Bayt was the second obstruction. He had told her, early on, how important it was to maintain a normal lifestyle. His own routine served as an example. He didn’t need to trade in spices. The information he collected and sold more than paid for his simple life. But the facade was important. It prevented people from becoming curious and asking questions there were no easy answers to.
He had taught her never to run from the scene of a crime unless she was chased. Running attracted attention. Likewise, she didn’t skip a full day of classes the day after she had stolen a fist-sized chunk of diamond from a named family. People were too talented at making connections.
So she sat in class, tapping her foot and trying not to run her hand down to her pocket every other heartbeat to ensure the diamond was still secure.
She skipped history, but that was routine enough that no one noticed. She worked her way toward Bayt’s shop, using many of the same techniques Niles had attempted just a few days ago. Hopefully her skill exceeded his.
Alena took far more extensive precautions than usual. Only when she was absolutely sure she was safe did she approach the shop.
She was probably paranoid. There was no connection between her and the diamond. Neither Niles nor his father had ever noticed her. She’d taken advantage of chance encounters.
There was no way they could suspect her.
Bayt’s shop was quiet when she stepped in. The hairs on the back of her neck rose and she stopped just inside the door. No one stood in the front of the shop.
Bayt always kept an apprentice out front. It was one of the primary rules of the place, drilled into all new apprentices on day one.
The practice wasn’t just about having someone present for customers. The apprentices up front acted as the first line of defense when imperial investigators appeared.
She almost ran.
But there was nowhere to run to. She didn’t know what to do with an enormous uncut diamond. Bayt fenced everything for her.
She looked behind the counter. Nothing was out of place. The spices were well-organized, every container where it belonged.
Alena stepped into the back room.
She found Bayt.
Or what was left of him.
Alena gagged and rushed out of the room. She ran to the front door, then stopped. What if someone was watching? She had looked for people tailing her, but spotting someone watching a building was often far more challenging. It was how she’d found the diamond in the first place.
She breathed deep through her nose, calming her heart. There wasn’t much stink, yet. Definitely not enough to overwhelm the various scents of the spices. Bayt hadn’t been dead long.
She’d never seen a body disfigured like that.
She needed to go back. If there were any answers, they were in the back room.
With a deep breath, she steeled herself. She returned and forced herself to look at Bayt.
The bruises that covered his face and body told Alena Bayt’s last hours had been anything but pleasant.
Part of her had always known Bayt’s work ran this risk. But it had never felt real. Bayt had been too smart. He always knew just how far to push people. Far enough to profit, but never enough to bring this down on him. What had he done?
Alena studied the trap door in the floor. There were unbroken blood clots across it. Bayt hadn’t spilled his secrets, even at the end.
Who would do this, though, and why?
Alena wished she knew more of Bayt’s business. She had no idea who would wish such harm on him.
Would they go after his apprentices, too?
As her eye studied the floor, she noticed writing she hadn’t before. The letters had been written in blood. Her breath caught in her throat.
Return it.
She sank to her knees, her breath coming in gasps.
Those two words told her all she needed to know.
She was the reason Bayt had been tortured and killed.
That thought ran through her head, repeating itself over and over. She lost track of time and her surroundings.
When her awareness returned, she realized she was vulnerable as long as she remained here. She knocked the palm of her hand against her forehead, forcing herself to think.
Bayt’s voice echoed in her head. “Think! Then act.”
She needed to leave. Being here implicated her. If a customer came in, they would link her to the body when the murder was discovered.
She stood up and left the store. Her eyes searched the streets and the rooftops, looking for a hidden observer.
She saw none, but that meant little. There were too many places to hide.
She needed to move, to flush out anyone who might follow her.
Alena chose directions randomly, her eyes always looking back and forth. She turned left, then right, then turned back and walked the way she came. A few passersby glanced at her curiously, but no one followed.
She stepped into a teahouse and sat down. When the tea arrived, Alena sipped at it greedily. A little spilled down her chin. As she brought the cup down, she saw that her hands were shaking.
She placed the cup down gently, then put her palms on the oak table, spreading her fingers out and forcing them to relax. She closed her eyes, then worked her attention down her body, relaxing her tongue, her shoulders, and her back.
A calm mind followed a calm body. Bayt had taught her that.
He had taught her more than she realized.
She needed to think.
Bayt’s trap door hadn’t been opened. Granted, Zane Arrowood hadn’t been searching for the information. He had been searching for her.
She thought of the message, left in her mentor’s blood. Why leave it? If Bayt had given her up, Zane wouldn’t have left the message. He’d be on her trail, sniffing her out.
Bayt hadn’t talked.
She grimaced. She knew she was grasping for hope, but the story fit.
So how had Zane found Bayt?
That was easy enough, she supposed. Everyone on the wrong side
