It wasn’t too difficult for Ava to find the watch, not while Abe held the red-haired woman still. It was tucked into an inner pocket of her woolen coat, but she struggled ravenously and nearly knocked them both over when Ava finally got her hands on it. “What do you think you’re going to do with it, anyway?” Abe yelled. “If you know what it is, then you know you won’t be able to use it!”

The woman hesitated and eyed the two of them suspiciously. “Where did you come from?” she asked, but Ava ignored her--and Abe, for once, followed her lead. The less this woman knew, the better. Ava checked the watch; it was intact. She tentatively touched her cheek, where a long but thankfully shallow slash still oozed blood. No matter; Abe could patch it up once they got outside into some proper light. How they were going to lose this pickpocket, on the other hand, who clearly seemed to want this watch more than her own life--

And then the cold realization spread like frost inside her chest.