Chapter Summaries

Pomona considered how George had used his false respectability and knowledge of medicine to prey on women, kill Mary and Anne, and evade suspicion as Jack the Ripper. She set aside thoughts of the monster and walked arm in arm with Severus, hoping he would reach her in time if she needed help again.

• Pomona reasoned that Inspector Abberline might have recognized George's abnormal behavior and that George had disfigured Catherine to conceal her identity.
• Pomona concluded that Mary had likely sought George's help for syphilis, which he treated with mercury as a quack doctor.
• Pomona recalled that George may have contracted syphilis from Mary, infected his respectable wife, and poisoned her during their fight over his infidelity and property.
• Pomona laughed at Severus's embarrassment when a female student handed him a linen condom, and he smacked her backside.
• Pomona pushed the Ripper from her thoughts and linked arms with Severus, hoping he would arrive promptly the next time she needed rescuing.

Pomona and her companions examined the Zodiac Killer’s final cipher string in Venice, debating whether it was a plea for help or evidence of demonic possession. Monica stopped them from pursuing the cipher, though Gianluca and Severus seemed eager to continue.

• Pomona rearranged the Zodiac Killer’s cipher with Severus, Monica, Gianluca, and Alessandro, and the letters shifted into “HEIP ME OR II BE THE ETT.”
• Monica suggested the Zodiac Killer might have been controlled by the Devil, while Severus warned that they should not pity someone who could be evil.
• Gianluca proposed cracking the cipher, and Severus called the Zodiac Killer a mad genius and a clumsy killer.
• Pomona objected to meddling with the cipher, but Monica gathered the pages and ordered everyone to stop discussing it.
• Pomona suspected Severus and Gianluca still intended to pursue the cipher and considered arranging an exorcist in advance.

At the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Pomona examined Giotto’s Last Judgment and connected its imagery to questions of compassion, evil, and the Zodiac Killer. She developed a theory that the old Zodiac may have been manipulated by a smarter “coach,” while Monica decided she wanted to attend college instead of going to Milan.

• Pomona and Monica visited the Scrovegni Chapel, where Pomona compared Giotto’s and Michelangelo’s Last Judgment paintings and reflected on the Good Samaritan story.
• Pomona considered the Zodiac Killer’s cipher, his victims, and the possibility that an intelligent older “coach” had directed a less capable young “player.”
• Pomona reconsidered the final cipher phrase calling for help, concluding that it might have been written by the coach, while acknowledging that Zodiac could have had multiple personalities.
• Pomona told Monica that she believed the old Zodiac was still alive and warned her not to become a monster while confronting evil.
• Monica told Pomona she wanted to work hard and attend the University of Padua rather than go to Milan.

Pomona connected the Zodiac Killer’s changing methods to the possibility of a manipulative “coach” training killers, while tracing the cases of Paul Lee Stine, Catherine Jones, Donna Lass, and Bates. She ended her investigation still suspecting Zodiac was male, then bickered and wrestled playfully with Severus in the chapel.

• Pomona reasoned that the Zodiac Killer may have used different killers as a “quarterback” and a “substitute,” linking the messy Zodiac Island writing and Paul Lee Stine’s murder to a change in method.
• Pomona reviewed Catherine Jones’s attempted abduction, the killer’s school-bus bomb threat, and Donna Lass’s disappearance, suggesting the “coach” attacked Lass after she rejected him.
• Pomona connected Lass’s disappearance to the Zodiac postcard and sunglasses found near the Sierra Club, then considered Bates’s murder as evidence of earlier victims.
• Pomona questioned whether Zodiac might have been a woman but continued to favor a male killer, and she criticized Severus for meddling.
• Severus asked why Pomona was using Coconut as a key, and Pomona claimed she was a genius before jumping on his back and trying to bite him.

Pomona and her companions investigated Zodiac’s letters and possible clues in The Exorcist while staying at Gianluca’s villa in Padua. Shadow reminded Pomona and Severus that they were on their honeymoon, and dinner ended with Pomona realizing the painting in the dining room was connected to Rosa.

