Leah slept soundly through the night.
She couldn’t remember exactly when she fell asleep, only that the moon outside her window was perfectly round. Eric and Orson hadn’t returned yet.
After enjoying the delicious tomato and egg noodles Frederick cooked, she played chess with him in the living room. Their games were evenly matched; the first two ended in ties. Halfway through the third, as she schemed to set an uncrackable trap, she got so absorbed in her plotting that she ended up dozing off.
When she awoke, it was 7:30 a.m. The sky was just beginning to brighten.
The streets outside were utterly silent—not a soul, not even a dog in sight. Leah wandered around the house for half an hour before heading into the kitchen in her loungewear. Opening the refrigerator, she pulled out
