“Oh, Paganini is important, of course—but it took Vuillaume to shave a bit, cut a bit, move the support a little. We do not merely repair violins. We set them free!”

But Lucy was not Catalin Matía.

Besides, wasn’t it time to close shop? Tomorrow, Mr. Zacatecas’s violin would be completely dry. She would remove the clamps, put on a fresh set of Tonicas, and Mr. Zacatecas would be good to go.

As for this instrument in front of her? She had gotten very lucky with the bridge. Tomorrow morning, she would cover any scratches with a stroke or three of spirit varnish, and by lunchtime, the parts she’d ordered would arrive at the shop. Then she would make some quick adjustments, pop in the Milo Stamm, string with the Evah Pirazzis, give it a quick buff with a fresh microfiber cloth, and she’d be done.

The new components of course would improve the sound. And Shizuka Satomi would be a good contact to have. She might send a few more students, then maybe even refer another school or two.

Which would mean a bit more time to hope, hope to God that Andrew might inherit her father’s talent and bring Matía and Sons back from the dead.

Her mind made up, Lucy put on her coat, turned off the lights, and opened the door. The doorbell jingled.

No, no, no …

There it was again … like a child asking for water.

Could that student have heard this?

Lucy recalled the adjustment the girl had made to the sound post. How Shizuka said she had been playing a little sharp. And what she said at the end.

“Can you help—”

Not fix. Help.

Of course she knew. That girl had been doing everything she could to set her violin free.

Lucy took off her coat and put it back on the hanger. She picked up her phone.

“Miss Satomi? I’m sorry to call you so late. No, there’s no problem. It’s just that I found something unexpected. If you don’t mind, I’d like a little more time.”

“She said that she found something interesting with your violin,” her teacher said. “Don’t worry. As I said, it is in the best of hands.”

That was her teacher, Shizuka Satomi. Who had just talked to the person repairing her violin, a person who had worked on a Stradivarius.

Two weeks ago, Katrina had to sneak into a boba place, much like this, just to use the restroom. Today, Katrina got up and walked to the bathroom. Thank goodness it was gender-neutral and single-stall. But even if it weren’t, Miss Satomi would surely protect her. When she emerged, there was K-Pop on the screens overhead. Tables were full of people studying, chatting, playing cards.

And at her table, was Miss Satomi and a large kiwi bing sa.