• Pomona considered whether Harry’s ability to speak Parseltongue came from Slytherin ancestry rather than Voldemort, while noting Pomona did not believe he was a Horcrux.
• Pomona reasoned that Zodiac’s letters suggested he was a library regular and examined the unsolved string “HEIP ME OR II BE THE ETT” alongside references to The Exorcist.
• After being thrown out of the library, Pomona and her companions went to Gianluca’s villa, where Gianluca worked on the cipher and Pomona and Monica researched demons and The Exorcist.
• Shadow told Pomona and Severus to stop working and remember they had come to Venice for their honeymoon, so Pomona called everyone to dinner.
• Pomona asked who had painted the copy of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and Severus silently indicated that the answer was Rosa.

Pomona, Severus, and their companions investigated Zodiac’s letters and crimes, focusing on the word “Vallejo” and the different handwriting in his messages. They ended the chapter considering whether the numbers on a victim’s car were clues to a simple cipher.

• Pomona reflected on forgiveness, Dumbledore’s choices, and Hufflepuff’s tolerance before the group resumed its investigation over dinner.
• Monica showed the group Zodiac’s second letter, and Gianluca explained that Vallejo was both a city in California and a city in Mexico.
• The group wondered why Zodiac had chosen Vallejo, and Shadow suggested that the name might connect to Spanish colonial history and slavery.
• Pomona argued that the letter writer and the killer might be different people because their handwriting differed.
• Severus suggested the numbers 68 and 69 on the car might be Caesar-cipher shift values, but Pomona questioned what language had sixty-eight characters.

Pomona examined Zodiac’s 340-symbol cipher and argued that he wanted the police to become a worthy opponent, while the cipher itself might contain no message. She then asked about the records of St. Mark’s Basilica and told a story about Elena Cornaro Piscopia’s parents, leaving the significance of the account books unexplained.

• Pomona suggested Zodiac had written the cipher by hand to draw attention away from other clues and argued investigators should not let him direct their inquiry.
• Pomona said Zodiac wanted an opponent who could understand and challenge him, while Monica and Gianluca disagreed about whether he was calling for help or acting under the devil’s influence.
• Pomona reflected on urban loneliness, social indifference, and the way spectators encouraged Zodiac and the Second to keep killing.
• Pomona asked Monica whether Veronica understood Spanish and whether she knew where St. Mark’s Basilica kept its account books.
• After Gianluca asked why, Pomona told a story about a young nobleman and a country girl who stayed together despite his family’s opposition and eventually married after more than thirty years.

Pomona and Severus discussed the Zodiac Killer’s psychology and the possibility that Zodiac II had emerged, while reflecting on the historical hoax involving Melvin Belli. They stayed overnight at Gianluca’s house in Padua, where Pomona ended the conversation to take a bath.

• The chapter described how Martina was exploited by a lawyer after winning her case, while young Renato witnessed her vulnerability and trusted her despite the town’s gossip.
• A caller claiming to be the Zodiac Killer contacted Oakland police and arranged to meet Melvin Belli, but the meeting drew a crowd and the caller never appeared.
• Witnesses rejected the caller’s voice as the killer’s, and investigators identified him as a psychiatric patient who had used a hospital telephone.
• Pomona noticed Gianluca’s collection of androids, prepared a bed, and warned Severus not to take advantage of Monica during their overnight stay.
• Severus and Pomona debated whether Zodiac’s anger and belief that he was enforcing the law could explain his killings, and Pomona suggested there might be two different Zodiac figures.
• Pomona went to take a bath and told Severus not to peek, while he denied that he would.

Pomona and the others examined Zodiac’s Halloween card and debated clues linking his victims to lakes, teenagers, and strange symbols. The Dragon Card revealed Zodiac’s demand for public bomb details and badges, but Severus abruptly took Pomona away, leaving the group to meet later in St. Mark’s Square.

• Pomona studied Zodiac’s Halloween card with Monica, Gianluca, Alessandro, and Severus, and they interpreted its unfamiliar symbols as references to lakes and ash.
• Pomona connected the card’s mention of four teenagers to David Arthur Faraday, Betty Lou Jensen, Darlene Elizabeth Ferrin, and Cecelia Ann Shepard.
• Alessandro showed Pomona the Dragon Card, which demanded that the public receive details about car bombs and wear Zodiac badges.
• Pomona questioned Zodiac’s hostility toward peace symbols, and Severus pulled her from the car and arranged to meet the others at St. Mark’s Square at noon.

Pomona considered Zodiac’s history and motives, linking his delusions to social conflict, anti-intellectualism, and the desire to control followers while recalling his plea for help to Melvin Belli. She then teased Severus about his morality and her youthful appearance, leaving the two alone together.

