Nick stepped into the New Renaissance Bookshop. He saw several other customers perusing the books, but he did not see any woge occur.
"Whoops!"
He didn't see the stack of books behind him until they all came crashing down. In the waterfall of literature, he clearly saw a Wesen girl morph, but by the time the books stopped falling and she bent down to pick them up, the woge was over. Nick tried to get a better look at her face under the guise of helping her pick up the books.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you," he apologized.
She gave a small laugh, and he heard her woge again, but she still kept her face out of sight; was she a Hexenbieste, after all?
He stood with a stack of books in his hand and politely returned them to the stack. "Hi, what's your name?" he asked kindly.
She smiled, "Mariana," she answered, her blond tresses fairly dancing around her face.
"Tell me, Mariana," Nick kept his voice light, "are you the owner?"
"Oh, no," Mariana gave a light laugh, "that would be Steve. I just run the register and shelve the books."
A bell rang, and Mariana glanced toward the front counter, "I'll be with you in a moment!" she called.
Nick moved on toward the front of the store. He glanced around but did not see anyone who looked like the owner. Nick waited, browsing the shelves but—mindful of Monroe's warning—did not touch any of them. He nudged the vial of Gedankewasser on the inside pocket of his jacket with his elbow, just for comfort.
"Can I help you?" a slow voice asked.
Nick turned face-to-face with a man slightly shorter and stouter than himself. The man's face gave a small grimace before he morphed into a turtle-like creature. Nick almost felt relief: Steve would be a Genio Innocuo, then; it was safe to say that he was no suspect. But that still left Mariana.
"A Genio Innocuo in a bookstore," Nick remarked casually, "That's hardly a surprise."
Steve morphed back to a grey-haired man and chuckled, "No more than seeing a Grimm in a bookstore. Tell me, what is it you're after? I've read every book in this place; I would know if we have what you want."
Nick peered at Steve closely, "Every book, huh?"
Steve nodded, "Cover to cover; gotta keep the old noggin spry, that's what!" he dropped his jolly demeanor and sighed. "Truth is, I get so bored sometimes. We don't get much business out here, at least not the—mentally stimulating type, if you know what I mean."
Nick nodded in understanding. "By the way," he offered, "My name is Nick Burkhart and I am a detective investigating a string of deaths that I believe to be Wesen-related."
Steve balked at the revelation, "What sort of Wesen?"
"A Kinderphantasie, I've been told."
"Kinderphantasien? Here?" Steve showed the first sign of any agitation at all. He calmed quickly, "Wait, told by whom, may I ask?"
Nick shrugged, "Someone who knows; the point is, we think she might be working in a bookstore somewhere, that's how she picks her victims." Suddenly Nick was aware that someone could very well be listening in on the conversation; was it Mariana or could the Kinderphantasie actually be a customer at any of these stores? He dropped his voice.
"Tell me, do you know what kind of Wesen Mariana is?"
"My niece?" Steve responded immediately.
Nick blinked, "She's your niece? I couldn't tell."
ESTÁ A LER
Read Between The Lines
Fanfic"The Bücherwurm (book-er-verm) originates from a bookstore run by a Kinderphantasie; anyone who reads a book purchased there is infected, and the worm burrows into his brain, allowing the Kinderphantasie to feed on his imagination, incorporate him a...
