Chapter 4

"Good morning!" Duck called out as the shop door closed behind her.

Expecting a familiar greeting from her friends, Duck was surprised to find herself alone with Mr. Kotin in the store. "Are Pique and Lillie not in yet?"

Leaning back in his chair, Mr. Kotin looked out from behind the open door of his office. "Not yet, Miss Duck."

Normally such a statement would have been spoken by her employer with an unmistakable tone of exasperation, but that tone was noticeably absent today, and Mr. Kotin seemed almost upbeat despite most of his employees being tardy.

He's been in such a good mood since becoming an item with Miss Anna Belykh, Duck smiled as she put away her things.

But Duck didn't have to wait long for her coworkers to arrive. The shop door tinkled a minute later, and Duck clasped her hands together with delight when her friends stepped in as they removed their hats. "Oh! You look great, Lillie, Pique!"

Pique had traded her prim bun for a boyish, angular bob that accentuated her cheekbones. Lillie, on the other hand, had swapped her twin pigtails for short, dramatic curls that were clearly modeled after the hairstyle of the Hollywood film star, Clara Bow.

Expecting her friends to respond with gleeful excitement, Duck was surprised when she was greeted with a matching set of deep sighs instead. "What's wrong?" Duck wondered as Lillie and Pique sulked over to the counter.

"We're grounded!" Pique slumped into a chair, the sharp fringes of her hair swaying as she sat down. "My mom had an absolute fit yesterday after I came home from the barber!"

To Pique's right, Lillie cupped her face and wailed, "Me too! Oh, it was such a killjoy, Duck! There we were, all dolled up after our appointment, and what does my mother say? 'An offense against God', she proclaimed, and faints on the couch! My poor father had to get the smelling salt to rouse her! As soon as my mother came to, they went straight to church to ask the priest to forgive me for my sin!"

Duck's mouth hung open, aghast. "Oh my gosh!" she managed to say after a long pause. "I didn't think they would react so strongly!"

"Neither did I!" Resting her elbows on her knees, Pique puffed up her cheeks indignantly in a manner unbefitting of her stylish appearance. "Since business at the shop has been slow, my parents think I have too much free time on my hands and am being distracted by 'silly and frivolous ideas' in magazines," the young woman said, intoning a mocking imitation of her mother's voice. "They're now banning magazines from the house, and are insisting I find more 'gainful employment' where I'm kept busy with work instead!"

Hearing this, Duck only grew more concerned. "Do they want you to quit, then?"

"I don't know…we'll see." Pique heaved another deep sigh and stood up from her seat as Mr. Kotin, hearing their chatter, approached them from his office. "I like it here and I don't plan on leaving if I can help it, but in the same measure, I also can't just ignore my parents, either."

"What is this commotion I hear?" Mr. Kotin's eyes opened wide when he saw the new haircuts of his employees. "My! Miss Pique, Miss Lillie! That is quite the transformation you've undergone!"

Oh no! Now Mr. Kotin is mad at them too! Trying to draw attention away from her friends, Duck said, "Please don't be angry with them, Mr. Kotin! I'm partly to blame for this—!"

"Duck!" Lillie and Pique exclaimed in unison indignantly. Spinning around sharply on her heels, Pique placed her hand on her chest and declared, "This was all my idea! It has nothing to do with Duck!"

"Now, now." Holding his palms up, Mr. Kotin placated them with the words, "Contrary to your assumptions, ladies, I have no issues with your appearance. After all, my dearest Miss Anna, Venus of my heart, wears her hair in a similar fashion."

The girls looked at one another and the tension instantly diffused from the room. "Oh…Th-Thank you, sir…" Pique mumbled, embarrassed by her earlier outburst.

With a gentle smile, Mr. Kotin cleared his throat. "So long as your attend to your duties as you've done so in the past, the length and style of your hair is irrelevant to me. Now, without further ado," he motioned once again to the broom closet, "Let us not tarry from said tasks!"

Instead of the usual groans, the girls found themselves smiling this time instead.

Once they had dutifully finished their chores, the trio settled in for another uneventful and quiet day at the shop. Mr. Kotin left at noon to join Miss Belykh for lunch and left the running of the shop to the girls. But save for one or two brief visitors, the girls were left to themselves as they spent the majority of their day sitting at the counter, discussing the consequences of Pique and Lillie's chic but shocking change in appearance.

When the clock finally struck five, the girls' conversations came to a temporary pause. Stretching her arms, Pique sighed as she stood up from her seat. "I have to be home by six for my curfew. Maybe if I can keep this up for a few weeks, my folks will eventually forget about the whole thing and I can stay out late again!"

To Duck, Pique lamented, "It was probably a good thing you decided not to get your hair cut, Duck. Having a new haircut is rather pointless if you can't go anywhere to show it off."

"Er, I suppose…" Duck bit her lips thoughtfully as they gathered their belongings.

While Duck did not envy the ire her friends incurred from their families, she couldn't help but wonder how her mother would've reacted, had she still been alive. Duck could recall only a handful of times when Elsa had been stern with her; her mother had otherwise been a patient and understanding parent.

The knowledge that she would never get to know her mother's reaction, for better or for worse, sent a bittersweet pang through Duck's heart. There's nothing to be done about that… Duck reminded herself, mentally waving the thought aside.

Turning back to Pique, Duck shifted the topic to what they had been discussing before the clock had chimed. "So, this lady your mother wants you to meet—you said she runs a secretarial school?"

