This isn't about the money.
Ais very much wanted to say so immediately. But for a small detective, not even pausing at 10 pounds would look suspicious.
She deliberately drew a long breath — which prompted a disgruntled sound from the puppy in her arms and, unexpectedly, got a small smile out of the other-side-dejected Bella Novak.
Novak looked at Ais awkwardly setting the puppy down and tried to ease the tension:
"She's a charming little corgi."
"She is." Ais agreed, watching the small creature plant herself at her feet and stare fixedly at the stranger.
She cleared her throat and steered back:
"Miss Novak. Are you certain you want to do this? If your fiancé has nothing to hide, this kind of action could actually damage your relationship.
And for this to work, he'd have to be convinced by my approach without becoming suspicious — which would necessarily take a significant amount of time. But aren't you already close to the wedding date?"
Novak was quiet for a long moment, then nodded with resolve:
"I am, Detective Fal. Perhaps you don't know what this feels like.
Right now, his coldness is more unbearable than straightforward violence would be. At least with violence, I'd know clearly that he was wrong. But faced with his coldness, I can't even find grounds to refuse being alone with him. My own parents would say I was being too sensitive.
As for the time — you needn't worry about that. Even if it means divorce afterward, it doesn't matter. The Goddess has already removed many risks for me, and my family leaves me without having to worry about many things."
So she's also a woman of means. You really couldn't think of another way? Ais sighed inwardly — and grew more curious about what exactly was happening with this couple, enough to give a woman of means the idea of hiring someone to flirt with her own fiancé.
"I understand your resolve, Miss Novak. Though — if he does prove to have a problem, what counts as sufficient evidence? A love poem he's written to me? A photograph of us kissing? Or you bringing someone along to catch us in the act? I can't just tell you myself — that would never be enough."
Getting a photograph of anything incriminating in this era wasn't easy. Cameras were expensive, bulky, and required a flash when shooting — meaning a photographer couldn't afford a single mistake.
Ais's string of questions brought Novak to a halt. After a long silence, she sighed:
"You're right — I was oversimplifying things, Detective Fal. I apologize for my earlier presumption."
As she spoke, Novak stood and bowed deeply.
Seeing her going well past forty-five degrees, Ais immediately stood and caught her by the shoulder before she went further:
"Please don't, Miss Novak. You've explained yourself very clearly — I won't take offence."
Novak raised her head and looked at Ais's face for a moment, confirming that those crystalline, sapphire-like eyes held only the kind of calm that put people at ease.
"Your professionalism and integrity are admirable, Detective Fal. I'm glad the other female detectives I approached proved unsatisfying."
The texture feels different from when I do it myself. Ais withdrew her hands and took the opportunity to add:
"In that case, Miss Novak — would you trust me to try a conventional investigation first? I'd like to see whether it turns up anything useful."
Novak, who had already been turning to leave, looked back at Ais's confident smile and wavered. Ais saw it and pressed:
"What if it isn't just your imagination?"
"All right, Detective Fal — since you're so confident, I'll give you one chance." That last sentence landed, and Novak agreed immediately.
Thank goodness that worked. Ais exhaled discreetly, and her smile became noticeably more genuine:
"Then please tell me the details of the situation."
"Of course, Detective Fal. It goes like this…"
About ten minutes later, Ais stepped out and watched Novak's carriage head toward the Hillston District before putting on her glasses and picking up Big One:
"Come on then, little one. I'm taking you to the North District today. You tell me — if all of this isn't just her imagination, then the purpose behind it would be…"
The puppy was entirely captivated by the rich tapestry of sights and sounds on the street and had zero interest in Ais's voice, which gradually dropped to almost nothing.
Callum Grant and his fiancée both lived in the North District. His father hadn't survived the mental strain the war had brought, passing away just before it ended. With his mother long since gone as well, he'd inherited both parents' several properties — so even as a not-particularly-successful author, he had a comfortable income. Not enough to compare to Novak's family, who ran a small company selling smokeless coal and quality charcoal — but comfortable.
After a carriage ride to the streets near Grant's neighborhood, Ais's unusual height and the charming puppy in her arms attracted considerable notice. But using the excuse of walking the dog and getting to know the area for detective work, the suddenly-appearing Ais didn't raise suspicion from Grant himself. She even exchanged a few words with him in his usual café.
Other than an impolite pair of eyes, this man with a fiancée didn't behave unusually. The whole morning produced nothing in the way of progress on the commission — but she did hand out a fair number of business cards and managed a small piece of self-promotion in the neighborhood.
After lunch, acutely aware of how conspicuous she was, Ais returned to Joyewood and silently resolved never to bring Big One on investigations again. The puppy was simply one more thing drawing stares — she couldn't actually substitute for Ais in detective work, so she was better left home.
In the afternoon, Ais bought some large bones and a ball, and began attempting to accustom the puppy — who had clearly formed the habit of following wherever Ais went — to spending longer periods without her.
Big One had only arrived three days ago, but Ais had done nothing but stay home and keep the puppy company since then. This meant that even now, it was only gaps of over two hours without seeing Ais that brought out any anxious behavior or furniture-chewing.
So after dinner, Ais left Big One in the ground-floor sitting room, locked the doors to the dining room and kitchen, and headed out.
Having stopped making a point of avoiding her neighbors since returning from Zoe's, Ais had now been around enough that the nearby residents at least knew her name and profession.
"Out for an evening walk again, dear?" The white-haired old woman outside Number 5 asked, looking puzzled as Ais stepped out.
"Actually going to work, Grandma Roslin. A new commission — first one in a while. Got to put in the effort."
Ais smiled and explained, then disappeared around a corner that no one was watching.
Once out of sight, she found a spot with no one around, produced the compact mirror from her pocket, and used a spell to step inside.
Even a mirror far smaller than a person could still be entered by a Witch using the same Mirror Jump. The method of entry was essentially identical to teleportation: touch the magically opened mirror entrance, and in the blink of an eye, the Witch would find herself inside.
But only the Witch who cast the spell could enter this way. Anything else that wanted to fit inside would have to be physically small enough to pass through the mirror's surface.
Inside the mirror, Ais changed into the cheap clothes and put on the underarm holster with Ian's gun, then discarded the outer clothes into the larger mirror-realm exit — one that clearly didn't match the compact mirror's dimensions — and stepped through herself.
Another blink — and Ais appeared beside the compact mirror, while the deerstalker cap, coat, and other clothes fell to the ground around her.
Author's Note (this chapter):Even a mirror far smaller than a person could still be entered by a Witch using the same Mirror Jump.
It's probably not quite as instantaneous as teleportation.: Trying to go through gradually would leave you stuck in the middle.