses do with famous pilots?"
"Have adventures," Amelia said, giving Hathaway a look that suggested he really should know better.
"Of course," Hathaway said. "So, world famous pilot Amelia, where are we adventuring first?"
"We're going to the castle of the evil witch."
Hathaway nodded. "Sounds a bit scary."
"Of course it isn't," Amelia said indignantly. "We're going to ride her horses!"
"Doesn't she mind?"
"Yes. She's an evil witch." Amelia bounced up and down, hands out in front of her as if she were holding reins. "These are lovely horses!"
Hathaway bounced a bit less convincingly. "Oh yes. The best."
Fun as this was, Lewis supposed he should let Hathaway know the girl's mother was coming. "Sergeant…"
"Oh, no, the evil witch!" the little girl shrieked, pointing at Lewis. Hathaway seemed less than certain how he should respond.
Why not? It was only a bit of fun. Lewis modified his voice to a high-pitched cackle. "Here, what are you doing with my horses?"
Hathaway had a wide-eyed look on his face coupled with a slight smile that suggested he would burst into hysterical laughter at the slightest provocation. Of course, he'd never seen Lewis in 'dad' mode before.
"Quick," Amelia said, hiding behind Hathaway. "Use your magical princess powers!"
"What? You didn't say I was a magical princess!" Hathaway protested. "What powers do I have?"
"Turn her into something else," Amelia directed.
Lewis smirked, folding his arms. "Yeah, Sergeant, turn me into something else."
Hathaway thought about it. "All right. I use my magical princess powers to turn you into…a police detective!" He wiggled his fingers in Lewis's direction.
Lewis pretended to stagger back, then spoke in his normal voice. "What was that?"
"Now we can ride the horses whenever we want!" Amelia said. She looked at Lewis. "You can come too."
"Thanks," Lewis said.
"I think you should be something else," Amelia said to Lewis.
"Oh?" Lewis asked.
She nodded. "Police are boring."
Lewis and Hathaway exchanged glances.
Amelia tugged on Hathaway's hand. "Turn him into a unicorn."
Hathaway was taken aback by the suggestion. "I'm…not sure I can."
"Of course you can," Amelia said impatiently.
"You can," Lewis said, ensuring Hathaway knew it was all right and that he wasn't bothered.
Hathaway gave Lewis an apologetic look and wiggled his fingers in Lewis's direction. "You're a unicorn?" The words sounded like a question rather than a statement.
Game as Lewis was, he didn't want to spend the time till Amelia's mother came crawling on his hands and knees. But he was a dab hand at playing pretend, so he stood taller, making his voice soft and serious. "It's very difficult to put one of us in a human shape, you know."
Amelia's eyes widened, and she took a step toward him. "Are you really a unicorn?"
"Course I am," said Lewis.
"What do you look like really?"
"I'm all silver," Lewis said. "Silver coat, silver mane, and a horn so shiny the tip of it looks like a little star."
Amelia gasped in admiration, imagining it. "Why don't you have a horn now?"
"People don't have horns, do they?"
"But you're not people," the girl said.
"No, but I look like one," Lewis said, gesturing to himself.
Amelia was about to ask something else when Jane, her mother, came bustling into the room. "Amelia, darling, we really must go." She took the child by the hand and led her from the room.
As they left, Lewis could hear Amelia say, "But Mummy, that man was a unicorn!"
Hathaway gave Lewis a warm look. "Well done, sir."
"I've been a unicorn a few times when the kids were young," Lewis said with a smile.
"Needless to say, this is my first time being a magical princess," Hathaway said. "Though it may not be the last. I'd like to turn some people into certain things."
"Not me, I hope."
"No, sir, not you. You're fine as you are." Hathaway cleared his throat. "Back to work?"
"I think so," Lewis said. "Come on. Let's use those powers of yours to solve this case."