"It's not a 'school', per se—more like a private tutor," Pique explained while they filed out of the pointe shoe shop and out onto the afternoon street. "Mrs. Ryan was a Gibbs' girl, and after she got married, decided to offer private courses out of her house. She charges far less than Gibbs does, but claims to offer training of the same standard as Gibbs."

"But Gibbs schools are incredibly strict, aren't they?" Lillie pouted, her new short hair and puffed cheeks giving her a baby-doll-like appearance. "I heard the old bird who owns Gibbs insists every girl attend class with white gloves and dressed in their Sunday best. It's much too formal for me!"*

"This Ryan lady isn't so strict…I think," Pique answered tentatively while Duck locked up the store behind them. "At least that's what my mom tells me. I'll find out when I talk to her this weekend."

Here, Pique heaved another sigh and turned to Duck. "Sorry we're going to have to rain check the zoo trip this weekend, Duck. It's just that I'm positive my mom would have another fit if I refused to go to this interview."

"Same for me! My folks would sit me down in church on Sunday, and only an actual act of God would excuse me from spending the whole day in confessions with the priest," the blonde exhaled mournfully as the mere thought of it sapped all of her energy.

Duck smiled understandingly and waved it off. Commiserating, she said, "Don't worry about it! We can reschedule it for a different day…"

The light patter of a pair of small feet made Duck pause in the middle of her sentence. With the little drum bobbing in time with the toddler's footsteps, Zurab came to a stop next to Duck and said breathlessly with barely-contained excitement, "Dieda told Zurab to not bother Duck when Duck is working, zura, but is Duck done working now? When are we going to go see der elefanten, zura?"

Oh no, I almost forgot about Zurab! Duck grimaced. With her friends watching her apprehensively, Duck bent down and said to the child, "Sorry, Zurab, but Pique and Lillie can't come on Sunday. They, er… something came up."

"Oh," Zurab looked at Duck's friends, then back to Duck. "But what about Duck? Can Duck come with Zurab, zura?"

Knowing how much the child was looking forward to this trip, Duck could not bring herself to say no. With her mind made up, she cast a brief apologetic glance at her friends, and replied, "…Yes, we'll go see the elephants. But it'll just be the two of us."

"Yay!" the mint-haired child cheered, completely oblivious of the gloom hanging over the girls, and began to sing, "Zurab is going to see der elefanten, der elefanten, der elefanten!" As Zurab twirled around, a figure dodged behind the corner of the Kotin Pointe Shoe Shop, catching the toddler's eyes.

Walking over, Zurab stared hard at the hidden figure, before exclaiming a long, "Ohhh…"

"Shhh!" the voice from behind the corner shushed and tried to duck even closer into the brickwork.

But it was to no avail, as Zurab loudly announced to the entire neighborhood, "It's Fakir but not Fakir, zura!"

"What?" Pique frowned while the others looked just as bewildered by this paradoxical statement. Seeing he had been outed by the toddler once again, the figure exhaled resignedly and walked into view.

Even though Duck knew it was impolite to stare, it was the only thing she could do when she beheld her neighbor—initially with confusion, which turned quickly into amazement.

With his fedora on, the transformation was not immediately obvious at first sight, but as Fakir turned to rub awkwardly at his neck, Duck's eyes opened wide.

"Auwgh?!" A very unladylike squawk escaped Duck's throat, and she rushed to cover her mouth with her hand when she realized what she was seeing… or rather, not seeing.

His trademark ponytail was gone, and his long unruly bangs were now neatly trimmed. It was no wonder Zurab took a long, hard look at Fakir as he was now; were it not for his eyes and familiar grumpy expression, Duck was sure she would not have recognized him at all!

Why did Fakir cut his hair!? Was it because of what I said?

But even as Duck tried to wrap her head around the sudden transformation, her eyes took note of how Fakir's new haircut accentuated his sharp jawline and deep emerald eyes, features that used to be partially hidden by his long bangs and distracting ponytail. Her hand still covering her mouth, Duck darted her eyes away as her cheeks began to flush involuntarily.

I was just thinking aloud that day, but short hair really does suit him…

Across from her, Fakir shifted uncomfortably. He had hoped to stay out of sight and catch up to Duck after she and her friends had parted ways for the day, but Zurab's presence had sabotaged his plans yet again.

Matters were not helped when Pique and Lillie, barely able to contain themselves from this unexpected sight, squealed at the top of their lungs.

"Oh my! It's like seeing Rudolph Valentino in the flesh!" Lillie gushed, her hands clutched to her chest. "He really is the Sheik!"

"And here I thought we were getting a dramatic transformation! It seems we've been upstaged!" Pique edged up to Fakir with a toothy grin. "So why the sudden change?" Wiggling her thin eyebrows, her grin grew wider. "Are you trying to impress a certain someone?" she said with a tilt of the head towards Duck and watched in unconcealed glee as her friend's cheeks beneath her hands matched her auburn trusses.

Stubbornly maintaining his hard-boiled facade, Fakir responded curtly, "It's been exceptionally warm and humid this summer, and the long hair was becoming a nuisance, so I decided it was time for it to go."

"Oh really?" Pique continued to wiggle her eyebrows at Fakir, now joined by Lillie, much to Duck's mortification and the detective's annoyance.

Luckily for the mortified shop girl, Edel exited her shop at that moment and called to Zurab, "Zurab, come, it's almost supper time."

