Chapter 14
Miss Marchér muttered under her breath for several seconds, then placed several small tools on the table, one by one. McDuff didn’t recognize any of them, though he thought they might come in handy for thieves and lock-pickers.
She slipped the point of a tiny knife blade along the neck of the penguin and pushed inward.
The head popped off and rolled onto the floor, making a sharp clatter on the bare wood. Neither man moved to pick it up. A tiny puff of steam floated out of the penguin’s body and dissipated within a few seconds.
“Did you…” McDuff whispered.
She ignored him, and Father Hall only nodded.
She shifted the toy toward the sunlight, then peered into the body. She raised her dark eyebrows before tilting it over. A tiny bundle of white fabric, no bigger than a pea,
