Lilith picked the perfect time for her comeback. An hour earlier and she would've been facing her parents and grandfather separately, not to mention the Schlitzberger twins who planned to tease her about the escapade. Now, however, the entire Bloom family was sitting down to dinner, mulling over her misfortunes. Irma proclaimed she was kidnapped. Patrick told Petra she was snatched by aliens. And Gwen and Daphne agreed that the corpses she found in the garden ate her, but couldn't decide if they chewed her first or swallowed her whole. Unaware of any of it, teeth clenched for courage, Lilith hiked straight into the dinner hall, causing an abrupt silence.

It took several seconds for Gabby and Daniel to register their daughter's presence, and another minute for the rest of the guests. They didn't recognize Lilith at first. Her beret was missing, her tutu torn, and a fine layer of dust covered both her and Panther, who didn't look much better.

A collective gasp was quickly replaced by excited voices, moving chairs, and running feet. Lilith wisely closed her eyes, ready to endure the scrutiny.

First came her mother. "Lilith! Where on earth have you been?" She methodically examined her daughter, turning her around to check if anything was broken. "Open your eyes!"

Lilith squinted harder.

"Look at me! How did you get out of your room? Your face is scratched. Who did this to you? What good are you, not leading her home sooner?" This was directed at Panther.

He growled something that conspicuously sounded like, "Watch it."

"Daniel, she's not talking to me!"

Daniel moved Gabby aside and hugged his daughter. "Hey, pup, we're so happy you're back. You scared us. We thought...we didn't know what to think. Your grandfather..."

His voice drowned in the chatter. People pressed in, eager to touch the girl who returned from the dead, to give her their version of how she must have felt when she got lost, how she got lost, what she should do to prevent this from happening in the future, what her parents should do to prevent this in the future, how they should raise her, how child rearing in America was not at its best, how child rearing in Germany was superior, and a slew of similar observations.

"Daphne said you found graves in ze garden. Did zey invite you over for dinner, ze corpses?" Gwen squeezed in closer.

"You got it wrong," said Daphne. "Zey wanted to have her for dinner."

"Zat iz what I said."

"No it wazn't."

"It waz too."

They switched to German, then to slapping, then to crying. Lilith couldn't help it and peeked out of the corner of her eye.

Irma intervened to try to pull her daughters apart. It could've easily been a hippo caught in the middle of two giant piglets gone berserk.

The crowd pressed on.

"Petra, let go of her tutu, it's dirty!" said Sabrina.

"...was looking forward to a peaceful night," muttered Trude Brandt. "Alfred, I request you move her to another room. This is not a hotel, this is a private residence. At my age, I require—"

"I'm sorry, but can you please let us through?" Daniel patiently waited for people to part.

"Oh, this is ridiculous. Leave my daughter alone," Gabby hissed, elbowing her way through. "She's had enough excitement for today."

Talking hushed. The soft steps of Alfred entered.

A sickly fragrance enveloped Lilith. She opened her eyes.

Her grandfather's stare pinned her. "Lilith, my dear girl," he said with a chill. "It's good to have you back...alive."

Lilith bristled. "Kindly, thank you for your concern about my wellbeing, dear Grandfather. Incidentally, I happen to have a knack for returning from the dead."

"Pup? You feeling okay?" Daniel glanced at his daughter.

"Lilith, enough of your jokes," Gabby snapped.

She didn't hear, oblivious, her attention on Alfred. An open war commenced between them. They both knew it. There was no use pretending anymore. "Grandfather very much hopes to see me dead, only I manage to escape his clutches every time, much to his annoyance," said Lilith icily.

Alfred raised his eyebrows.

Gabby sucked in a mouthful of air. "How can you say something like that, missy. It's morbid and uncalled for."

"Please, love, don't be so apple-headed. We don't know what she's been through, do we?" Daniel interrupted.

"Apple-headed, is it? I'm sick of your dog terms, you know that? Can you speak like a normal human being for once? What about us? Does she ever think what we've been through—what we have to go through every day? Tell me, does she?" Gabby's lip trembled. They launched into an argument, the typical fare of a high-pitched voice against a softly spoken one.

Guests greedily devoured the unfolding drama, commenting in German.

Lilith decided to go for the shock effect. "Grandfather, may I ask you how many people you plan on feeding to Rosehead?" She said it clearly and loudly, counting on the wild off-chance that her assumption was correct.

A few people chuckled.

Her grandfather's face turned from pasty to green.

"What's this you're talking about? She doesn't know what she's saying." He clasped his hands in mock horror. "She must be delirious. Gabby, dear—"

"What happened to my grandmother? I want to know," Lilith said louder, cutting him off. "How did she die, exactly? Something in the rose garden killed her, didn't it? And that something was Rosehead, wasn't it?" Lilith pressed on. "Was it, Dad? Why was her casket sealed?"