"Coming!" Zurab exclaimed. Before turning to leave, the toddler waved one more time at Duck and grinned, "Zurab will wait for Duck, zura! Come early, zura!"

Removing her hand from her mouth, Duck quickly waved back, "I-I will! See you on Sunday, Zurab!"

As the child waddled back to Edel's shop, Pique and Lillie also seemed to recall the time and their expressions became subdued.

"Darn, we should get going too! Mother is expecting me back in half an hour, or else I'm going to get another ear-full!" Pique bemoaned, before she and Lillie reluctantly turned their feet toward the opposite direction. "I'll see you next week, Duck, and happy birthday!"

Still flushed, Duck smiled back a little timidly, "Thank you…and see you both next week!"

With her friends and Zurab having now dispersed, Duck breathed in a deep sigh of relief. But scarcely before Duck could catch her next breath, Fakir said to her, "That little girl is coming with you to the zoo?"

Duck started involuntarily, and she turned her blue eyes back to Fakir. The stoic expression on his face had eased a fraction, and under Duck's gaze, the blush that Fakir had managed to keep at bay began to creep back onto his cheeks. Turning away, lest Duck would notice, Fakir began walking home as his neighbor followed suit beside him.

"Um, yeah…we were all supposed to go on Sunday, but Pique and Lillie's parents were really upset about them getting their hair cut and grounded them. Zurab wants to come as well, but it wouldn't be fair to her to cancel the trip when I know she had been looking forward to it all week."

Fakir said nothing as they came to a crosswalk. Waiting in silence for the light to change, he said unexpectedly, "If your friends can't go, I can come along instead."

Duck spun around at this unexpected offer, her eyes opened wide. "Eh?! But why?"

"Because," Fakir paused to clear his throat, and trying to sound nonchalant, told her, "That kid looks to be a handful. It's going to be hard for one person to keep up with a precocious child like her. I have this weekend off, and I don't have any plans anyway."

Duck considered this offer as she looked down at the pavement. Beside her, Fakir watched for her response from the corner of his eyes, then pretended to look away when she finally shifted her gaze back to him. "Are you sure, though? You've been so busy lately…you should get some rest instead."

Hearing the genuine concern in Duck's voice, Fakir's detached façade melted a little, and he said more softly, "Don't worry about it; I don't mind."

"Oh, okay then. Thanks…" Duck trailed off with a grateful smile as they continued the rest of their journey home.

As they walked in companionable silence, the familiar routine unexpectedly roused a question in Duck's mind. Fakir has been coming to walk me home an awful lot lately…

Duck pondered as she snuck a sideways glance at Fakir, who appeared relaxed as he looked out ahead. He originally started this to make sure I wasn't being followed by the Corvos…

A small shudder went up Duck's spine as haunting memories came to mind of the men who attacked her and Fakir in an alley not far from where she stood. Is something wrong that Fakir is keeping an eye on me again? Duck grimaced.

As she pondered whether or not to voice her concerns to him, the two of them arrived in front of their apartment doors.

Seeing Fakir unperturbed and showing no signs of being on guard as he took out his key to unlock his door, Duck's brows furrowed even deeper despite feeling reassured of her safety.

Maybe I'm thinking too much, Duck told herself. After all, the Corvos are gone…right?

On the morning of August 16th, Duck found herself standing with Fakir and a wide-eyed Zurab in front of the marble Rockefeller Fountain in the heart of the Bronx Zoo. Speaking over the chatter of families and children around them, Duck crouched down and held out a paper map to the toddler.

"Where would you like to go first, Zurab?"

"Here, zura!" Zurab pointed to a picture of a tiger. "Here, too!" A finger flew to the monkey house. "And here, and here, and here, zura!" The toddler pointed enthusiastically to every location on the map, making Duck laugh.

"Okay, let's do this one at a time. How about we go see the elephants first? You've never seen one before, right?"

"Der elefanten! We see the elephants, zura!" Zurab shouted happily and toddled ahead while Duck and Fakir followed, walking side-by-side.

"I've never seen a child with this much energy before," Fakir smirked. "You'd think she's one of those dancing wind-up toys with how animated she gets."

"It's Zurab's first trip to the zoo," Duck rejoined in Zurab's defense. "It's no wonder she would be excited!"

Fakir shrugged nonchalantly in response, all the while making sure the child didn't wander too far out of sight. "Kids can get into all kinds of trouble if you're not mindful of what they're up to. At least with the both of us, there's two people to keep an eye on her."

Hearing this, Duck recalled her thoughts from the day before. After a moment of hesitation, she said softly, "I've actually been meaning to ask you, Fakir…you've been coming over to the shop more frequently lately. Is everything okay?"

Startled by her question, Fakir darted his eyes toward Duck, before he responded in a measured tone, "Everything's fine…Why do you ask?"

Duck pursed her lips, her hands twisting uneasily together. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she confided, "It probably sounds silly, but it's just that it reminds me of back when you would constantly keep an eye on me in case those people found out about me. It's just a little unsettling…"

The alarm in Duck's dithering voice pushed Fakir's brows together. He opened his mouth, wanting to be frank with her, but snapped it shut before any words could leave his tongue.

The rumor of Autor's mystery Corvo man is nothing more substantial than a whisper on the wind right now, the detective reminded himself. It's not worth upsetting her over something like this when she has endured so such fear and uncertainty already.

