Chapter Two
Konrad stepped back out into the street some twenty minutes later, one of Miss Popova’s rib bones tucked inside his coat. He had havered for some time over whether or not to take one at all; the papers were reporting suicide, and it would cause a stir when her body was discovered to bear the tell-tale marks of the Malykant’s presence. But he could not safely neglect to take the bone — not if there was any chance at all that her death had indeed been murder. He felt unusually grim as he left the morgue. Normally he conducted the simple procedure without the smallest qualm, but this time… this time was different.
The rain had begun again, he immediately discovered; the leaden sky poured cold droplets down upon him, and the chill quickly seeped into his skin. The absurd clothes
