After finishing her lunch Gwen went to the table where Manisha was sitting. Luckily Crow had already left. When Manisha saw her, she beamed: "Nice of you to remember me, Gwen. I'm finished. Let's go!" She got up to join her on her way to the Smoking Room.

While they were walking along the corridor, Gwen was frantically searching for a topic of conversation. I am such a bad small-talker, she groaned inwardly.

She remembered her conversation with Evelyn and suddenly realised that she could just as well try to find out more about the murder, and ask Manisha some questions. This was quite unusual for an Unspeakable, and even more for her, but, after all, Manisha didn't know that and wasn't a permanent DoM employee. Perhaps she wouldn't notice? Hoping against all hope she grabbed her amethysts, wishing they could give her some courage.

"Erm… is Jacobus Mayfield still arrested?" Gwen asked after they had entered the lift, the golden grilles shut rattling behind them.

Manisha looked at her, astonished. "Yes, I think so," she said slowly.

"I don't understand that. I mean Archie told me that he worked with Mayfield."

Manisha looked a bit uncomfortable, but didn't say a word. Gwen took a deep breath and pressed on.

"Well, I've been wondering … they were a team, weren't they? But what were they working on. I mean, I know that you work on rebirth and reincarnation, Evelyn works on poisons, Crow on the process of natural death, Timothy on ghosts…"

"Shhhh," Manisha looked aghast. The golden grilles opened.

"Sorry," said Gwen, "but we were alone in the lift, weren't we?"

Manisha nodded. "I don't know on what they were working," she whispered. "I thought I wasn't told because I am not permanently employed – like Evelyn. She doesn't know either." She stopped and looked as if caught red-handed.

Gwen grinned inwardly, but did as if she hadn't noticed. "Maybe it was something dark," she whispered back. "I mean – you did see the Dark Mark, didn't you?" Gwen had seen her at the scene of the crime, so she wasn't giving away anything.

Manisha nodded. "Well… they were always working inside their office. They didn't use the interface, which I use very often…," she coughed and waved her red fingernails, "I mean … the Arch."

Gwen smiled. "Everyone has their own technical terms."

Manisha smiled conspiratorially, then put her index finger on her red lips and opened the door to the Smoking Room. A thick cloud of blue smoke engulfed them.

Gwen wondered whether Manisha was really trustworthy. Well, who else could I ask to find out what Mayfield's and Dusk's field of activity was, she wondered, fingering for her wand and cigarettes. An idea had formed in her head.

~ooOOooOOooOOooOOoo~

After a pleasant conversation about metempsychosis they returned to the Circular Room, Manisha went back to the Death Chamber, while Gwen opened the door to the Time Room to get to the Hall of Prophecies. She could have passed through the Brain Room where a corridor behind the Planet Room led to the Hall, but she hoped to get a glimpse of Roberta. And this way's shorter, she thought.

Gwen liked the lovely dancing sparkling light of the Time Room. But the constant ticking would drive me mad, she thought, as she did every time she had to enter this room, which wasn't very often. She preferred the calm of her own working place.

She looked around. A lot of witches and wizards worked in here, some were sitting at the many desks, working alone on clocks or watches, some were standing in groups, talking softly. Several wizards were standing beside the huge crystal bell jar at the far end of the room. One was reading to the others from a big book.

Gwen took off her glasses and pointed her wand at them. "Tergeo," she muttered, and put them on again.

She found Roberta sitting alone at a desk full of time-turners. Now, you've been very bold with Manisha, why don't you try with her, too, a voice inside her head told her. Gwen mustered all her courage and went to join Roberta.

"Hi there," she said trying to sound cheerful, while Roberta looked up from her work.

"Hi," she replied. "Wait a moment, I'll come back soon."

She gave the hour-glass necklace around her neck two turns, and suddenly vanished. Gwen would have been scared to death if she hadn't had some experience with time-turners (Norma had owned one, and while Gwen knew that that had been illegal, they had had a lot of fun experimenting with it).

So she looked quite relaxed when Roberta appeared out of thin air from the other end of the room.

"Sorry," the younger witch said. "I usually carry out my tests in a separate office." She pointed to the doors on the long side of the room. "But they're all occupied today." She looked tired. There were dark circles under her eyes.

"But isn't the prime rule of working with time-turners that 'you mustn't be seen'?" Gwen whispered.

