Sophia's voice had carried a note of bewilderment when she said it: "No, I didn’t even get the chance to go far. I was just heading out when I bumped into Mr. Helwart storming in. Linsy, it was like he already knew something terrible had happened. He looked... furious, like someone had wronged him personally."

Linsy, sitting in her office chair, fingers curled loosely around a ceramic cup of lukewarm water, blinked slowly.

Sophia leaned forward slightly, her eyes still wide with the ...