Chapter 33: Missing

Lein counted the silver coins.

The money he’d taken from the Sharp Hook Gang’s hideout, plus his savings, came to a little over three gold pounds.

That was a decent amount by Ash Lane standards—enough for an ordinary working-class family to get by for a month or two.

But Lein stared at the silver coins in his hand, thinking about something else entirely.

Three paperback books, plus paper and ink for copying, would cost about this much.

But should he really spend this money on a ritual whose purpose he didn’t even understand?

Lein hesitated for a moment.

But only a moment.

Then he adjusted his mindset.

Mr. Slone’s reaction last night had said it all.

This ritual wasn’t nonsense; it was something real.

Since it existed, it might be the opportunity Lein had been searching for—the chance to change his life.

Lein had never believed in something for nothing.

But this wasn’t a free gift.

It was something that entity had found.

That being had manipulated him into doing so many things, all for the sake of this ritual.

Even sending him to steal from the Sharp Hook Gang’s hideout had been to give him the money to buy the ritual materials.

That entity could pull his strings like a puppet.

Whatever it wanted him to do, he had to do it.

If it really wanted something from him, or wanted to harm him, there was no need to go through such a roundabout way.

He made up his mind.

The best place to buy books was Chailing Street, where bookstores lined up one after another, carrying all sorts of genres.

But Chailing Street was too far from Ash Lane, and most of its shops specialized in hardcovers.

The books for the ritual were meant to be burned, so secondhand paperbacks should work fine.

There was a flea market in the Port Area where he’d picked up a few used items before; the prices were much cheaper than proper bookstores.

If he went to the Port Area, he could also stop by Tim’s place on the way.

Tim had already missed several classes, and Lein had been worrying about it.

Although that old bastard Mr. Slone couldn’t care less—in fact, he’d probably be thrilled to have one fewer student to deal with—Lein couldn’t be as indifferent.

Lein left his rented room and headed toward the Port Area.

Tim’s family lived on the southern edge of Ash Lane, close to the port.

The living conditions there were noticeably better than the rest of Ash Lane.

After walking for a while, Lein stopped in front of a two-story building.

The numbers on the doorplate had faded beyond recognition.

Lein didn’t actually know Tim well, let alone where the boy lived.

But his memory was sharp enough.

When Tim’s parents had spoken with Mr. Slone, Lein had picked up the general location of Tim’s home.

A little deduction had led him to the exact address.

After a moment’s hesitation, he raised his hand and knocked.

He waited.

The door cracked open from inside.

A woman’s face appeared in the gap.

Her eyes were sunken, her complexion sallow, and her lips were dry and cracked.

She stared at Lein for several seconds, her gaze filled with wariness and exhaustion.

“Hello,” Lein said, bowing slightly and keeping his tone as calm as possible.

“I’m the teaching assistant from the night school.

Mr. Slone sent me to check on Tim.

He’s missed several classes now, and Mr. Slone is worried about him.”

At the mention of Mr. Slone’s name, the woman’s expression softened a little.

She opened the door a bit wider but still didn’t let him in all the way.

“Are you really?”

Her voice was hoarse, as if something was stuck in her throat.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“Of course.

Mr. Slone has been talking about Tim quite a bit.

Tim is a diligent student, and Mr. Slone thinks highly of him.”

Lein nodded, lying without any trace of unease.

“How has Tim been lately?

Is he feeling unwell?”

The woman was silent for a moment, then shifted her gaze from Lein’s face to the alley behind him.

“He… he’s gone missing.”

Lein’s brow twitched slightly.

“Missing?

What do you mean?”

“Just missing.”

The woman’s voice dropped, as if she was holding something back.

“About… ten days ago.

He said he was going out for a walk, and he never came back.

I looked for him nearby for days.

I asked the neighbors, I asked his classmates, I even asked the place where he was apprenticing.

No one had seen him.”

“Did you call the police?”

“Call the police?

Of course I did.

But does it even help?

Those people don’t care about the likes of us!”

The woman’s tears started falling uncontrollably, her voice trembling and hoarse.

“They came once, walked around the house, asked a few questions, said they’d look into it, and then—then they left!

And I haven’t heard anything since!”

Lein said nothing.

He knew exactly what the patrol officers in Ash Lane were like.

The men in uniforms were no different from the local gangs—the only difference was that one took money with fists, and the other took money with badges.

A missing child from a poor family meant about as much to them as a lost cat.

“Could I come in and take a look?”

Lein asked.

“Tim’s room.

Maybe I can find something.”

The woman hesitated, then finally opened the door all the way.

The inside of the house was more or less what Lein had expected.

The first floor served as a living room and dining area.

The furniture was old but reasonably tidy.

A tin pot and two chipped teacups sat on a long table covered with a checkered tablecloth that had been washed until it was nearly white.

A faded landscape painting hung on the wall, the corners of its frame already lifting.

The air smelled faintly of mold, mixed with soap and coal smoke.

A coal stove in the corner burned with a small flame, barely keeping the room warm.

“Please, have a seat.”

The woman pointed to a wooden stool by the long table.

“Would you like some water?”

“No, thank you.”

Lein sat down, glanced around, and recalled Tim’s surname.

“Mrs. Cooper, could I ask—has Tim been acting strangely lately?

Any changes in mood or behavior?”

Mrs. Cooper sat down across from him, wringing her hands together.

“He’s always been a good boy.”

She spoke in a pleading tone, as if repeating it enough times would make Tim appear safely at the door.

“He never causes trouble.

Every day he goes to his apprenticeship on time, goes to class when he has it, comes home and helps me with the chores, then reads a bit and goes to sleep.

His father works on the railway all year, so it’s just the two of us at home.

He’s never given me any cause to worry.”

She paused, her voice catching.

“A few days before he disappeared, he was… different.

He talked less than usual, didn’t eat much.

One night I heard him tossing and turning in his room, unable to sleep.

I went to ask him what was wrong.

He said it was nothing, just that he was tired.

I didn’t think much of it.

I figured his apprenticeship was wearing him out.”

“And then?”

“And then…”

Mrs. Cooper took a deep breath.

“And then he left.

That afternoon he said he was going out for a walk.

I told him to come back early for dinner.

He said he would, and then he walked out the door.

I thought he was just going to wander around nearby.

But when he didn’t come home at night, I started to panic.

I went out looking everywhere.

I looked everywhere.

He was nowhere.”

“Did Tim ever mention anything unusual?”

Lein pressed.

“Like making new friends, or going somewhere he hadn’t been before?”

Mrs. Cooper frowned, thinking hard for a long moment, then shook her head.

“He didn’t talk to me much about what went on outside.

I know he made some friends at the night school, but he rarely mentioned names.”

Lein was silent for a moment.

“Could I see Tim’s room?”