Page 29 of The Study of Poisons
Trevar cocked his head to the side. “I don’t think you really needed my help.”
Ah yes, he was perceptive. “Well, I work in a kitchen, so I’m used to handling sharp knives. And I’m a bit of a collector, so…”
The bright smile returned. “What a coincidence. My boss has a vast inventory of unique and unusual blades. Would you be interested in meeting him?”
“Lead the way.”
Valek followed Trevar to a small shop on a narrow side street. There was nothing remarkable about the area or the building that housed the store. The goods arranged in the window were all legal kitchen wares. A bell dinged when they entered and Valek scanned the tables, chairs, napkins, dishes, cutlery, and bread boxes on display. A decent selection.
Trevar ducked behind the counter and went through a dark curtain. Valek shopped. He admired a set of chairs that had flowers carved into the wooden backrest. Running a finger over the grooves, he considered carving wood versus stone. The softer material would be much easier to work with. Perhaps when he retired. He huffed. Doubtful he’d live to retire.
Sven stepped from the back room and Trevar shot Valek a big smile before dashing out to round up more customers.
Turning on the charm, Sven said, “My young assistant says you’re a connoisseur of kitchen knives.”
“Connoisseur?” Valek laughed. “I doubt young Trevar knows what that word means.”
“And he failed to see through your disguise,” Sven said with a wry smile.
“To be fair, so did you.”
“Until you spoke.”
“And if I used an accent?”
“Then I’d recognize you by your eyes.”
“Aww.” Valek batted his eyelashes at Sven.
He shook his head. “While I’m happy to see you, is there a reason for your visit?”
“I wanted to see your shop.”
“I could have given you the address.”
“You could, but where’s the fun in that?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe saving some time might be fun.” Sven gestured to the black curtain. “This way.”
They went into the back room, which was almost a mirror image of the front room. “Down here.” Sven led him to a metal staircase that wound into the darkness. The man lit a lantern and descended. “At least you found Trevar.”
“He found me.”
“Oh?”
Valek explained the attempted robbery. “Catching a thief was fun.”
“The baiters will be happy. Brent’s been giving them a bad reputation.” At the bottom of the steps, Sven pulled back another dark curtain, revealing a big space filled with crates and lit by several lanterns. “Welcome to my lair.”
Laughing, Valek ducked inside. “Ah. Nice.”
“This is where the real money is made.”
“How’s business?”
“Booming.” Sven gestured to a stack of empty crates. “I’ve already sold out of Greenblade cigars.”
“That popular?”
