Merlot Wystine removed her white gloves with a sick sense of duty.

Tonight, she might be caught with those twelve rooms filled to the brim with paper money, but who cared?

It was that fear of being found out that made her laugh at the naïve stars. That fear made her eyes shift at inconvenient moments. It warmed her side.

“Zut!“she whispered when she saw that the money had left its ink on the gloves. This was the forty-ninth pair this month.

Suddenly, Merlot jumped. “You scared me, Ira!” The black cat just rubbed its slender body against her cold legs. “You scared me!” She laughed quietly.