At the Tribune, Iris insists to Helena that Roman has not truly defected and is probably doing whatever he must to survive. While rereading Roman’s pro-Dacre article, Iris fixates on the word museum and treats it as a possible clue rather than a casual phrase. That suspicion gives Iris a new purpose: instead of freezing in shock, she decides to investigate immediately.

Iris telephones the Oath Gazette and deliberately asks for Sarah Prindle, hoping to reach someone she trusts. Once Sarah answers, Iris urgently arranges a secret meeting at Gould’s Café and leaves the Tribune with Roman’s article hidden under her coat. At the café, the two women reunite warmly, and Sarah notices that Iris is wearing a wedding ring, leading Iris to confirm that she and Roman married at the front.

Iris quickly turns the conversation to Roman’s article and asks how it reached the Gazette. Sarah explains that two days earlier a tall hooded man with a cold, unsettling voice delivered the piece directly to Zeb Autry. According to Sarah, the article was typed, not handwritten, and the messenger offered it on one condition: Autry had to publish every future article delivered to him, without choosing among them. This reveals that Roman’s article is part of an ongoing arrangement and suggests that Dacre’s network can move agents into Oath unnoticed.

The news that the article was typed confirms Iris’s hope that Roman has access to a typewriter, and she begins to suspect it may be one of the magical Alouettes. Because Iris longs to reestablish contact with Roman through that enchanted bond, she decides on a risky next step. Knowing Sarah is familiar with the museum, Iris asks her to help break into it and steal a typewriter.