"Pup. This is not—" Daniel's mouth drooped. "What Rosehead?"

A few uncomfortable murmurs broke out.

"Lilith. How dare you. We came here to honor your grandmother's memory, not to make fun of it, and certainly not to remind your grandfather about his very personal pain by inventing wild stories." Gabby gripped Lilith with the intent of marching her out.

Lilith resisted vigorously. Panther bit Gabby's ankle. She let go with a shriek. An awkward upheaval ensued, with Gabby trying to snatch Panther's tail, Daniel trying to stop Gabby, and Alfred trying to restrain them both.

Terrified of missing her chance, oblivious to the danger of being permanently categorized as mentally ill, Lilith yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Grandfather, come on! It will save us both precious time. Why do you want me to be the heir to this property? So I can do the dirty work for you, is that it? I have the right to know. If you won't tell me, I will figure it out on my own, no matter where you lock me up. Why don't you tell your lovely guests where you found my rosy beret. Or what exactly you're hiding in the rose garden. Why don't you tell them about Rosehead?"

"What's she talking about?" Daniel said, bewildered.

"Son, I know as much as you do. Please take your daughter to her room. I believe she needs rest." Alfred threw a falsely pitiful look at Lilith, fixing his suit.

"Daniel, he's right," said Gabby.

"She's not a dog to be stuffed in a kennel. She deserves the courtesy of being asked." Daniel's voice had the acidity typically reserved for quarrels regarding whippets and mastiffs.

Lilith smiled.

"Pup," he said as he kneeled, "do you want to go to your room? You can groom yourself, eat some food, we'll talk. What do you say?"

"No use asking, let's just carry her. I want to call that doctor immediately." Gabby seized Lilith under her armpits, ready to heave her if that's what it took.

"Gabby! Let go!" Daniel said aghast.

"I'd appreciate it if you let me walk on my own, Mother." Lilith wiggled out. "I can still tell left from right, thank you very much. Worst case scenario, I'll pour water on the floor, or blood, and the mansion will carry me where I need to go." She cast a venomous glance at her grandfather, whose face remained a sorrowful mask.

Guests watched them exit, their mouths open, eager to erupt into delicious gossip. Just as they mounted the staircase, Petra's voice tinkled brightly from behind. "Mommy, are they taking her to the mad house?"

Lilith's chest constricted at the thought of her being slaughtered, together with the others. For what? To benefit Bloom & Co., to feed the rose garden, to make Alfred Bloom more money. That much was obvious. Anger surged through her veins in hot ropes.

She had to stop this, no matter the cost. She had to make people believe her. Sherlock Holmes would've said, there is nothing more stimulating than a case where everything goes against you. Only that was the famous Sherlock Holmes, easy for him to say. And who was Lilith Bloom? Just a twelve-year-old girl who'd been labeled mentally unstable for most of her life. She bitterly regretted her outburst. Who'd listen to her now?

There remained the hope of talking to Rosehead tomorrow, with Ed's help, provided they weren't eaten first. Deep in thought, Lilith barely noticed how her mother heatedly opposed the idea of Panther spending the night in her room, and how her father argued back that this is precisely why he gave the puppy to Lilith in the first place. He wanted her to have a loyal friend, and tonight she needed him more than ever. She barely registered Panther's satisfied yapping and soon found herself seated on her bed, a tray of dinner placed on the bedside table by Monika, and a bowl of chopped up steak on the floor.

Lilith picked up the fork and stuck it into the sausage, biting and chewing automatically.

Meanwhile, her mother dialed the doctor's number and, apologizing for the late call, explained the dire need for him to come out first thing in the morning for a session with her daughter. Several times she had to repeat herself.

Daniel watched Lilith eat, his face blank.

"Dad," Lilith whispered urgently, eyeing her mother's back, "what kind of an accident caused grandma to die? I know we don't talk about it, but I'd really like to know." She swallowed, waiting.

Shadows circled her father's eyes. "Why don't we talk about this tomorrow, after you've had a chance to rest? Not a very easy story for me to tell."

"I don't remember her at all. Have I ever seen her?" Lilith grabbed her chance by the throat, ready to stop at a moment's notice.

Panther protectively curled around her feet, ears flitting back and forth to catch every word.

"No, you'd never met. She—we were going to visit, but then she had...an accident," said her father dully.

Lilith's hand stopped, the sausage inches from her face. "I know it was an accident. But what happened?" She lowered the fork to the plate.

"What happened?" Daniel glanced back nervously.

