When Shade stepped out of the carriage and entered the pawnshop, the usually quiet establishment was completely empty. Even Old John was nowhere to be seen. Only the bronze Incense Burner on the counter was spraying out vapor with a strange scent.
The pawnshop was still the same as ever, like a junkyard piled high with mountains of trash. But upon closer inspection, every item in the shop had value. The eastern wall was covered with all sorts of clocks, while the display cases held boxed metal harmonicas and dancing Music Boxes.
The old Steam Engine that could have been placed in a museum, which Shade had seen on his first visit, was still in the corner. What caught his interest, however, was the brass mechanical bird newly added to the shelves, transforming through gears and mechanisms. He remembered that Miss Galina's study had something similar.
After he rang the bell on the counter, the old man in an apron finally came in through the back door:
"Oh, I thought it was a customer. So it's you. Detective, wait a moment. I'm processing potion ingredients in the back. You know, if Six-leaf Coral Grass from the Pontar River Basin isn't handled properly, the smell can make everyone on an entire street lose their appetite for lunch."
"Don't I count as a customer?"
Shade muttered quietly, but he still waited.
"Here's the framed painting you wanted."
Ten minutes later, when the old man returned through the back door, he carried a frame over and set it on the counter. The framed oil painting was the portrait Haila Osenfott had painted for Shade: the young detective standing in the desolate, snow-covered back garden.
Last night, while walking Mia with Luvia, Shade had asked the old man to frame it and use special