Recaps

After Inspector Gana reported the deaths of the Nies Police Precinct chief and a gang member connected to the Koyar Village case, Lorry suspected a cover-up and told Vera. Vera agreed to investigate but barred Lorry from the case files, while Lorry received payment for a trade involving Emperor Roselle’s notes.

• Inspector Gana wrote that the Nies Police Precinct chief had died during a police raid on Sanson Bar, leaving him unable to continue investigating the Koyar Village case.
• Lorry suspected someone was silencing people and contacted Vera to request Baron Percival’s case files.
• Vera said Baron Percival’s spirit had confirmed that he acted alone, but Lorry pointed out the precinct chief’s suspicious death and explained the chief’s connection to the Koyar Village case.
• Vera agreed to verify the report and review related case files, but refused to let Lorry access MI9’s internal files.
• Lorry asked Vera for help recruiting informants skilled in interrogation, and Vera said he could apply for assistance a day in advance.
• Lorry found an envelope containing Pounds and a message confirming that his friend had agreed to trade for Emperor Roselle’s notes.

Lorry tracked down the plagiarist Alyosha and infiltrated his home to steal the hidden fortune as compensation for Mr. Miles. He left the story determined to make Alyosha admit his wrongdoing voluntarily.

• Lorry noted Alyosha's address and decided to mail Roselle's Diary to Fors the next day.
• Lorry watched Alyosha's crowded book signing, then followed him to learn where he lived.
• Lorry disguised himself as a gas repair worker and inspected Alyosha's house to learn its layout.
• Lorry waited until Alyosha and his maid were asleep, then entered the study using the shadow ring.
• Lorry found the secret compartment beneath Alyosha's desk drawer and resolved to make him confess his plagiarism.

Lorry stole about 150 pounds from Alyosha’s study and followed him to the police precinct. There, a chief inspector compelled Alyosha to admit he had plagiarized Miles and another man, and Alyosha was held for further questioning.

• Lorry took banknotes, a bearer check, and a necklace from Alyosha’s hidden compartment, then staged a break-in and followed Alyosha and his maid to the police precinct.
• A chief inspector separated Alyosha from his maid and questioned him under a powerful compulsion.
• Alyosha admitted he had lied about the stolen amount, which was worth no more than 150 pounds.
• Alyosha revealed that he had stolen Miles’s and another man’s ideas after getting them drunk and publishing their work as his own.
• The chief inspector said the police would summon Miles and hold Alyosha overnight while they investigated his plagiarism.

A police sergeant uncovered Alyosha’s plagiarism while investigating the burglary and sent officers to bring in Miles, who had been falsely accused. Meanwhile, Lorry reflected on how the difficulty of a theft affected his Marauder potion digestion.

• The young sergeant dismissed the gas worker lead as likely involving one of his own people and ordered officers to bring in Alyosha and Miles.
• Miles finished a horror novel after following Raven’s advice to seek inspiration in a cemetery, then mistook a leaflet outside his window for a ghost.
• Police told Miles that Alyosha had inadvertently admitted to plagiarizing manuscripts from Miles and another writer, and Miles eagerly agreed to accompany them.
• In an alley near the police precinct, Lorry found that the easy theft from Alyosha’s home had barely advanced his potion digestion.
• Lorry concluded that the Marauder potion depended on the difficulty and process of a theft more than its value.