Chapter One
You saw the flyer a week ago:
Urgently seeking budding literary detectives. Inquire at front desk.
You're not sure what to expect, but you do like solving puzzles, so here you are at Fitzroy Library talking to two librarians who seem excited to meet you.
The one holding a briefcase greets you enthusiastically. "I'm Tegan, and this is my colleague Thomas. We're forensic bibliothecs! It's great to meet you."
Thomas looks up from his book and smiles. "A bibliothec is a fancy way of saying librarian. Our specialty is solving library-related mysteries. We've got a juicy new case on our hands – and we would love your help investigating."
"Recently, several books in our collection have been... altered." Thomas holds out the volume in his hands. "Take a look at this page."
"What do you think is causing this?"
“You’re right, the holes in the paper do seem to suggest some sort of insect. But why are they eating specific words? That’s a little harder to explain,” muses Tegan. “Maybe some mysteries are meant to remain unsolved–”
“I know just the person to ask about this,” Thomas interjects. “An esteemed colleague of ours. Come on, this way!” He turns and hurries down a hallway. Tegan raises her eyebrows, then invites you to follow her.
"Hmm. You'd expect a bigger mess," muses Tegan. "The holes in the paper are too tiny. Think smaller."
"You think someone's stealing words out of books? That might be possible – we get those from time to time, though usually it's just plagiarists copying the words rather than erasing them."
"The inexorable passage of time consumes all," Thomas intones, "but I think there's a more specific reason here."
"I don't think these are burn marks." Tegan inspects the page. "There's no darkening of the page or other indication of fire."
"I don't think a human did this," muses Tegan. "The holes in the paper are too small."
"While writers are a particularly suspicious lot–"
"–especially poets–" mumbles Thomas.
"–there's no reason to suspect them."
"That seems rather unlikely. Our supernatural mysteries department hasn't mentioned any problems lately."
"The paper is dry and doesn't show any signs of damage by liquids. It looks like something's eaten away at the edges."
"Yes, the affected books have clearly been damaged – but by who or what?"
"Librarians are bound by a strict code that prevents us from defacing books."
"Please, stop joking around. This is a serious matter."
"Sorry, I don't know who that is."
"I'm not sure I understand what you're proposing."