Seraphina came out of the clinic carrying a broken clasp.
I looked past her at the doorway. "Is that part of a patient?"
"My bag."
"Better news."
She turned the two pieces in her palm. The little pin had snapped, leaving the flap held down by nothing but the weight of the books inside. She had wrapped a cord around it twice. The knot looked angry.
"I need to collect something before the shop closes," she said. "If you came about tomorrow, walk with me."
I had come about tomorrow. I had also come because waiting in my room had become an efficient way to imagine things going wrong.
"Your shift is finished?"
"Yes."
"All of it?"
She looked at me.
I moved away from the door.