Roberta waved a careless hand. "We're in the Time Room. That's nothing special in here." And she added in a sarcastic voice: "Did you know that the majority of occupational accidents happen in here? Even the lethal ones. Not in the Death Chamber, as one would suppose…" She suddenly stopped, turning pale. "Sorry, I didn't mean…"

"It's all right," Gwen said soothingly.

Roberta sat down, resting her elbows on the desk and cupping her chin in her hands. "I am really sorry, what must you think of me?" Now she looked nearly exhausted.

Gwen cocked her head: "Hem, that you're a bit overworked, perhaps?"

Roberta gave a feeble smile. "Yeah, I am." She rubbed her forehead, and suddenly became businesslike. "How can I help you, Gwen?"

"Oh, no," Gwen said, "I just wanted to say hello, I am going to meet Vivi in the Hall, you know. How is Amber Dancer, by the way?"

"Oh, fine, thanks," Roberta looked pleased. "He is such a dear. Would you like to ride him again?"

Gwen gulped, but forced herself to smile: "Oh, that would be lovely, but I can't do it alone, you know."

"We can make an appointment one of these days," Roberta suggested. "When the weather gets better, I mean."

"All right," Gwen's stomach gave a jolt, she smiled broadly. "See you!" Oh, I am really good at being courageous, she thought happily while she passed through the Time Room, nearly floating some inches over the ground, now on her way to the Hall of Prophecies. All the ticking of the clocks and watches sounded like a lovely melody in her head.

~ooOOooOOooOOooOOoo~

When she entered the vast cold Hall of Prophecies, she put on the black wool cardigan she was carrying with her ever since she had been working with Crow in the Death Chamber. After the brightness of the Time Room her eyes needed some seconds to adapt to the dim Hall, lit only by blue-flame candles. She held her breath. There were soft voices in the distance, but she couldn't see anyone. Where is Vivi?

She moved carefully along the rows of towering shelves in which thousands of dusty glass orbs were standing. She found the height and dimness of the Hall intimidating, and wondered how the Keepers could work here every day.

When Gwen got within hearing distance she could distinguish two female voices, and one male. She suddenly stopped, unseen behind the rows of shelves, and listened.

"… for nearly twenty years. Why do you want to know that?"

"It's just routine questions, Mrs Tancock. And when were you divorced?"

"November last year."

"And … who of you dissolved the marriage?"

"I assume this is relevant?"

"Anything might be."

"Archibald wanted the divorce, so he could marry … that other woman."

"You didn't want to?"

"Well, I did after I knew that he was involved with her."

"And before that?"

"Before that? I didn't."

"Where have you been yesterday morning?"

"Well… first at home, and then I came here."

"What time was that?"

"I've got the morning shift this week, so I started at eight o'clock. I suppose I arrived some quarter of an hour earlier."

"You came here directly?"

"What do you mean, directly?"

"You didn't go to the canteen or anyone else's office first?"

"No. I don't think so. I went through the Time Room, and came here."

"And you didn't notice anything unusual on your way to the Hall of Prophecies?"

"No."

"And you never left during your shift?"

"No." The voice sounded indignant. "Now, that's the job of a Keeper, isn't it? To stay put."

"Can anyone confirm your statement?"

"No. We're usually alone on our shifts."

"So you could have left the Hall for some time?"

The voice gave a raspish laugh. "Yes, but I didn't sneak out to kill my ex-husband. If I had killed anyone, it would have been the … other woman, wouldn't it?"

Now the male voice intervened: "Please, Mrs Tancock, no one's accusing you. We're just doing our job. There are two ways that lead from this Hall of Prophecies to the Death Chamber, aren't there?"

"Well. One would be through the Time Room, the other through the corridor alongside the Planet Room. You'd have to go to the very far end of the Hall. There's a door."

"The Time Room is occupied in the morning?"

"Yes," the voice said sourly, "some of them start very early, and sometimes even work in the night."

"When did you finish your shift?"

"At two o'clock. I'm leaving now."

"Do you know whether your ex-husband had any enemies?"

"No, I don't think so. He was a quiet man. He worked hard. He sometimes came late from work."

"What was his work in the Death Chamber?"

"I can't tell you. You'd have to ask Mrs Hill, I suppose."

~ooOOooOOooOOooOOoo~