• Pomona examined how Jim Jones built a following through charity before claiming divinity and coercing his followers into mass suicide.
• Pomona theorized that Zodiac wanted to rule a town of devoted followers and control women’s clothing and behavior.
• Pomona recalled Zodiac’s letter asking Melvin Belli for help and Belli’s public offer to assist him.
• Pomona reflected on how warnings from ordinary people were ignored until Zodiac II acted on his predictions.
• Pomona asked Severus whether he had been interested in her because she looked fifteen, and he denied ever touching a student.
• Pomona called herself an evil witch for seducing a moral dark wizard, and Severus lamented her existence.

The girl and the wizard shared an intimate moment in Venice, where she asked him to give her the love he had once felt for Lily. Tom Riddle joined them and named his imagined daughter Delphini, leaving the girl to conceal the conversation from Severus.

• The girl reflected on love, art, and the wizard’s longing before telling him she wanted the love he had given Lily.
• The wizard embraced the girl in bed and called himself a better painter than Jack.
• Tom Riddle appeared beside the bed and said he would name a daughter Delphi if he had a child.
• Tom chose the name Delphini, after the constellation Delphinus, and the girl decided not to tell Severus.

Pomona connected Zodiac’s murders to moon phases and reconsidered how darkness and blinding light had misled investigators. After Severus’s prank interrupted her work, she planned to send her findings to the FBI and promised him time together after their evening ended.

• Pomona reviewed Zodiac’s crimes, the victims, and the moon phases, concluding that the dates of several murders might reveal a pattern.
• Pomona suspected Zodiac used a bright flashlight to blind victims and that the FBI had been distracted by the cipher.
• Severus conjured a buzzing insect that fell into Pomona’s coffee and released maggots, which she vanished.
• Pomona organized her coffee-soaked notes and planned to mail them to the FBI.
• Pomona told Severus she was trying to forget the murdered children and promised to take a few days off with him after that night.

Pomona reflected on Zodiac, serial killers, and the choices people made when others cried for help, then spoke with Voldemort in St. Mark's Square. Voldemort dismissed Zodiac as weak, while Pomona wondered whether he had caused the mysterious characters to appear.

• Pomona considered the meaning of Zodiac's letters and whether their message was a genuine cry for help.
• Pomona reflected on bystanders who failed to help victims, recalling the New York murder and the Titanic rescue.
• Pomona and Voldemort met Monica and the others at Caffè Florian, then waited in St. Mark's Square for Alessandro.
• Pomona asked Voldemort if he had made the characters fly, and he said he had wanted to understand what the writing meant.
• Voldemort said the only person one could rely on was oneself, then called Zodiac weak.
• Pomona asked when Monica's sister Veronica would arrive, and Monica said she would come after school and prayer.

Pomona and Monica went shopping in Venice for clothes to wear to a party while the men investigated Venice’s possible financial ties to the Vatican and Poland. At Nicola Mancini’s costume studio, Pomona endured a heated fashion rant about Miranda Priestly, Chanel, and Prada.

• Pomona reflected on vampire lore and listened as Monica and Gianluca disagreed over whether Zodiac was controlled by the devil or mentally ill.
• The men went to investigate whether Battista Cornaro Piscopia had arranged financial dealings between Venice and the Vatican to support the Polish Winged Hussars.
• Pomona and Monica went shopping and used Gianluca’s Citibank black card to pay for luxury goods.
• Pomona and Monica visited Nicola Mancini’s costume studio so Monica could borrow clothes for the evening party.
• Nicola complained to Pomona about Miranda Priestly criticizing his taste and insisted that his Prada shoes were superior to Pomona’s Chanel style.

Pomona discussed fashion, work, and survival with Nicolas while Monica tried on a dress, and Nicolas urged Pomona to take her ambitions seriously. He gave her a business card and directed her to a theater in Cannaregio, where François Pinault might help her make progress; Monica agreed to alter Pomona’s antique gown.

• Nicolas complained to Pomona about Miranda’s harsh leadership and defended fashion as a world shaped by culture and professional expertise.
• Pomona admitted her ignorance of fashion and reflected on the pressure and cruelty of life in New York.
• Nicolas told Pomona that François Pinault might be watching rehearsals at a theater in Cannaregio and gave her his card to gain backstage access.
• Monica emerged in a black-and-red Vivienne Westwood-inspired dress, and Nicolas praised her design choice.
• Pomona asked Monica to alter her antique gown, and Monica agreed while Nicolas opened champagne.