Despite his unease, Fakir explained, "I've always taken C Street on my way to and from home; it's just that you haven't been seeing much of me because of how busy the summer has been. With the weather cooling down, things have slowed down a bit, and I don't have to stay as late. That's why you've been seeing more of me lately."

Fakir watched Duck's expression as she processed his not-entirely-truthful explanation, and exhaled the breath he had been holding when the furrow in Duck's brows eased.

"That's what I thought!" She let out a visible sigh of relief before scratching her head, abashed. "I knew I was thinking too much!"

Up ahead, Zurab waved back at them, standing next to the metal bars of the elephant pen. "Duck! Come quick, zura! Baby elephant, zura!"

With a quick "coming!", the red-haired girl turned to Fakir, her smile beaming. "You've been working really hard lately, Fakir, so I'll do my part to watch Zurab. You should enjoy yourself today!"

Before Fakir could formulate a response, Duck had already dashed off to catch up with Zurab.

Idiot. The corners of Fakir's lips tugged downward as he sulked. Reaching into his jacket, Fakir pawed at the little jewelry box nestled inside the pocket. It's your birthday today. I should be the one saying that to you.

Retreating under the boughs of a nearby sycamore tree, Fakir watched as Duck and Zurab coo over the baby elephant along with the rest of the crowd that had gathered around the pen. After scanning the people around Duck and finding none to be suspicious, Fakir relaxed a fraction, but his green eyes remained ever vigilant as people streamed by.

As much as Fakir did not wish to alarm Duck with the rumors he had heard, he couldn't dismiss them so easily on his part, especially since the Corvos had previously attempted to kidnap Duck while she was out in public.

He had been sorely tempted to trail Duck and her friends for their zoo trip, but knowing Duck and her strong distaste for being followed—even if it was for her own safety—he decided his peace of mind was not worth the angry tirade she would surely have had in store for him, had she detected his presence. After all, there would at least have been safety in numbers if Duck had been with her friends. But that small consolation was thrown out the window when Duck's friends suddenly were grounded and she was left to her own devices with no one else but a child in tow.

Given the circumstances, Fakir decided volunteering to accompany her was the best solution. Still, given his track record with Zurab so far and his less than stellar experience with children in general, Fakir had his reservations about taking on the role of chaperone for a whole day.

Thankfully, Zurab had so far proven to be much better behaved than Fakir had anticipated. Without needing any instructions from Duck or himself, the child held onto their hands when crossing streets and sat still (even if she chatted excitedly) on the trolley ride to the zoo.

Shifting his attention back to Duck, Fakir could tell the child's enthusiasm was also rubbing off on the red-haired girl. The fawning expression on Duck's face as she watched the baby elephant romp around the paddock, her mouth gaping open with adoration, stirred a bout of quiet laughter from the detective.

Catching himself, Fakir coughed and cleared his throat, but the smile remained on his lips even as Duck and Zurab made their way back towards him several minutes later.

"Arf, arf! Zurab wants to see the animal that says arf!" the toddler proclaimed when asked what they should go see next.

"Arf?" Duck and Fakir looked at each other until a series of barks and splashing noises drew their attention to the sea lion pool a short distance away from where they stood.*

The trio circled back across Astor Court where a feeding session was underway at the sea lion exhibit. A large crowd had gathered, and it was already so packed with people that even Fakir could barely see anything above the sea of bobbing heads in front of them.

Undeterred, Zurab let go of Duck's hand and raced to the foot of the crowd. Jumping up and down, the toddler tried to catch a glimpse of the action, but at barely three feet tall, Zurab couldn't see beyond the wall of adults and older children crowding around the pool.

Seeing the child's predicament, without a second thought Fakir picked up the toddler and set Zurab on his shoulders, much to the latter's delight. "Fakir, I can see the 'arf, arf!', zura!" Zurab exclaimed, bouncing and clapping in excitement.

Behind them Duck watched with a fond smile. She had been worried that someone stern like Fakir wouldn't have the patience to deal with the bubbly and garrulous Zurab, as their initial meeting certainly did not endear the youngster to the detective. But much to Duck's relief, it seemed the two of them were getting along swimmingly.

I guess there's more to Fakir than being grumpy and rude, Duck mused to herself, hiding a sheepish smile behind her hand. But I'm glad he came; it seems like both he and Zurab are enjoying themselves. The shop girl mused as Fakir was now intently observing the antics of the sea lions along with Zurab.

Surrounded by the sounds of laughter and happy murmurs, and buoyed by the refreshing breeze, Duck took a deep breath and closed her eyes momentarily as she allowed herself to enjoy this idyllic moment on her birthday.

It's such a nice day. I wish every day could be like this…

While Duck enjoyed a peaceful moment to herself, the sea lion feeding drew to a close and the crowd began to disperse. Fakir, with Zurab still sitting on his shoulder, lingered at the pool when the child asked, "Fakir, why are they called sea lions? Do they go 'rawr' like lions, zura?"

Fakir considered this question for a moment. As far as he was aware, sea lions only barked, not roared, but he was no zoologist and thus didn't have an immediate answer to Zurab's question. Luckily for him, a keeper nearby was speaking with guests, so Fakir looked up at the child sitting on his shoulders and said, "I don't know, but we can go ask."

Once the keeper had bid farewell to another group of guests, Fakir put Zurab down, who then toddled over and repeated the question to the mustachioed zoo employee. "That is a very good question!" the sandy-haired man responded enthusiastically. "The reason they're called sea lions is because the boy sea lions tend to have thick long hair around their necks, kind of how like lions do."

