Blythe brightened slightly at the mention of the missing book. She had both [i]Principalities[/i] and [i]Manekidasu Orosu[/i] in her hands—she didn’t speak Japanese, only English and Spanish, but she was hoping Emma or Eleanor would be able to pick through it. She’d have to mention that Colter had one of Emma’s books, too—the doctor might just be flattered. Despite her load, she managed to get her phone out and open the voice recorder app while Gretchen was humming over another shelf. 

“What happened to the Ahlam bil-Hibr?” Blythe asked, pressing the red record button on her phone. Thankfully, the sound was off, so it didn’t give her away with the start chime. “That would have been perfect.”

Gretchen glanced back just as Blythe looked up, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at the now-dark screen resting atop Blythe’s armful of books. She turned back around. “It walked off the shelf.”

“In this place?” Blythe feigned surprise and gave the hand of glory a pointed look. “I’m sure you have all sorts of protections against thieves.”

“I do.” Gretchen Colter finally turned away from her books to look at Blythe straight-on, her hoop earrings swinging as she moved. She crossed her arms over her chest, almost like she was… embarrassed. 

“When did the book go missing?”

“About a week ago. Wednesday, I think, because it was inventory day. And not a single glyph went off. There are some risks in a profession like mine—it occasionally takes a… particular set of skills to acquire a rare tomb, and the people that have those sorts of skills?” She shrugged. “Sometimes they work for both sides of the industry.”

“People like Fazel Ibrahim Al-Jalasi?” 

Gretchen narrowed her eyes. “What do you know?”

How much to tell? If Fazel had stolen from Gretchen, then she had a motive to kill him. It even made sense to bind her thieving associates under high-consequence contracts if she worried about theft, and he had likely been part of the auction house heist that took place near his body—a heist in which a book was stolen. The question, then, became whether or not his death was a result of stealing books or some larger conspiracy.

Blythe shrugged. “I know that he did some work for you and that he is something of a highly qualified professional in his field.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve dealt with him,” Gretchen said and followed Blythe to the front counter where she charged her for the books. 

Before she left, Blythe put a Sunday Group card down on the counter. “Give us a call if you think of any other details. Maybe we can help you find your book thief.”

“Huh. They’ll let anything in these days, won’t they?” Gretchen palmed the card anyway. “Good luck on your… research.”

Blythe slipped out of the door and pointed her car back towards the Sunday Group headquarters. Maybe Eleanor would have a better idea of what to make of all this. Gretchen Colter made an interesting suspect, but somehow, Blythe didn’t think this was her. It had too much of the stink of something more involved than simple reprisal.