Miss Bayes did not arrive until nearly eight. As she followed Shade upstairs, he noticed that her hair was still wet. Only after sitting down did she begin complaining to Shade and Miss Annette:
"Our team received an emergency assignment this afternoon. We were sent to the Sewer in the North of the City to catch some bold fellows selling contraband. Do you know what Tobesk's underground pipes smell like?"
She made an expression that was extremely difficult to describe:
"You'd better never find out. After the mission ended, I went home and washed for a full hour before I felt that smell starting to fade."
"I can't smell anything strange now."
Miss Annette said. Shade went to the kitchen to fetch her some bread. Miss Bayes had rushed over on an empty stomach and had not even dried her hair.
"That's because I used perfume. Very expensive perfume."
She tried to gesture out the shape of the perfume bottle with her hands:
"Imported from Kasonlik. A tiny bottle cost a full three pounds. It was a birthday present I bought for myself last year. Honestly, it doesn't feel worth that much when I use it."
She accepted the bread Shade handed her and quietly thanked him. Then she waved the bread at Mia, who was crouching on the back of the sofa. But the orange cat's food was far more precious than the cheap bread Shade bought, so it was not tempted in the slightest.
"Did you catch them in the end?"
Shade asked as he sat down.
"We did. Everyone was pretty angry at the time, so when we caught them, we deliberately got a little heavy-handed. Just pretend you didn't hear that."
She waved her hand awkwardly, and Shade could not help but smile.
"What contraband were