" Can you turn on cloaking for me?" he asked over his optic contact, trying to stay quiet.

" Yes. Give me a moment. I'm... still in the bank's basement, performing the autopsy," Christel replied. " Have you found anything?"

" Maybe," Allen said. He was enveloped by a subephemeral veil as cloaking mode engaged. " I'm going to go look through the house now. I'll let you know if I find anything."

He walked through the house briskly, leaning in to inspect each room.

At the end of the hall was the one he wanted- by the clothes hanging up, it seemed to be the girls'. There were two large beds, and a dresser.

He began quietly looking through it. Nothing but clothes; the top drawer had old jewelry tucked away beneath underwear.

Next he got on his knees and looked under the first bed. Nothing.

Under the second, nothing.

If she gave samples to the entomologist, then perhaps the drawings were out in his room, as well...?

He got up, and, still in cloaking, left the house. The stand-alone shack that the cattlehands stayed in wasn't far away.

He entered, and immediately saw that, next to a neatly dressed cot, there lay a box full of journals. Striding over, he grabbed the one on top, opening it quickly.

6/11

My! What a talent Ms. Lieda has. Shown a beautiful pencil sketch of our favorite moth again today. Said she saw it resting atop a deceased squirrel. What a curious appetite these things have. Perhaps a relation of A. bieti?

6/13

Disagreement with the cows. They only listen to German! Joe laughs at my terrible pronunciation; well, ha, little boy. Your English is twice as bad!

6/15

Conradt approves of requests about Lieda. Says it will be good for her to go to the city. Cows are good for me, he said, but not good for Lieda.

The door cracked open; Allen barely had time to drop the journal onto the floor.

A thin, reedy girl walked in, brown hair pulled back into tightly plaited braids. She was dressed very plainly.

Her eyes narrowed when she saw the book on the floor. She walked through Allen, picking it up and putting it in her apron pocket.

Silently, she walked back out, careful not to leave shoe prints, and closed the door.

He waited for a moment, and then went back out.

" Christel, disengage cloaking," he said.

" Yes," Christel answered. " I assume you found something worthwhile? The credit notifications were distracting me from working."

" I think so," Allen said, stepping back into corporeality.

He went round the side of the house, to where all the adults were gathered up outside.

The girl's eyes fixed on him.

" There you are," Officer Carey said. " What'd you run off for?"

" I was looking for the cattlehands," Allen said. " My bad."

" No good drunks, who knows where they are," Enid snipped. She covered her mouth. " You don't think it could've been them, do you, Officer...?"

" No, no, I don't think so," Allen said, trying to maintain a personable aura.

He saw Lieda tug slightly on her father's sleeve, stepping closer to him.

" Father, I don't like that man," she said quietly, her voice calm and clear; it reminded him of a bell. " Can't you make the both of them leave?"

He looked down to her, with some consternation, and then back up.

"Officers, you are making my daughter uncomfortable," he said. " How about us men go back to town to talk about this? The women do not need to hear such ugly details."

Giving her a hard gaze, Allen acquiesced.

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