Im flinched at the sudden thud upon the wooden board, and when Glenn’s voice followed, he stammered, “T-twenty-one copper coins…”

  “Twenty-one? For a whole Bella of chicken? You truly are a generous seller.” Glenn’s face first showed feigned astonishment, then curved into a cold sneer.

  Shamed and mocked, Im dared not speak, though inwardly he seethed with curses.

  Suddenly, a hand darted into his pocket, snatched something out, and withdrew just as swiftly. Startled, Im looked up to see Glenn counting coins in his palm.

  “That’s… that’s my money—” he began, but Glenn silenced him with a single withering glance.

  “No more, no less—twenty-one coppers. Madam, please keep them well.”

  Glenn carefully placed the coins into the wrinkled palm of the old woman, then returned the bundle of chicken to Im.

  “Come with me. I’ll sell you finer meat for a fairer price.”

  With a graceful gesture, he led the bewildered woman away. She followed, dazed and uncertain.

  Before them stood a black pig, its grotesque form making her hesitate, unsure whether such flesh could be eaten.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, gather round!” Glenn suddenly called out, his voice ringing clear. “Something good for all of you is about to happen here! Believe it or not, a look will cost you nothing…”

  In an instant, heads turned. Shoppers, passengers from passing wagons, even those strolling idly along the main street—all were drawn by his booming cry.

  Only once a crowd had formed did Glenn raise his voice again, crisp and commanding:

  “Ladies, gentlemen—whether or not you have lamented the price of meat, surely you have wished to buy it more cheaply. Today, I offer you that chance. Every Bella of pork for only four copper coins!”

  A murmur spread through the crowd. They whispered, weighing possibilities.

  Im’s face darkened, his eyes fixed bitterly on Glenn.

  “Four coppers for a Bella? That is cheap indeed… but that’s black pig, isn’t it? Can the meat even taste good?”

  “Perhaps buy a little first and see. It’s not dear anyway.”

  Glenn listened to the subdued debate, confident. He had tasted this pork himself: though the boar was not castrated, its flesh bore no foul taint—its flavor was sound.

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  “Ladies and gentlemen, allow me now to demonstrate a rare skill. Watch closely—plucking a pig barehanded!”

  Before the audience could react, he was already at work. A fine layer of bristles sprouted over his palms, shielding his skin, though none noticed.

  His arms moved with lightning speed—so swift the sight alone drew gasps of wonder.

  The ripping of bristles from hide resounded without pause, while little heaps of black hair soon gathered about the cart. The once-dark beast emerged pale and sleek, its hide gleaming bare.

  Glenn’s palms worked like sandpaper, scraping away even the tiniest, most hidden hairs. Within mere minutes, the pig stood shorn and spotless.

  He swept the remnants aside, revealing a plump, glistening carcass, clean to behold.

  Turning to his audience, Glenn bowed with a smile that stirred a breeze of admiration.

  “Magnificent!”

  “A flawless performance!”

  “Unbelievable!”

  The elderly woman clapped as hard as her frail hands could, her wrinkled face alight with wonder.

  Glenn lingered a moment in their applause, then straightened, his smile warm as ever.

  “Well then, my friends, thank you truly. The performance is over—let us return to the business at hand. First, I shall sell to this lady here. Watch closely, and if you desire some for yourselves, do not let the chance slip by.”

  He beckoned gently to the old woman.

  When she approached, Glenn asked, “Madam, how much would you like?”

  “I… I want twenty-one coppers’ worth.”

  “That will be a little over five Bellas. As my very first customer, I’ll gift you an extra Bella. Six in all.”

  Before all eyes, Glenn drew the dagger always fastened at his side, and with practiced skill broke down the pig. Borrowing a heavy semicircular scale from a nearby fruit vendor, he weighed the meat precisely.

  Six Bellas’ worth of pork filled the woman’s arms, nearly more than she could carry.

  “That seems hard to manage. Allow me.”

  Seeing her struggle, Glenn refashioned her cloth sack into a crude pack, secured the meat within, and helped settle it on her back.

  “Much better. Thank you, child.” Her smile was genuine; such warmth she had never known from other stallkeepers.

  From the moment she bought, others stirred restlessly, and once her transaction ended, a group of middle-aged women stepped forward eagerly.

  “Give me four Bellas’ worth, please!”

  “I’ll take five!”

  “Two for me!”

  Still smiling, Glenn welcomed them with effortless grace.

  From afar, Im’s eyes burned red as he hacked furiously at the chicken before him, the blade striking until flesh was nothing but shreds.

  Dude Police Office.

  A young officer in a dark uniform entered through the heavy brown door, clutching a file.

  Three middle-aged policemen sat in discussion, but ceased at his arrival.

  “What is it?” asked the leader, a stern man with a thick mustache.

  “Another case of a missing child. A couple claim their eleven-year-old vanished. They’re outside, weeping.”

  “I knew it,” muttered the mustached man, rubbing his brow. “Just yesterday two little girls were reported missing, and now this.”

  “They live outside the town. The boy disappeared three days ago—they thought he’d strayed into the forest and searched two days themselves before reporting.”

  “Understood.” The captain waved him off, then asked, “Any word of Bob?”

  “Some worker swears he saw him yesterday. We know he’s still in town—just haven’t found his hiding place.”

  “Very well. Keep searching.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The young officer saluted and departed.

  “Captain,” said another, a long-faced, broad-browed man, his tone grave, “we must pay a visit to that young man named Glenn.”

  The captain’s brows furrowed, then relaxed as though in reluctant agreement. “Circumstances leave us no choice.”

  Even as he spoke, the door opened again, and another officer entered, slightly breathless. “Captain, that Glenn fellow—he’s in town.”

  All rose at once, urgency in their faces.

  “Come,” the captain said softly.