Gray-white fog spread out. Alice had barely managed to move her hand before it swallowed her entire field of vision.
Clink—
A coin had hit the floor.
"Oh, right," Klein's voice sounded from within the gray fog, drawing Alice's attention away. "I forgot to ask you yesterday... What's your relationship with Winfred? Do you know, the last few times I ran into her at a ball, she stood off to the side glaring at me like I'd stolen the love of her life!"
After complaining to Alice about his encounters with Winfred at the balls, Klein couldn't help adding:
"Come to think of it, you know she was injured too, right? Do you want to visit her? Even if it's just to ask what she saw? Maybe she saw what happened to Will Auceptin...
"After all, you're not planning to go and see for yourself, are you?"
The gray fog cleared from Alice's eyes. She raised a hand to steady her head, then suddenly froze.
"Wait..." she muttered, searching the floor. "Where's the coin?"
The coin was no longer in her hand.
Alice rose instinctively. The movement disturbed something, and she heard that crisp impact again. She turned her head just in time to see the coin still trembling.
It seemed to have only just fallen over... Alice's gaze darkened. She stepped forward and picked up the coin.
"So..." She frowned and released it, watching it fall, spin, and roll across the floor. "...It was standing on its edge?"
The lonely coin couldn't answer her. It rolled across the floor by itself before slipping silently into the gap between the wall and the floorboards.
Only when the coin vanished from sight did Alice snap back to her senses. She hurried over and stared at the gap, which was only slightly