Fletcher shrugged. “It was just an idea. You’ve no shortage of enemies. Do you think Zaria’s going to call the deal off because of it?”
“No,” Kane said at once, then hesitated. He was beginning to suspect Zaria wasn’t as predictable as he initially thought. “I don’t know. She was pretty upset about Cecile’s dying. That woman was important to her for some reason.”
“Then is it possible you came off a little bit… cold?”
Kane sat up, wrinkling his nose. “What do you mean?”
Fletcher made a humming sound in the back of his throat. “You’re pretty good at acting like death doesn’t bother you, that’s all.People like you and me are used to it, but I’d hazard a guess she isn’t. She’s probably scared, Kane, even if she didn’t admit it. Not to mention sad. Did you even try to comfort her?”
“Did I try to—?” Kane cut himself off. “No. I was too busy being relievedshewasn’t dead.” Was that what Zaria had wanted? Comfort? Some kind of emotional reaction from him? It wasn’t like he understood her well, but Kane had gotten the impression that this was the last thing she’d been looking for. Furthermore, she lived in Devil’s Acre; surely she’d seen no shortage of terrible things. “Just… tell me your evening went better, would you?”
“Actually,” Fletcher said, straightening, “it did. I managed to get my hands on the pamphlet they’re going to be handing out at the Exhibition once it officially opens.” He thrust a folded piece of paper at Kane’s chest. Kane opened it; it appeared to contain a small map of the Crystal Palace as well as a list of the main exhibits.
“Very useful. Was Price able to give you an idea of the security rotation?”
Fletcher tilted his head to one side, then the other. “More or less. He wasn’t very forthcoming, but I got the sense it was because security isn’t very organized yet, not because he was trying to hide something from me. He managed to get his officers stationed near the Waterhouse exhibit, and he pointed out the ones we can trust to keep their mouths shut. They’re more loyal to Price than the institution as a whole.”
They were going to have to take Price’s word for that, Kane thought. He didn’t like it. “And the lock? The parautoptic key?”
Fletcher held up a finger, his mouth curving into a rueful smile. “I was getting to that. Turns out a lot of people know about the Day and Newell display. The company is trying to show up the BritishDetector lock, and so far, it seems to be working. Problem is, it’s never been picked before.”
“So I’ve heard.” Kane didn’t bother to hide his impatience. “The key, Fletch.”
“I talked to a number of people—just making casual conversation, you know—and from what I can discern, the lock Day and Newell’s exhibitor will be using in their demonstration has fifteen levers. That’s as complicated as it gets. Which makes me suspect the one on loan to Waterhouse will have fewer.”
“But you don’t know how many.”
“This might come as a shock to you, Kane, but most people don’t go around discussing the number of bits on a parautoptic key.” Fletcher crossed his arms. “Why did you need to know, anyway?”
Kane ground his teeth, though his frustration wasn’t directed at his friend. “If I know how many levers we’re dealing with, I think I can get Zaria to re-create the key.”
Fletcher’s brows drew together. “How would that work?”
“Whoever has the key can rearrange the bits, and when they go to lock the safe, the interior levers shift to accommodate the new arrangement. It’s constantly changing, which is why it’s so hard to pick. An alchemologist like Zaria could come up with a design using magic—one where the key bits could shift to fit the required arrangement. I might still be able to pick it, but it would take ages and far too much guesswork.”
“And there won’t be time for troubleshooting,” Fletcher murmured. “Especially when there’s no guarantee you’ll even be successful.”
“You see the dilemma. Plus, since it’s a brand-new foreign design, there’s nothing for me to practice on.” Kane hated problemshe couldn’t solve and questions he didn’t have answers to. Heists involved an element of calculated risk, and although he had no qualms with risk, he couldn’t very well calculate it if he didn’t have all the information he needed. It felt like standing just a little too close to the edge of a precipice, fearing the fall but at the same time yearning to peer at what lay below.
“If Zaria can make a design where the bits adjust,” Fletcher said, “then get her to make one where thenumberof bits adjust, too. Assuming you haven’t scared her off completely.”
Kane said nothing. He didn’t yet know whether he had or not.
“Keep her happy, Kane. Even if it means pretending to have real human emotions.”
Kane dragged his gaze to the window. The last dregs of sunlight were fading into the west, leaving behind a night saturated with fog. It shrouded the building across the way so it looked like some looming, liminal place. “She’s going to lose her mind once she realizes we’ve tricked her.”
Fletcher shrugged again, this time with a simultaneous wince. “Yeah, well. By the time she figures it out, it won’t matter, will it?”
ZARIA
ZARIA WAS GOING TO CONKANEDURANTE.
She sat at her desk that evening, working on the aleuite explosives, trying to reconcile with that fact. He and Fletcher were meant to be here in less than an hour’s time. Kane would finally tell Zaria exactly what he needed from her. He would outline whatever steps he’d come up with in order to get into the Exhibition, take the necklace, and get out.
He would not, however, touch on the part where Zaria snatched it from under his very nose.
Guilt flared within her as she recalled what Kane had told her about Fletcher’s life being on the line. She wasn’t responsible for whatever happened once the deed was done, right? Any consequences involving Ward or Fletcher would not be her doing. Besides, if Kane was as close to Ward as everyone said he was, then certainly Ward’s threat must be nothing more than a bluff.
