Kano pushed open her front door, looking forward to relaxing at home. There seemed to be little time for such luxuries these days, and she couldn’t remember the last time she was so busy.

She was passing by Nove when the harried-looking beast stopped her. “There’s something I need to tell you. Can we step outside for a moment?”

Kano sighed. Whatever it was, it sounded like trouble. But she could see from the hulking brute’s earnest expression that she wouldn’t let it go. Why did idiots have to fixate on things so much? Couldn’t they see she was tired? Kano told Thirty-Six to go to bed.

Once the ghoul was gone, she followed Nove outside and shut the door behind her. “So? What is it?”

Nove took a breath and fiddled with her claws. “One of the children is missing.”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Every one of them I asked confirmed it. None of them have seen Seventy-Two since last night.”

Kano ground her teeth together. “Why haven’t you done anything about it? Have you just been sitting around here the whole time? From what you’re saying, they’ve been gone for almost a day at this point.”

“I couldn’t just leave,” Nove said, eyes downcast. “What if more of them went missing while I was gone? I sent Urick out to find them, but he hasn’t come back.”

Kano seethed with a mixture of anger and frustration. They’d only been back a day, and already the children were nothing but trouble. Why had she ever agreed to take them? Realizing that it didn’t have to be her problem, at least not now, the storm of emotions within her abated. “I’ll deal with it tomorrow. I just want to rest.”

“You’re just going to abandon them?” Nove demanded, outraged.

“Does it matter? There’re way more of them than we need, anyway.”

“And what if it was Thirty-Six who was missing? Would you still be saying that?”

Thirty-Six? Kano’s initial thought was that it didn’t matter which of them it was; they were all the same to her. But imagining being told Thirty-Six had gone missing filled her with a cold fury. How dare anyone take them away? Feeling overcome, she reasoned it was because she’d spent more time with Thirty-Six. Yes, that was it. She didn’t think of the others as her property yet.

Convinced by her own lie, Kano said, “Fine, I’ll look for them. You stay here while I do all the work. I think I have a pretty good idea of who took them, anyway.”

Virtur had been more than a little interested in Kano’s recent acquisitions, and resorting to theft wouldn’t be much of a surprise. Checking the streets he commonly befouled with his presence, Kano could find no sign of him. Either he’d retired for the day or he was too busy to prowl the town at night.

Kano was inclined to believe the latter, particularly if he had stolen one of the children. It fit together too well. Having solved that part of the puzzle, all that was left was to find where Virtur slept. She didn’t think he’d have anything like a house, which left only the areas where the homeless congregated.

The place closest to his usual haunts was near the corpse-processing plant. Few people wanted to live there, what with the smell and all, which made it ideal for those with nowhere else to go.

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As Kano thought about it, she recalled that Sherp’s office wasn’t far from there. She may as well enlist her help. She was a detective, wasn’t she? This should be right up her alley. Sherp still owed her for her previous betrayal anyway. She should cash in while she had the opportunity. This was one of the few things she might be able to help with.

Traveling southwest through the town, she made her way to Sherp’s office. The building was a wreck. A façade of rotting wood and aged blue paint held together by little more than hope. Kano regretted not burning it down earlier; it would be doing the world a favor. But now wasn’t the time for that.

She stormed into the room at the top of the building that held Sherp’s office. As a show of good intentions, she used the door handle rather than cutting her way in. Sherp was fast asleep, head resting on her desk. Wedged in among the empty liquor bottles that took up most of the desk, she seemed oblivious to all.

Seeing her like that, Kano realized the detective wasn’t all that much bigger than the children. Unlike the children who’d been made that way on purpose, Kano was sure whoever’d created Sherp had just done a terrible job. She couldn’t imagine why anyone would make such a thing on purpose. Maybe they’d been as insane as the necromancer who made the children.

With a sweep of her arm, Kano knocked several of the bottles to the ground, where they shattered. Groaning, Sherp opened her eyes and sat there blinking at Kano. She took a few seconds to process what she was seeing. Her eyes widened with recognition, and she fell over backward in her chair, striking the ground with a bang. Kano waited for her to get up, but there was no sign of movement. Sighing, she walked around to the other side of the desk.

Sherp covered her head with her arms and trembled. “D-don’t hurt me, please,” she pleaded, her voice quavering in time with her body.

Kano rolled her eyes. “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here because I need your help.”

“I didn’t mean to—” She paused as Kano’s words registered. “You’re not here to kill me?”

Sherp’s reaction seemed absurd to Kano. Had she been living in fear this whole time? It was just like when she’d been here last time. Reaching down, she pulled Sherp to her feet and pressed the small detective against the wall, holding her by the collar of her tattered trench coat. “Why are you so nervous?” Kano demanded. “Did you screw me over again?”

Sherp’s mouth fell open and her eyes brimmed with tears. “No!” she cried. “I swear! I didn’t do anything. I thought you’d come back to finish the job after last time.”

Kano let Sherp squirm a little longer, then let her go. “Good, because we have work to do. A…” Kano struggled to find the right words to explain the children without sounding sentimental. “Someone who belongs to me was taken. I have a rough idea of who’s responsible, but I want you to help find them. You’re supposed to be good at that sort of thing, aren’t you?”

Sherp straightened her disheveled coat and licked her lips. “I-I don’t know if I’m especially good at it, but I do have some experience with that sort of thing. Who are we looking for?”

“Virtur.” She watched as Sherp grimaced. “I see you’ve met him.”

“I’ve run into him a few times. He’s… not the most pleasant person to be around.”

Kano chuckled. “No, he’s not. Do you have any idea where he is? I checked the places he usually lurks, but he wasn’t there. Do you know where it is he sleeps?”

“Um…” Sherp said, pulling her chair back up and sitting down. “There’s an old building I’ve seen him hanging around a few times, not far from here. You could try there.”

Kano nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s go.”

Rummaging around for something to drink, Sherp paused. “What? Why am I going?”

“I thought you might come in handy, especially if he’s not there.”

Sherp looked like she wanted to refuse, but after a glare from Kano, her expression changed to one of resignation. “Okay, but don’t expect me to help if things get hairy. If anything dangerous happens, I’m out of there.”

“Sure, whatever,” Kano said, waving her hand. “I wouldn’t have expected anything from you, anyway.”

Locating a bottle with a little alcohol remaining, Sherp drained it and got to her feet. She stopped at the door to put her hat on before shuffling out into the night ahead of Kano.

“Are you sure this can’t wait?” Sherp asked as they left the building. “It seems pretty late.”

“What do you care? I thought you slept all day.”

“Well, yeah, but… it’s more dangerous when it’s this late. Especially around these parts.”

Kano shook her head. “Shut up. I’ve got enough to worry about without your whining.”