Gabby negotiated the time, repeating herself to the recipient on the other end who apparently didn't understand English very well.

"All right. You see," he said, then scratched his chin, "she had a similar disorder as you. Er...I don't mean anything bad by this word, pup, it's simply—"

"It's okay, Dad, don't worry, I don't mind. And?" Lilith urged him on, dinner forgotten. Panther, his bowl empty, carefully pulled the sausage off her fork, dragged it to the floor, and gulped it as fast as he could.

"This disorder, it's—it's genetic, in many cases. Really, it's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm not ashamed," Lilith said firmly, having read numerous books on a quest to understand what was wrong with her, because she felt perfectly normal. 

Daniel massaged his temples. "She didn't have agility, I mean, no sense of direction. She could get lost in a clump of trees, like a stray dog. She'd panic, hyperventilate, or even pass out. Happened many times. Dad—your grandfather—had to take care of me alone. Often. You see, the rose garden was the only place where she didn't feel lost. She loved the flowers, loved smelling them and making bouquets. Your grandfather planted special bushes for her, named them after her. Eugenia."

"I saw that," said Lilith.

"Gustav or Agatha were always there, always keeping her company."

"And?"

"And, their job was to make sure she was okay; to come help if she needed it, but to stay hidden. Let her think she was on her own. They never let her out of their sight. Of course, your grandmother was a very clever woman. She figured out they spied on her, and somehow managed—"

"Daniel! Are you out of your mind?"

Neither Daniel, nor Lilith, nor Panther—busy with his sausage—noticed that for the past minute Gabby stood over them, arms akimbo, eyes vicious behind her metal-rimmed glasses.

"The last story she needs to hear right now is this, especially before bedtime! I can't believe it. Have you got no sense?"

"But love, it's her pedigree, she'll find out eventually. There's no harm."

"No harm? Am I the only one here who has to keep a straight head? It's not made of steel, you know?" Gabby's voice rang with tears, and one of her knitting needles was dangerously close to falling out. "I thought I lost my baby forever—our baby, Daniel, our baby. But somebody has to call the doctor. Somebody has to keep the tabs, keep moving things forward, and it's always me, always me. I can't function like this anymore. I simply can't." She issued a dramatic sob.

"Gabby, love." Daniel reached out.

"Don't touch me!" She sniffled. "And you, missy, go take a shower and take these." Lilith received two tablets in her hand. "You'll sleep in our room, and you—" She pointed at Panther.

He growled.

"Gabby!" Daniel turned his wife around forcefully. "Stop it! Let her be, okay? Lilith, pup, do you want us to stay, or do you want us to leave you alone?"

Both parents peered at her, mother speechless from shock, father speechless from expectation. 

"Um..." Lilith gulped, uncertain. "Would it be okay if I slept in my room? With Panther?" She composed her features into what she hoped constituted as pure innocence, and added, "No pills?"

Gabby took in a lungful of air.

Daniel beat her. "Sure. If you need anything, just knock on our door. We'll see you in the morning. Now, rest, please. Sleep. You must sleep." Before he could wrestle his wife out of the room, she broke his embrace and, to Lilith's utter surprise, scooped her into a hug and kissed her. Lilith's arms hung idly. The pills rolled onto the floor.

Panther barked at them in the way dogs bark at a pair of hideous cockroaches.

"I know you don't like me much," Gabby whispered. "Still. I love you, never forget that." She let go, grabbed her husband's hand, and they rushed out of the room.

Lilith stared at the door, and then at Panther, who licked his muzzle, feeling very pleased with himself for scoring a fine meal without being scolded.

"Can I pee on them?" he asked hopefully, sniffing the tablets.

Lilith blinked. "What was that about?"

Panther sighed. "That, madam, was about parental love dispersed liberally in an alarmingly short amount of time due to strenuous circumstances that forced the display of such affection in order for the child—"

"Panther."

"Pardon me. In order for the adolescent to feel secure despite the typical familial chaos and lack of appropriate agreement between parents as to how they should deal with their delicate daughter who is extremely sensitive—"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Lilith interrupted. "Eloquently said."

"Thank you. I'll take it as a compliment. Now, however, I ask you to please put all of this out of your adolescent head. We've got business to attend to, my dear Holmes." Panther stuck out his chest importantly.

"Why, my dear Watson, I'm happy you're willing to continue our investigation." Lilith smiled.

This evening proved to be a successful affair. She stood up to her grandfather, her father stood up to her mother, and her friend Ed promised to lead them to a secret place, to talk to a real monster. They were going to save people's lives.

Lilith grinned. The dangerous investigation into the Bloom heir legacy has matured into its prime.