"Ohhh…" Zurab marveled, then pointed back to the pool. "But the sea lions here don't have long hair… they have short hair, zura!"

"Very good!" the keeper nodded appreciatively. "Actually, all of our California sea lions are girls." To Fakir, the zookeeper beamed, "Your daughter is very observant. Most adults don't even notice that."

"Uhh, no," Fakir stammered as his cheeks colored involuntarily as Zurab looked on. Holding up his hands, Fakir explained, "She's not mine, she's…" Searching for a way to describe Zurab's relationship to him, Fakir settled for, "A friend of a friend's…niece?"

"Oh!" The embarrassed zoo keeper covered his mouth briefly at the gaffe. "My apologies! There are a lot of families that come here, so I assumed…In any case, she's a very smart little girl. I hope you both enjoy the rest of your day here!"

After briefly thanking the keeper, Fakir and Zurab made their way back toward Duck, who had been watching their exchange curiously. With a hop and a skip, Zurab bounded excitedly over to the red-haired girl, who knelt down to hear what the child had to say.

"Duck, Duck! Do you know why sea lions are called sea lions, zura?" Zurab asked.

When Duck shook her head, Zurab repeated what the zookeeper had said earlier to her. "I see, I didn't know that either," Duck replied, and was about to stand back up when Zurab tugged on her sleeve with a second question. "That man said that I'm Fakir's daughter. What is a 'daughter', Duck?"

Hearing this, Duck had to cover her mouth to keep a loud snort from exiting her throat. Skimming her eyes over to Fakir, who was looking away with his face glowing bright red, Duck could not suppress a grin.

Finding her neighbor's embarrassed countenance oddly endearing, Duck explained to Zurab, "A daughter is a girl child. That man thought you're Fakir's little girl."

"Little girl?" Zurab asked, evidently still confused. "But—"

Desperate to change the topic, a mortified Fakir interrupted them and grumbled, "C-Come on, let's go someplace else! There's still a lot more to see," and began to stalk away.

"Oh! Wait for Zurab, zura!" Zurab called out and pranced ahead to keep up with Fakir. Behind them, the smile on Duck's face lingered.

As they walked down a shaded lane, the trio came upon a group of children congregating around another zookeeper. When the three walked up to see what the fuss was about, they saw the children focusing their eyes on a prickly white and brown ball in the keeper's gloved hand.

Recognizing the animal, Duck asked, "Is that a hedgehog?"

The blond zookeeper nodded. "An African pygmy hedgehog, actually. We don't have any native hedgehog species in North America, but they're quite common in Europe and Africa."

"Will it hurt if we touch it?" a wary-eyed little boy asked, to which the zookeeper responded by holding the spiky little creature out to the child.

"He's rolled up into a ball now, but little Ferdinand here is actually quite friendly. The noise from so many people startled him a bit, but if we talk softly, he'll uncurl and flatten his spines soon enough. Once he's relaxed, you can gently pet him."

Sure enough, as a soft hush descended over the group, a pointy little nose and two small black eyes peeked out from under the ball of quills, peering inquisitively at the group. The adorable face of the little animal reminded Duck of something Rachel, Fakir's older cousin, had once said some months ago.

Fakir isn't the easiest person to get along with. But if you get to know him you'll see that he's like a hedgehog: prickly on the outside, but sweet and cute on the inside…

Her eyes flitting to Fakir, Duck recalled how she had been confused by this odd comparison of the cantankerous detective to the funny-looking little creature. But now, after getting to know Fakir better, Duck had to agree that it was an apt comparison. Fakir could be stubborn and irritable, but he could also be gentle and considerate, and—to Duck's secret admission—endearingly adorable when he was embarrassed and flustered.

The thought of this made Duck's cheeks warm, but also drew a smile to her lips as she bent down and stroked the little creature's head.

"What a cute little fella!" Duck exclaimed, fawning over the creature while Fakir arched his brows skeptically.

"I don't know… looks like an awfully prickly handful to deal with," he said, arms crossed over his chest. His brows only arched higher when Duck giggled.

"But that's fine, though—that's just their nature." Looking up to meet Fakir's gaze, Duck's sky-blue eyes were full of warmth, like a clear summer day. "Someone once told me hedgehogs are prickly on the outside, but on the inside they're cute and sweet. I didn't know what that meant before, but now, having met one in person..." With her eyes still on Fakir, Duck smiled even broader. "I couldn't agree more."

Mystified by the meaningful smile, Fakir felt himself flushing once again. Luckily for him, a distraction in the form of Zurab tugging on Duck's dress saved his blush from being noticed.

"Duck, Duck! Zurab need to wee-wee, zura!" the toddler whispered.

"Oh! Um, let's see," Duck looked around, but with no helpful signposts around, she dug into her purse, pulling out empty candy wrappers and used trolley tickets before she located the crumpled park map she had stashed in there earlier.

"The elephant pen was here, and the sea lions were here… that means we must be around this area," the shop girl said, tracing the map with her finger while Zurab and Fakir looked on quietly. Finding a "WC" sign close to where her fingertip was located, Duck looked to her right. "Ah! I think there's a water closet just past the end of this road!"

Taking a few steps in that direction, the trio saw the back side of a small building where a few people were coming and going. To Zurab, Duck offered her hand and said, "All right, let's go then!"

But to both her and Fakir's surprise, Zurab refused Duck's hand. "No! Duck wait here, zura!" the child said firmly before scuttling off.

