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The tapping having drawn no visible reaction, Kai tried the handle It didn’tthe lock Clearly his time as a juvenile criminal hadn’t been a total fiction

Irene spread out her skirts, and turned to watch the roo on here, absolutely norle bits of metal round in them, he does it every day and twice on Sundays

Aher on the shoulder, with a cool look of superiority

Irene gave hiood I’ame

She turned the handle and walked into the roolance around showed that it looked just as they had left it the last ti under tables Nobody hiding behind the door No Alberich

She breathed out a sigh of relief which she hadn’t realized that she’d been holding, and stepped aside so that Kai could co the door behind hi that resembled an in-tray Score! There was a blatantly obvious one on Aubrey’s desk She re been tidy when they first arrived, but it was noith papers and oddh it, and the packet with the Natural History Museum’s address on the back (return to sender) was the seventh itee in plain brown paper

‘Paper knife,’ she said, extending one hand

Vale slapped a knife handle into her palant, made in ivory or whalebone, and had no doubt contributed to the extinction of at least one endangered species It was also nice and sharp

Irene sliced through the twine and unfolded the wrappings Inside was a book and an envelope The book’s title was Kinder und Hausmärchen Children’s and Household Tales, she translated autoh of relief She flipped the book open to check the publication date: 1812 Better and better Noas the definite proof that Bradahty-eight stories listed The eighty-seventh was titled, in German, The Story of the Stone froh of relief ‘It’s the one,’ she said

‘Yes!’ Kai said exultantly, and slaot it!’

‘What does the letter say?’ Vale asked

Irene put the book down again for the hts of letter boh, she shook the letter gently onto the desk No bombs Good