You first move over to the Garamond family, who looks noticeably distressed—or, at least, Mr and Mrs Garamond do. The children, on the other hand, seem unfazed, having no idea of the night’s events thus far. Well, of course, they do not—they look no older than 5 or 6. You say a few kind words to the parents, assuring them you will do all you can to catch the culprit but, in the interest of dismissing any suspicion over them, you will ask some questions.
Just as you are about to begin, you feel something tugging on your trousers. Looking down, you see one of the children—Sophia, the parents tell you—trying to get your attention. It seems as though she wants to show you something. You crouch down, coming face to face with the small girl, who you now realise is holding a thick, dark, leather-bound book—definitely not a book a 5-year-old would have.
“Hello, Sophia. What have you got there?”
“A book!” she exclaims.
“That is a mighty large book for a mighty small girl such as yourself. Where, might I ask, did you get it?”
“That man gave it to me just now!” She points at the portrait of Lord Roman. “But there are no pictures so I can’t do any colouring,” she continues.
“Just now?” you ask. Sophia just nods and offers it to you.
You take it from her and thumb through the pages. It is clear to you that this must have been a diary of sorts. One page, in particular, seems to jut out of the book. Curious, you open to that page to find a grid-like structure with seemingly random letters placed here and there. At the very top of the page reads:
