The door opened a moment later, revealing Mathias, the bespectacled cartographer Charlotte had contacted through a series of magical acquaintances. His gaze fixed on the glass of gin, then slid to her clenched fist. "No, you mustn't crush the sugar cubes yet!"

Charlotte opened her hand to reveal the half-gooey mess. "No luck on the sugar cubes. We'll have to make do."

Mathias grimaced. "We'll have to see if we can dry it in front of the hearth." He retrieved paper, accepted the sugar from Charlotte, and worked to position it near enough to the flames to dry but not so near as to catch fire itself.

Meanwhile, Charlotte opened the envelope and began rifling through the papers Tommy had acquired from the police station, plucking out the pieces with information on...

Please subscribe to keep reading.