Round 10

The grocer's persistence was becoming insufferable—amateurs thinking they're solving mysteries when really they're just meddling. That camera records everything: us standing here awkwardly outside Julia's building, the witness asking suspicious questions, the obvious tension between concerned friends and civilian busybody. I need to regain control of this situation before it spirals completely out of hand.

My default solution is magic but using it on a street corner would attract every sensitive in the city—we'd have authorities swarming this location within minutes if I started throwing spells around. The risk is too high, the potential gain too low for simply silencing one meddlesome grocer. But standing here doing nothing while she documents our every move and asks increasingly pointed questions? That's even worse.

I open my mouth to speak again—maybe a threat disguised as concern, maybe an attempt at misdirection—but Halie steps between us before I can get a word out. The sorceress settles for a glare that would wither lesser mortals, but the grocer just stands her ground. She lowers the phone slightly but doesn't put it away entirely.

"Not until you tell me what's really going on here," she says firmly. "Julia's been acting strange for weeks—now all these people show up at her apartment? I'm not backing down until I get answers."

Her eyes flick between us, assessing each person like we're some kind of puzzle she's determined to solve. The street corner feels suddenly very exposed—too many witnesses walking by, too much attention on our little group.

I need a solution that doesn't involve magic or violence, and fast. Halie's already trying the 'reasonable adult' approach with mixed results; Silra looks like she's about two seconds away from making this situation a whole lot worse. The grocer might be an annoyance, but she's also standing between us and potential disaster.

Time to let Halie handle this while I figure out our next move.