Half-timber beams gleamed against the polished white houses, and the skyline had a succession of peaked, gable roofs since many of the houses connected at the top. Transitioning from the First Chime to the Twelfth was the most dramatic change in the city since you went from the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich with only the Steele separating them. It never made much sense to me, but that was how the city had been since it was founded by the original Prime Meridian. He’d taken the splitting of the Steele as a chance to divide the city into three separate classes, and the disparity had only grown worse over the years.
Despite that, the university was a place of equality, where knowledge was the focus and everyone wore the same clothes so you couldn’t tell at a glance what Chime people came from. While the students could modify their accessories for a bit of individuality, overall they wore the same uniforms.
I stared at the shape of the university in the distance. Its whitewashed marble walls covered in vibrant creeping vines, the plethora of windows glinting in the sun, and the soaring towers created a magnificent picture—a marvel of engineering and design, with a clock tower, ornate spires, and intricate masonry work.
Someday, I would be a student there too. It wasn’t just a chance to be closer to Mamá; it was a chance to be known for more than my name. At the university, family background mattered less than what you accomplished, and I wanted to accomplish a lot. I’d keep learning sewing from Geneve while studying mechanics at school. Once I graduated, I could design my own line of server bots to produce high-quality, low-cost clothing. With their help, production could increase, giving tailors more time with their families, while prices could decrease so those in the Lower Chimes could afford clothes more easily. It wouldn’t solve every problem, but it was something I could do.
A block behind us, the Epoch Clock rang sixteen times, reminding me I needed to stop daydreaming and convince Detective Atwood to let me help with the questioning, then get home before Papá. I was always running out of time, which was somewhat ironic considering I could visit the past.
“There are two more things I need to tell you about the victim,” I said to ease into the matter of the case. I needed to convince him I should accompany him during his questioning, and mentioning the ring and the missing research might be enough to do it.
“What?”
“I’ve seen the killer’s ring before...on campus.”
He looked at me sharply. “The connections just keep appearing, don’t they?”
“Indeed.” I gazed up at the stained-glass windows, and the smokestacks releasing plumes of steam. It was nothing compared to the smoke constantly rising from the factories in the First Chime.
“And the other?”
“You might have found the body in the Fifth Chime, but I’m pretty sure he was killed somewhere in the Ninth.”
“What was the killer’s motive,” Detective Atwood mumbled to himself as the street around us filled with more students. He seemed to do that a lot while thinking.
“Can I join you for the interrogation?” I asked.
He looked up and blinked, as if resurfacing from the depths of his mind. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“There’s one more thing I forgot to mention earlier.” I should’ve told him about the research from the beginning, but in the rush of things, I’d forgotten, and now it was my last bargaining tool I had.
“What is it?”
I bit my lip and met his gaze. “I’ll tell you if you let me accompany you.”
“Poppy.”
“I promise I think this is important. I believe it’s related to the motive.”
“Remember when you said you would listen to me?”
“I’m not not listening to you,” I said. “I’m just pleading my case.”
He sighed and rubbed his nose. “Fine.”
“Fine I can join you?”
“Yes, you can join me. Now what’s this other information that’s so important?”
The large clock standing guard outside the main building released a series of harmonious chimes that resonated across the campus, and the statue of Araminta Ina Rowley standing next to it tipped her metal hat from her head and put it back on. The university had been renamed after her—though everyone called it AIR U for her initials—after she’d snuck onto campus pretending to be a man to gain an education. Her fight for women’s rights was the gear that triggered the chain effect that led to so many women being on campus. If I could do something even a fraction as impressive as her, I’d be satisfied.
“There was something in the briefcase. It—” The statue tipped the hat again, and my attention fell to the ring on her finger.
“What’s wrong?” Detective Atwood put a hand on my shoulder.
“Look there. At her ring.” I pointed to Araminta’s hand.
Detective Atwood stepped closer to the statue and squinted at it. “Is that the same ring from the sketch Liam did?”
“Not quite. It has the same hourglass shape in the center, but it doesn’t have the scythes.” I stepped closer and ran a finger over the ring’s smooth metal. “This is what I was thinking of when I said I’d seen it before.”
“Maybe they’re related.”
“Seems very coincidental.”
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” he said as we continued walking. “Now, what were you saying about the motive?”
I looked around as we made it to the literature building, where Professor Sophronia worked. Now that Detective Atwood had agreed to let me join him, I’d have to visit her after we finished at the science building. Instead, I sucked in a bracing breath of crisp autumn air, then angled my steps toward a circular building in the distance with a large brass telescope coming out of the dome at the top.
He copied me, so we walked under a path where vibrant hues of red, orange, and yellow leaves rustled on the trees on either side.
“The killer mentioned something about the professor’s research,” I said in a low voice.
“Research about what?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “But it was obviously worth killing for.”