It was nearly noon by the time Marcus and Alexander entered the gates of Croton for the second time that day. The pair made their way through the streets to the two story building that Simeon the baker had indicated was the home of his daughter's closest friend. A pair of signs hanging from the front wall by the door indicated the occupants were a carpenter and a seamstress.

Marcus knocked on the door. A moment later it opened to reveal a dark-skinned, black-haired man with thick hands and strong arms.

"Inquisitors." the man said as he stepped aside and gestured for his guests to enter, "I imagine you're here to speak to Elena about Simone."

"We are, and you must be Edmond?"

"I am," the man replied as the two Inquisitors passed him into a cluttered workshop full of lumber, tools, and sawdust. A couple of young boys worked with chisels at a table while a pale, blonde woman and three girls were seated in a corner with needles and thread. The oldest of the girls had red eyes and tear-streaked cheeks.

"Elena, come here, please." Edmond said, his tone firm yet gentle. The girl nodded, placed the garment she was sewing on a table beside her, and walked over to the entrance. Edmond took a few steps away but remained close at hand. The girl was tall and thin, hair and skin dark like her father's.

"First, I am sorry for the loss of Simone," Marcus began as he and Alexander removed their helmets. "I understand you two were close."

"We were, best of friends since as long as I can remember." Elena replied in a quiet voice, eyes on the floor.

"Do you know if anyone would want to hurt Simone?"

Elena shook her head. "No, everyone loved her and her singing."

"That's right," Marcus replied with a nod, "She would sing at feasts, right? I only heard her a couple of times but she had talent."

"She did, when we were little we'd pretend we were putting on shows for the emperor or the royalty across the sea, in Wollema and Osterval and the lands further east."

Elena looked up and her eyes met Marcus for a second before she looked back at the floor. "It was just childish fantasy," she quietly added, "for me at least. Elena knew she'd have to get married and raise children here but she still hoped that someday she could see the world beyond Croton and sing for all sorts of interesting, new people."

"I'm sure anyone who heard her would love it," Marcus said softly, "Do you know if she was ill lately? Any complaints of headaches or feeling tired or weak or faint?"

"No, why?" Elena said, lifting her head and eyes searching the older Inquisitor's face.

"I'm just trying to see if there's anything that could explain her death." Marcus said. "We were summoned on the assumption she was murdered but with no obvious wounds and no witnesses it may be that she actually died from a weak heart or stroke, often there are signs of such ailments before they strike."

"Well, no, she was in good health as far as she told me," Elena replied, wiping away a tear from her eye as she once again stared at the floor, "still had her silly hopes of singing in far off places some day."

"Thank you, Elena, that will be all." Marcus said. The girl nodded and returned to her place by her mother's side and resumed sewing.

"Before we leave, how well do you know Simeon and his family?" Marcus asked Edmond.

"Pretty well, he and I have been good friends for years. He often said if my boys were older he'd gladly marry Simone to one of them."

"Do you know if he had any enemies? Anyone who might want to hurt him through his daughter?"

Edmond scoffed and shook his head. "No, I mean, there are people who resent his success, a skilled baker can charge good coin for his wares and there's always people envious of those who work hard and get ahead in life, but no one I can think of who hate him enough they'd kill Simone just to spite him."

"Thank you. If you think of anything else, please find us."

"What now?" Alexander asked after the two men left Edmond's shop and once again put on his helmet.

"Now we return to Simone's home and look around where she slept," Marcus said as he likewise donned his helm, "and if we don't find anything then we may have to tell her parents that there's not much else we can do."

The Inquisitors made their way through the streets towards Simeon's bakery and home. As they approached the two story building Edna the midwife exited the front door and, seeing the men approaching, quickly made her way over to the pair.

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"Inquisitors," she said in a hushed tone, "I've finished dressing the body, had a chance to examine her close, too."

"And?" Marcus replied, moving in close so Edna could speak without risk of being overheard even though Alexander was the only other person around.

Edna shook her head. "Nothing," she began, "if anyone lay with her soon before she died, he was careful not to leave any trace of himself."

"I've heard," Alexander began, stepping close to his mentor and the midwife, "that a girl will tear and bleed her first time with a man, could you tell if she was still intact?"

Edna's eyes narrowed at the young Inquisitor and she frowned. "Some girls bleed," she said with an icy tone that made Alexander recoil slightly, "Many don't. Too many don't to be makin' assumptions about their honor based on weddin' night bleedin' alone."

"I'm sorry, I had just heard-" Alexander began, feeling his face heat up with embarrassment.

"Lots of men heard," Edna interrupted with a voice like a mother scolding a child, "women too, and I always say to forget ever hearin' it."