"Are you sure, Zurab?" Duck took a step after Zurab but the sprightly child was already half way down the lane.

"Don't worry so much, she'll be fine." Fakir reassured her, but Duck, still feeling unsure, followed after Zurab just as the toddler disappeared around the corner of the WC.

"Fakir, she's only three years old! She might not even be potty-trained!" Duck exclaimed even as her face grew pink from mentioning the topic in public. She whispered urgently, "What if she falls in? Someone would have to get her out!"

The detective groaned, as Duck's imagination was clearly quickly getting away from her. "Duck, that child is as smart as a whip! If she's okay with going by herself, more than likely she knows what to do." In a more placating tone, he repeated, "I'm sure she'll be just fine."

By now, they were outside the water closet, and Duck stepped inside without another word. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Fakir could do little except wait for Duck and Zurab.

But when Duck reemerged from the door a moment later, her expression was one of panic. "Fakir, she's not here!"

Now it was Fakir's turn to be alarmed. "What? But we saw her walk in!"

"I know!" Duck walked past him, looking frantically to and fro, but there was no sign of the mint-haired child. "Where could she have gone? We have to find her!"

"We'll split up!" Fakir grasped Duck's arm. "She couldn't have gone too far in such a short time! Let's circle back around and meet back here."

Duck nodded briskly before taking off to the left. Likewise, Fakir hurried off in the opposite direction.

However, even after several minutes of calling out Zurab's name and asking a number of passersby if they had seen a small child with mint-colored hair, there was no sign of the toddler.

As Fakir began to seriously consider finding a park officer to file a missing person report, he spotted Duck, also still alone, circling back around some distance in front of him.

Hurrying to meet back up with her, Fakir noticed a lanky figure standing beside a tall tree suddenly step forward and, to Fakir's eyes, purposefully bump into Duck. With her mind still focused on Zurab, she uttered a quick apology before continuing on her way.

But Fakir's eyes narrowed when he saw the man tuck something that had not been in his hand previously into a pocket and began to briskly walk away.

"Hey!" Breaking into a sprint, Fakir gave the pickpocket little warning before slamming into him. The force from the tackle knocked both men to the ground, sending their hats flying as startled onlookers gasped in alarm.

Unbeknownst to Fakir, the jolt from the collision also succeeded in knocking the little jewelry box out of his pocket. Bouncing once on the ground, it then rolled to a stop at the foot of some hedges, before a small hand picked it up off the grass.

However, Fakir was focused solely on restraining the thief, who was trying desperately to escape. Fakir grabbed the man's right arm and twisted it behind the man's back, causing the pickpocket to yelp in pain as the plain-clothed detective pressed him against the ground.

"Get off me! I haven't done nothin'—augh!" Still thrashing about, the thief's wailing turned into a sharp whine when Fakir planted his knee into the man's back to keep him from getting back to his feet.

"You picked the wrong person to steal from today!" Fakir hissed into the thief's ear as two uniformed police officers, alerted by the commotion, came running towards them. Roughly hauling the thief to his feet, Fakir cast a quick glance at Duck, who appeared shocked but unharmed, before turning his attention back to his fellow officers.

"What in tarnation is going on?!" demanded the portly officer who first arrived on the scene.

"Sergeant Fakir Romeiras of the 53rd precinct," Fakir flashed the badge pinned to the inside of his jacket while the second officer handcuffed the sorry-looking rogue. "I caught this man pickpocketing, and arrested him before he could get away."

The stocky officer nodded approvingly. "What a stroke of luck for you to be here—well, not so for the dip* of course, but for the victim!" Looking at the crowd that had gathered, he asked, "Whose belongings did he steal?"

Duck raised her hand timidly and approached the group of officers.

Fishing into the thief's pocket, Fakir took out the girl's pilfered wallet and laid it back in Duck's hands.

"Thanks, Fakir," Duck said with relief. The sight of her warm smile, and the appreciation he could hear in her voice, made Fakir's chest swell with pride.

But a light tug on his jacket cut the moment short, and Duck and Fakir were flabbergasted to see Zurab standing next to them.

"Zurab! Where did you go?! We were looking everywhere for you!" Duck exclaimed after giving the child a quick hug.

"Zurab went to wee-wee, zura," the child responded matter-of-factly, mystified by their baffled expressions.

"But you weren't in the water closet when I went to look for you! Where did you wonder off to?"

But this question from Duck was only met with more confusion from Zurab, who said, "Nowhere, zura. Zurab was in boy's room when there was a big noise, and Zurab sees Fakir fighting with someone on the ground, zura!"

With the crowd around them dispersing, Duck let out a groan. Her hands holding Zurab's shoulders, she asked in exasperation, "Why were you in the boy's room? You only go to the boy's room if you're a—"

At that moment, Duck stopped mid-sentence as she and Fakir exchanged wide-eyed looks.

"Zurab…are you a boy?" Duck asked slowly.

"Yes, zura!" Zurab answered in his usual cheerful manner. Yet this only made the realization all the more awkward for the two people who had been chaperoning him.

"But I thought—Ack!" Duck clapped her hand over her lips, while Fakir could only look on with his mouth agape.

Zurab then turned and held out something out to Fakir. To the detective's surprise, it was the jewelry box he had been cradling earlier in his pocket.

Before he could ask Zurab how he had come into possession of the object, Zurab volunteered this information himself. "When Fakir ran into that bad man, this came out of his pocket, zura! Zurab found it, but Fakir can have it back, zura!"

