"Hello, this is the Melvina residence."

Danielle cupped the mouthpiece. "We’re through."

"Probably just got home."

"You or me?"

Liliana reached out and took the phone. "Hello, I’m the Director of the Institute, Liliana Clara."

"Ah!" The voice on the other end shrieked like an awl. "You’re the director of the Institute?"

"You can call me Clara."

"Sorry, I’m not Melvina."

Liliana waved a hand. Danielle immediately checked the number. Confirmation—this was the Melvina home. Liliana drew in a slow breath and asked, calm and steady, "May I ask where Professor Melvina is right now?"

"The professor... isn’t convenient..." Beyond the speaker’s voice came the finest thread of breath. "Could you call back later? Is it something important?"

"For us, it’s critical. But if she can’t take the call, you can relay my message. That works too."

"Go ahead."

"May I have your name first? I want to address you properly."

"Selena Viola."

At that, Danielle rifled through files not yet rendered into Braille. She leaned to Liliana’s ear and murmured, "Stratford and Melvina only got to collaborate because of her."

"Given the professor’s post at the Noble Academy, using an Investigator as a bridge isn’t a bad choice." Liliana brought the handset back and apologized to Selena. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It’s fine."

"I wanted to ask about your work with Stratford—"

"Um... I should let the Professor talk to you."

"Is she available?"

"She will be soon. Very soon!"

Liliana listened, intent, to the thin sounds on the line. They were like bare feet stepping through wet patches on a floor.

Then even that slap-slap vanished, leaving only a subtle thread of static.

"What an attitude!" Danielle’s anger boiled like a kettle. She thumped the wall. "A trainee Investigator, fine with the Director using the formal ‘you,’ and she cuts you off! Now it’s dead quiet!"

"If she asked us to wait, we wait. No rush."

"But—"

"One more reminder. The formal ‘you’ only shows respect. It’s not a class marker."

Danielle wanted to argue. She saw anger mist on Liliana’s face and apologized at once. "I’m sorry."

"Don’t do that again."

"I won’t. Ever."

"Mm... what do you think that sound was?" Liliana groped until her fingers found Danielle’s palm. "The slap-slap."

"Maybe someone spilled water."

"The first two calls didn’t connect. It’s a workday. For them to get home and immediately spill water... and stop mid-task... It means they were already home and chose not to answer."

Danielle listened in silence to Liliana’s analysis. Sight denied her the world, so she loved to parse people’s behavior, to fill the daily quiet and the void.

"What do you think the reason is?" Liliana asked.

"Not enough data. We can’t conclude from this little."

"Besides the slap-slap, there was an ‘ah ah’ sound."

"‘Ah ah’?"

"Lower than usual. With a long tail."

Danielle tried to mimic. "Ah?"

"Too flat. Give it some rise and fall."

"Ah-ah?"

"No clear ups and downs." Liliana cleared her throat. "More like this: ah... ah..."

Danielle clapped a hand over her mouth. "You... must’ve heard wrong."

"From your reaction, you know what it is?"

"I don’t."

"But you’re embarrassed. I can hear it."

Heat flooded Danielle’s face. Words dried up. Liliana’s body was different; there were things she’d never experience. Books could fill the gaps, yes, but every Braille page Liliana read, I compiled myself, Danielle thought. As her assistant, I would never give the Director that kind of book.

"Why so quiet all of a sudden?" Liliana asked. "Was it a strange question?"

"No. Just... a dangerous topic."

"Dangerous? Now I’m curious. Is Viola doing something dangerous at home with Melvina?"

"They’re just deep-cleaning!"

"If so, why not pick up the first two calls?"

Danielle scrambled for a reason. "Maybe they thought we were sales. You were in the hospital; you don’t know. But sales can get resident info by shady means."

"And the ah... ah... how do you explain that?"

"Please don’t imitate it again!"

"Lower your voice. I’m describing the question precisely."

"I’m sorry." Danielle apologized again. "A deep clean wrecks your back. Stretching feels great."

"I admit it. People are singular and complex. I can’t link such a unique stretching sound to a normal one yet. But with the cleanup as context, and Viola saying Melvina wasn’t available, that suggests she was mopping. The wet-foot slap backs that up."

"That must be it." Danielle answered. You two had better be mopping for real.

Liliana’s little play in her mind ended. She let out a soft breath, pressed her cheek to the desk, and listened to the near phone, to the ceaseless, fine rain of static.

Moments later, through the hiss, came a distant, blurred inquiry. "You looking for me?"

"Are you Hedi Melvina?" Liliana grabbed the phone. "I’d like to discuss Stratford."

"Mm..."

"You sound tired. Spring cleaning wears you out?"

"Sort of... Did you know Stratford’s dead?"

"A week ago."

"Selena says you’re the Director of the Institute?"

"That’s right."

"Let’s be clear. I didn’t kill Stratford."

Liliana steadied her breath and ran through the reasons for such a reply. She probed, "Did you enter the Dark Realm with her? If yes, please describe what happened."

Hedi recalled in fits and starts. She shared part of what happened in the Dark Realm. "Sorry. My head’s still foggy. That’s all I’ve got."

"It’s fine."

"You called to confirm the cause of death?"

"Actually, I have another purpose." From Hedi’s jumpy account, Liliana sensed deliberate omissions. To thread a full picture, she kept calm and patient. "I planned to take over your collaboration with Stratford. From how you tell it, there was a rift. So—would you consider working with me?"

"Why?"

"I reach my goal. You get what you want."

"Heh. You and Stratford—"

"Please don’t jump to suspicion. I’m not threatening you. You’re a professor at the Noble Academy. You still chose to work with Stratford. I believe you have a goal big enough to risk the nobility noticing."

"If you want to work together, show some sincerity."

Liliana nodded. "You worked with Stratford. I’ll copy her last two years of research records and mail you a set."

"A generous gift."

"To prevent leaks, I’ll lay a timebound spell on the file. When you open the envelope, you’ll have one minute. Write your citizen ID on it to signal consent. After that, it self-destructs, so nothing spills. How does that sound?"

"That works."

"Thank you for picking up. I’ll have someone deliver the envelope to your mailbox."

Liliana hung up and asked Danielle to go to the police archives and pull Hedi Melvina’s citizen ID.

"Are you really going to work with her?"

"If Stratford chose her as a partner, she’s got the skill and the value. Besides, even if Melvina only spoke about Stratford, she can’t master Dark Realm Magic alone. Even caging a monster in her lab, she’d have to skulk."

"Which is why she chose to work with Melvina."

"I mean—beyond that Professor of Magic, she found someone else."

"Unknown-source call logs." Danielle’s worry showed. She pressed Liliana’s shoulder. "I can’t shake the feeling... you’re about to tug on something that lives in the shadows..."