"The shop's in one piece," he assured. "Steve and I put everything away for the night and I suppose an empty shop wasn't much of a temptation for anyone," he said with a faint, hollow smile.

He set down one of his mechanical dragons. "You're free to let Kitten out, if you'd like," he said, rather than answering her other question right away.

"Edith is dead," he said quietly. "She was killed last night."