Duck, distracted from her embarrassment, looked up and made a puzzled expression at the sight of the jewelry box.

The sight of her curious gaze gave Fakir pause, but after a moment of consideration, he held it out to her. "Um… I was going to give this to you later, but now is as good a time as any, I suppose…"

Duck picked up the jewelry box, now slightly scuffed on the corner from where it had hit the ground, and opened it gingerly. She gasped softly when she saw the polished carnelian pendant from Edel's shop, now nestled in the middle of the white padded leather.

Watching her response with bated breath, Fakir felt compelled to explain, "I know it's not much, and I'm not sure if it's to your taste, but I wanted to give this to you…"

There were so, so many more words that Fakir wanted to say in that moment, so many feelings that he wanted to convey.

But as he studied Duck's face, the initial surprise on her face gave way to a somber expression that pushed all of those words back down his throat. The only thing he could manage to say was a feeble and fading, "…It's… my gift to you, for your birthday…"

Duck's eyes betrayed no indication of her thoughts as she carefully snapped the box shut again—without even touching the pendant or examining it up close, Fakir noted dishearteningly—before slipping it inside her purse.

When she looked back up at him, there was a belabored smile on her lips, and an uncharacteristic stiffness leaked into her voice when she said, "Thank you, Fakir…It's very pretty."

Shifting her attention once again to Zurab, Fakir could not shake the feeling that Duck had no desire to examine her gift, and if anything, wanted to push it to the back of her mind as she proceeded to ask the little boy what they should do next.

Though Fakir knew there was always a chance Duck would not take a shine to his choice of present, the unexpected coldness with which she had greeted the pendant sent a stab of profound disappointment through his chest.

With the sun waning on the horizon, Fakir and Duck finally left the zoo grounds and exited the trolley on C Street. Zurab, exhausted from a long and exciting day, had fallen asleep in Fakir's arms, his thumb tucked inside his mouth. Edel greeted the trio at her shop's door as Zurab was roused from his slumber by his auntie's voice.

"Did you have fun today, Zurab?" Edel asked as the bleary-eyed child rubbed at his eyes and nodded.

"Zurab saw the elephant and the sea lion and…" Here the child yawned widely and Edel chuckled.

Patting him gently on his head, she smiled at him maternally. "You can tell me later. Let's get you washed up and in bed after supper." To Duck and Fakir, she said, "Thank you for taking Zurab with you today, Duck. And happy birthday to you as well. I hope you both had an enjoyable day?"

"Er…" Duck scratched her cheeks. "Actually, it was a pretty eventful day. I got my wallet stolen at one point, but luckily Fakir was there, and he caught the thief red-handed. But before that, we almost lost Zurab because I thought he'd gone to the lady's room… and it was only after he found us that we realized he's a boy."

Hearing this, the normally serene shopkeeper let out a rare burst of laughter. "That is quite an exceptional day!"

Edel touched her lips before composing herself. Offering Duck an apologetic smile, she continued, "I am sorry, Duck. I've known Zurab for so long, the thought had not occurred to me before; but I can understand how Zurab's appearance can cause confusion."

As the jewelry shopkeeper glanced down, her smile broadened when the sleepy child snuggled against her leg. After a pause, she explained, "Zurab's father came from a very traditional-minded family, and they still unbreech boys when they are young. Zurab's mother decided to breech him after moving here, but Zurab has taken a liking to dresses and continues to wear them even now."*

"Oh, I see," Duck nodded weakly. Knowing how tired Zurab was, Duck decided it was better to excuse herself (as well as this rather awkward topic) for the day. But before Duck could leave, Zurab walked up to her and reached out his arms.

"Yes, Zurab?" Duck knelt down, and the toddler wrapped his chubby arms around her shoulders.

"Zurab had a lot…a lot of fun today, zura!" Zurab mumbled drowsily into her hair. "Thank you, Duck. Happy birthday, zura!"

Her embarrassment melting away, Duck smiled and held Zurab close. "You're welcome… and thank you, as well."

Standing off to the side during this whole exchange, Fakir watched wordlessly as Duck finally bid goodnight to the residents of the Stein Jewelry Store. As the two of them began their short trek home, Duck continued to smile and said aloud to herself, "Zurab is such a sweet little boy!"

"Hmm…" Fakir murmured noncommittally.

Duck threw a quick glance towards Fakir, but the detective was looking down at the ground and did not notice her gaze. Looking back down at her own feet, Duck continued after a pause, "Thank you again for coming, Fakir. I had a really wonderful day today."

This made Fakir turn to look at her. Though there was a smile on Duck's lips, Fakir couldn't bring himself to smile back. "That's good…but it could have gone better, though."

After another long pause, Duck spoke up again, this time her voice was quiet. "What do you think is going to happen to the man who stole my wallet? Is he going to be in a lot of trouble?"

"Probably not, actually," Fakir frowned as they crossed the street onto Lake Avenue. "Stealing a wallet is petty theft. That fella will probably serve a couple days in jail, then be back to his old tricks again."

"Oh…" Duck scrunched her nose and pulled her purse closer to herself.

As they walked up to the landing of their apartment building, Duck pushed up the corner of her lips. Trying to sound cheerful, she said, "Well, I'm glad you were there, and…"

Fakir found himself holding his breath for a moment but Duck continued to say, "…and for helping to find Zurab." Here, the shop girl let out an awkward laugh. "Though, I guess in the end it was Zurab who found us, not the other way around!"