Pomona considered how fashion, freedom, and jealousy shaped people’s lives while searching for an idea that could make François’s Venice museum exhibition dazzling without provoking greed. She ended the chapter drinking Champagne with Nicolas, still unsure what Chinese treasure or story could capture the interest of Gucci’s king.

• Monica removed the hoop skirt from her antique dress, and Pomona reflected on the restrictions women’s clothing had imposed.
• Pomona recalled Ron’s jealousy over Prince Viktor and the feud between Sirius and Severus that Albus had stopped.
• Pomona considered how François had come to Venice after failing to get approval for a museum in Paris and missing the chance to buy Salvator Mundi.
• Pomona offered to introduce François to a Chinese antique dealer and weighed possible Chinese treasures and stories for the exhibition.
• Nicolas noticed Pomona’s troubled mood, quoted Shakespeare, and shared a toast with her.

Pomona reflected on city life, women’s independence, and the dangers of violence while dining with Monica in Venice. After Monica drank Cheering Potion and called her sister, Pomona worried about Ma Qingchen and Heriberto, then chose good food and personal happiness over the demands of fashion.

• Pomona and Monica ordered seafood and gelato at a restaurant in the Jewish Quarter after leaving Caffè Florian.
• Pomona gave Monica a vial of Cheering Potion, and Monica drank it and said she wanted to sing.
• Monica called her sister while Pomona thought about Ma Qingchen, Heriberto, and how schools failed to address bullying.
• Pomona considered whether she could work for Miranda without sacrificing her relationship or her love of food.
• Pomona ate ice cream and decided she preferred enjoying good food to fitting herself into fashion’s restrictions.

Pomona explored Venice with Monica and considered the city’s crafts, history, and social rules before visiting the Soul Casino, where François’s dance performance inspired her to question him about art, money, and Eastern culture. She left François intrigued by her proposal to replace a portrait of a carpenter’s son with an exhibit from another country.

• Pomona and Monica explored Cannaregio’s shops and discussed the city’s history, fashion, and customs.
• Pomona and Monica reached the Soul Casino, where Monica carried costumes inside and a cello played in the dark.
• Pomona reflected on Zodiac’s loneliness and compared him with Severus as she watched the performance.
• Pomona questioned François about the dance’s inspiration and whether he had considered the Fibonacci sequence.
• Pomona asked François whether he would replace a portrait of a carpenter’s son with an exhibit from another country, and she challenged his interest in Eastern culture.

Pomona bought a handmade glass scarab in Venice and customized an Ophidia canvas bag to serve as the start of her concealed greenhouse and Eden. As she reflected on wealth, survival, and love, she remained in Italy with Severus because Draco Malfoy was still bound by the Unbreakable Vow.

• Pomona bought Venetian glass souvenirs, including a scarab, then used Gianluca's black card to buy an Ophidia travel bag near the Rialto Bridge.
• Pomona removed the Gucci logo and replaced it with the scarab, completing the bag she planned to use for her greenhouse.
• Pomona considered how luxury goods created status and how people justified their desires, while reflecting on Venice's decline and the choices people made to survive.
• Pomona contrasted Voldemort's fear of death with the courage of those who faced it, and reflected that Severus valued love more than wealth or status.
• Pomona thought about staying with Severus until Draco Malfoy's Unbreakable Vow was resolved and about building a secluded garden that could store potions and food.

Pomona shopped for jewelry and party clothes in Venice, then chased a thief who stole her bag with the Occamy inside. She pursued him by speedboat with Monica and Alessandro, but the chase endangered tourists as the thieves raced through the canals.

• Pomona bought seven snake-shaped bracelets at Bulgari and clothes and a mask for Gianluca.
• A masked thief snatched Pomona’s bag, and she Apparated after him when he threw it to an accomplice.
• Monica grabbed Pomona and Apparated them to the mall exit, where the thieves escaped on a motorcycle.
• Monica and Pomona boarded Alessandro’s speedboat and chased the thieves through Venice.
• The speedboat’s wake threw a groom into the canal, and Pomona shouted Òcio as the chase continued.