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It was unlike any cheesecake Avery had ever had before, in some ways resembling the sambocade, in others far closer to the cookery of Mrs. Rundell.26 How had Saga achieved the texture? How was it so light? Was it an advancement in cookware or an invention in cheese? And could she please have another slice before she left that evening? But regrettably, more pressing questions demanded answers first. “I requested her blood and stomach contents be tested—why, do you have any ideas?”

“Not without a look at any anomalies in her system.” Saga shook her head. “There is unfortunately a rather long list of substances that could induce a violent psychosis. It could be something she was dosed with, or even a new medication that she was supposed to take but had an unexpected adverse reaction to. Did you take pictures I could look at?”

“Lahiri will be getting me copies of the crime scene photos, but I did take a few…” Avery hesitated as she produced the phone from her pocket. She remembered Saga’s reaction to Doctor Campbell. “I should warn you about the body…”

“I understand,” the woman said softly. “Given your rather detailed description of how you found her, I knew it would be a disturbing sight, but… I appreciate you looking out for me.”

Avery hesitated only a moment before handing her the phone with the gallery open. She watched Saga flinch only once before taking a deep breath and examining the photo.

Her fingers pinched on the screen to get a closer look. “Are we entertaining the idea that this might be staged?”

“Until we have enough evidence to eliminate it, anything may be possible,” Avery confirmed.

“It is possible,” Saga began carefully, “that, if she was in fact murdered, our murderer may not be aware that there are no large arteries in the eyes, so while gruesome, it would be nearly impossible to bleed to death from having your eyes gouged out. Historically it was a means of torture, not execution—if you did die, it was likely from the infection that would follow…”

“And when our victim didn’t die after gouging out her own eyes…”

“Our murderer may have had to resort to the bludgeoning and staging it to look like Luna did it to herself,” finished Saga. “Do we have a way of looking into some of her clients?”

Avery nodded and held up her notebook. “I have a list of her recent clients in the past month, as well as some who had been particularly disgruntled.”

“It may be a good idea to check their names for any mentions in the library database,” said Saga, turning back to the phone. “Their computers have access to anything on public record: periodicals, death dates, court cases—that kind of thing.”

“Really?” Avery exclaimed. Information was so much more accessible in this new era; it sent a thrill through her. “As fate would have it, Esteri showed me the library today.”

“That explains the bags of books.” Saga’s eyes brightened when she smiled. “And how did you like it?”

“Excellent, best invention I’ve encountered so far since coming into the modern age…” Avery cleared her throat. “Though, I regret to report, it may also house my nemesis.”

“Is it the crushing reality that despite it carrying so many books you are only allowed to bring home fifty at a time?”

Avery’s eyes flickered down, still not seeing the logic behind this particular rule. “No. Her name is Susan. She is a librarian.”

Saga laughed, and Avery smiled. She’d missed that laugh so much.

“Are you telling me that you got in a fight with a librarian?” Saga asked, still chuckling.

“We merely have fundamental differences.” Avery attacked the remainder of her cheesecake a little too forcefully. “I believe the rules are arbitrary and pointless, and she’s a joy-sucking wretch.”

25The recipe for pumpkin cheesecake and chai whipped cream may be found on page 419.

26In the nineteenth century, as cream cheese had yet to be invented, cheesecake was made using cheese curds. And many of these recipes were cataloged in a great cookbook by Maria Rundell. It was great in that it was both large and largely popular. Perhaps even the most popular cookbook in the first half of the nineteenth century. For the sake of simplicity and brevity, the book is often referred to simply as Mrs. Rundell. Its full title was A New System of Domestic Cookery: Formed Upon Principles of Economy; and Adapted to the Use of Private Families. There are jokes to be made about the cookbook’s name being a bit of a mouthful all its own, but this book will leave those to be made by authors with far shorter titles, lest we venture into hypocrisy.

Chapter 11 Saga

With an extra piece of cheesecake in hand, the changeling had said her goodbyes and set off to her own apartment around dinner. They parted with the idea that this would allow Saga to make it an early night and rest up for her opening shift. This had been, perhaps, a tad too optimistic.

Saga struggled to get her racing mind to calm and drift off. She felt like a kid on Christmas Eve, and her tossing and turning had Riddle grumbling and moving down to the foot of the bed where he would not be so disturbed.

When she fell asleep, or if she had even truly managed it, would remain a mystery, but her alarm went off precisely at four a.m., and the energy from the night prior propelled her into action.

It fueled her greeting to Shai when the young girl entered shortly after Saga had opened the front door. It put a skip in her step when she turned on the music and danced through the opening routine for the café. It replaced her first cup of coffee that morning, though she did—out of courtesy for Shai’s lethargy—make her coworker one instead.

During all the excitement the night before, she’d forgotten to give Avery the scarf she had made, so she had brought it with her to the café and tucked it safely under the counter. Anytime the door opened, her head whipped to see who might be entering, which became increasingly difficult as the morning rush began to hit.

It was with a mix of joy and frustration that when the metaphorical dust settled and the crowds began to thin, Saga noticed Avery had appeared in the same seat at the counter she had when they first met. “When did you get here?”

“When I arrived.” The woman flashed a cryptic smile. She laced her fingers and leaned her chin against them. “What would you recommend today?”