Nodding once in response, Fakir found himself at a loss for words. As much as he wanted to ask Duck for her thoughts on the pendant he'd given her, the detective found himself unable to muster the courage to do so.

After bidding each another goodnight and closing his apartment door behind him, Fakir leaned against the wooden pane and wondered where had he gone wrong.

Was it too soon to give Duck something that reminded her of her mother's lost pendant? Or did she dislike the pendant itself? It is, after all, a very simple necklace… Fakir mulled this over as he mechanically went about his evening routine.

Lying in bed, he recalled Duck's expression, attempting to dissect the slight frown on her brows and the thin line of her lips after she opened the jewelry box. But try as he might, Fakir could not put a name to the look on his neighbor's face, and the unspoken question haunted his thoughts until sleep finally overtook him.

When Fakir opened his eyes again the next day, the first thing he noticed was that his room seemed far brighter than usual. Confused, Fakir reached for the clock at the nightstand and jumped out of bed when he saw it was more than an hour past his usual wake up time.

Yelling a string of curses, Fakir changed his clothes as quickly as he could—not even bothering with a tie—grabbing his jacket and slapping his hat onto his head.

While Fakir was a natural early riser, he would still set an alarm clock as a precaution. But he had been so preoccupied the night before, he had completely forgotten about the alarm, and was now paying the price for his absentmindedness. With the weekly department meeting starting in half an hour, Fakir could not afford the time for coffee, or even to wash up.

Stepping into his shoes, he slammed the door closed behind him and jammed the key into the lock. He struggled to lock the door with his right hand, while the other arm remained stuck inside a misfolded jacket sleeve.

The door adjacent to his apartment opened, and a startled Duck gasped at him. "Fakir? You're still here?"

"I'm late! I forgot to set the goddamned alarm clock!" Fakir shouted as he finally succeeded in pulling his left arm through the jacket sleeve.

Glancing at Duck, Fakir saw she was dressed for work in a pale yellow summer blouse and patterned skirt. The pendant he'd given her the day before was nowhere to be seen.

Turning away, Fakir shoved his key into a pocket and dashed toward the stairs. Behind him, Duck called out, "Good luck! I'll see you later, then!"

His hurried trip to the office temporarily offering a respite from his doubts, Fakir ran most of the way to the precinct. By the time he had reached the door of the Homicide unit, he was panting heavily, drawing curious glances around the office. Alex, who happened to be near the door, was especially alarmed by the uncharacteristically disheveled appearance of his partner and mentor.

The junior detective followed Fakir to his desk as the sergeant collapsed into his chair, still gulping deep breaths of air as he carelessly tossed his hat to the side.

"Jesus, you look like you had a rough morning, Sarg," Alex said with a wince.

Shaking his head, Fakir panted, "Don't…even…ask…!"

"Well, catch your breath first. We still have a couple minutes before the department meeting. Oh!" Alex reached for the top of the stack of documents he was holding and placed a telegram envelope down on Fakir's desk. "By the way, this came for you. I was going to leave it on your desk for later, but you came just in time that I could give it to you in person."

Mutely nodding his thanks, Fakir held the envelope without looking at it, waiting for his pulse to slow.

After another minute or so, once his heart no longer threatened to leap out of his chest, Fakir turned the telegram around and tore open the envelope with his thumb. As he skimmed the message, the detective's eyebrows drew together.

On the white Western Union stationary were two short lines of text:

Meet me today at 6 Bens Deli

AB

A/N

*Gibbs College was a chain of esteemed secretarial schools founded by Katherine Gibbs née Ryan. First opened 1911 in Rhode Island, the school expanded to multiple states on the East Coast throughout the 1920s. The school was well known for its strict, professional dress code as well as the high-quality secretarial and business training the students received. As the decades progressed, however, the school's enrollment rates fell, and as of 2009, all Gibbs College campuses had closed after the franchise failed to find a buyer. The Mrs. Ryan here is a nod to the college founder's maiden name.

*Thanks to Animal Planet's "The Zoo", I've learned quite a bit about the Bronx Zoo and its history. The present day Zoo Center used to be the elephant and rhino exhibit, and was only a short distance away from the sea lion pool. I did take some artistic liberty with the hedgehog being an "animal ambassador", since as far as I am aware, this is a modern program at the zoo. However, it's not completely impossible that a small, docile animal like a hedgehog could be carried around by a keeper to greet and interact with visitors back in the 1920s.

*"Dip" is a slang term for a pickpocket, popularized in the 1920s.

*"Breeching" is derived from "breeches", a type of trousers popularized in the 16th century. Back then, babies and toddlers of both sexes wore dresses (and were thus "unbreeched"), which made answering the calls of nature easier in the era before disposable diapers, zippers, and other easily undone clothing fasteners. Young boys were "breeched" when they transitioned from wearing dresses to wearing breeches or trousers at around 6 to 7 years old. Breeching was a common practice in many Western cultures for centuries, up until the very end of the 19th century. By the time of this story, in 1925, the practice would've already been considered outdated and old-fashioned.

As for why Zurab is a boy, Zurab is a masculine name in Georgia. I was looking for European names that sounded similar to Uzura (which is of course, Japanese), and Zurab was the closest I could find. The name Zurab actually comes from the Persian name Sohrab, and is the name of a courageous young prince from the Persian epic, "Shahnameh".

Thanks to Tomoyo Ichijouji once again for proofreading!