"Easy, Edna," Marcus interrupted, "The young Inquisitor has spent much of his life among the boys of the orphanage and the Inquisition tutors, and then I've had little reason to educate him about such matters since I've had him. He knows better now. When you dressed her, did you happen to see any marks or wounds on her?"

Edna shook her head. "Nothing that I could find."

"Ok, thank you, you've been helpful."

The midwife nodded and continued on her way. When she was out of earshot Alexander turned to Marcus and said "How was that helpful? She didn't find anything."

"Finding no evidence of certain things happening can help narrow down the possibilities of what did happen." Marcus replied, "Now we know whatever happened to her left no mark on her body."

"I think I offended Edna."

"Don't feel too bad, you asked a question based on something you were told was true, no reason to be ashamed of being misinformed unless you refuse to learn when corrected. She was likely offended by every other time she had to deal with this issue, not just the one time you asked about it. Also, don't hold back questions out of fear of embarrassment, too many injustices and plots go unchecked simply because people are too afraid to offend others by asking questions about sensitive matters."

Marcus and Alexander walked up to the front door and knocked loudly. "Enter," a man's voice called out. Marcus opened the door and entered the shop with Alexander close behind, each man once again removing his helmet.

"Simeon, are you still working?" Marcus said gently.

"What would you have me do, Inquisitor?" the baker said as he mixed something in a metal bowl. "Sit around idle, weeping the day away? Sobbing won't bring back my daughter, rather keep my hands busy."

"I won't tell you how to grieve, if working helps you then, by all means, work."

"Did you find out anything?" Simeon said after a pause, still not looking up from his mixing.

"Nothing yet, I was hoping we could take a look around where she slept."

"In the back, in the corner to the left."

Alexander followed Marcus through the bakery and into a storeroom that ran the width of the building. Shelves lined walls, filled with sacks and crates and other containers. A large wooden door was set in the center of the room leading outside. To the right was a staircase leading up into the dwelling area, to the left the foot of a mattress poked out from behind a low wall of wooden crates.

The area Simone slept in was tiny, barely wider than the mattress on the floor. At Marcus' suggestion Alexander picked up and spread out the blanket, nothing wrapped it. He lifted up the pillow and turned it over in his hands and squeezed it. Finding nothing inside, he ran his hands across the whole surface of the mattress before lifting it up to look underneath, inspected the edges for any openings that would allow something to be hidden inside.

"Nothing." Alexander said after several minutes of careful searcing.

"Check the floorboards." Marcus suggested. Alexander nodded and began pressing on the edges of each board until he found a loose one. He pushed until an edge raised just enough to grab hold of and then lifted the board out of place, revealing a small cavity beneath.

"How did you know this was here?" Alexander asked.

"I didn't, but I know young people like to keep secrets from their parents, have something, even a very small thing, that's just for them."

"Couldn't have that in the orphanage, and not just because we didn't have parents to keep secrets from," Alexander said with a wry smile. "Anyone caught with contraband would get the lash."

"Well, what did she keep in her little stash?" Marcus said, gesturing to the hole in the floor. Alexander nodded and placed his hands on either side of the gap, kneeling low to look inside. He reached in and pulled out a pouch. Alexander loosened the strings and looked inside.

"The smith's missing discs." he said, pulling out an iron disc the size of a coin, letters engraved on each side. He placed the disc back in the pouch and handed it to Marcus, who pulled one out to inspect.

"Could she be the thief?" Alexander asked.

"Possibly," Marcus said as he dumped the contents of the pouch onto the lid of a box to reveal a dozen discs with similar engravings on each. "Or the thief gifted them to her. Is there anything else?

Alexander turned back to the gap and reached inside, pulling out a small, empty glass bottle. Alexander removed stopper and sniffed the entrance, recoiling at the foul scent.

"Eugenia the herbalist uses these to store her medicines, we may need to pay her a visit to ask what was in this." Marcus asked, also wrinkling his nose at the smell from inside the bottle. "Anything else?"

Once more Alexander reached into the gap and pulled out a small cloth sack. "Odd." He said as he looked inside. He stood up and held the bag open for Marcus to see inside. "Appears to be barley that's begun to sprout."

"Odd, indeed," Marcus said after peering into the sack. "What do you make of that?"

"I'm not sure," Alexander replied, once again looking into the bag. He dug his fingers through the grain in search of some hidden item but found nothing. "Maybe she was trying to perform some magic? A blessing for crops, or for success in some venture?" He added, wiping his hands off on the side of the bag.

"Perhaps, we can ask her parents about these things, though I suspect Simone kept them secret. If they know nothing, we'll see William about his stolen discs and then head off to speak to Eugenia about the bottle. She might know about what Simone was trying to accomplish, if anything, with the barley as well."