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He crossed the street without deciding to. Curiosity, that small and dangerous engine, pushed him toward the porch. The air smelled of cut grass and something sweeter he couldn't name—lavender and something like fried sugar. The front door was ajar, as if waiting. He stepped inside. It smelled of lemon oil and old paper.

He should have retreated then. Instead she smiled, a small, knowing thing. "Names are funny," she said. "We hide in them, like you hiding behind your code."

"Best," she said later, pointing to a mark on the map. "That's where it started."

A woman—no, a girl, but with an angrier patience about her—stood in the kitchen, rolling dough on the counter. She looked up when he entered, measuring him like someone deciding whether to fold him into a plan or send him back into the night.