After Ririko had rested enough, she sat up in bed, rolled her neck, and began taking a proper look around the apartment.
It took her about half an hour to figure out the layout of the three-story apartment.
The first floor held the living room and an open kitchen. The refrigerator was packed with ingredients: vegetables, fruit, meat, and dairy products. There were even boxes of cereal neatly arranged in alphabetical order.
The second floor held her bedroom, a study, and a guest room. The third floor was Edward's territory. The door was locked, and a sliver of light shone beneath it, indicating that he was inside.
All the windows had been boarded shut, leaving her with no way to tell where she was.
The front door on the first floor was made of heavy metal and required a specially made key to open.
She went into the study and stopped in front of the bookcase. Most of the books were on logic, cryptography, Gotham's architectural history, and boring philosophy.
She pulled one out at random and flipped through it. It was full of symbols and formulas. The first page alone was enough to put her off, so she closed it and returned it to its place.
With nothing else to do, she could only search every nook and cranny for the key.
She checked beneath the sofa cushions in the living room, then searched the hidden compartments in the cabinets, the edges of the rug, and a suspicious-looking potted plant. She found nothing.
As she opened the kitchen drawers one by one, a voice came from behind her. "Still haven't found a way out?"
Apparently, he had watched her search for ages without finding anything. His expression carried a sneer reserved for an idiot. "Are you staying here on