It was fifteen minutes before opening time and old Anne and Phillip Galanski were drinking tea in Old Anne's Antiques. The antique store was not far from the center of Salem, it was located between Galanski's bookstore and a lunchroom that had recently become vacant.
Galanski had heard from the baker down the street that the owner had died from a mysterious magical illness.
'I didn't like those European folks anyway,' the bookstore owner said, 'with their hip sandwiches and colorful cutlery.'
'I quite liked their sandwiches,' Old Anne took a big sip of her tea with four sugar cubes. She pulled her lips back from the heat in her mouth and bared a set of brown teeth. 'I hope the city decides on another restaurant to fill up the place. Something with soup, I quite like soup.'
The bell of the store door rang, maybe the most peaceful sound in the whole of Salem, and the door was pushed open by a hooded figure.
Anne put her cup down and stood up from her stool with a heavy sigh and moved her plump body towards the door as fast as she was able.
'We're not open yet,' she said, and when she tried to shut the door, the figure stuck a foot between the door and its frame. Startled, Anne took a step back.
'This can't wait,' the figure entered and pushed past Old Anne while pulling down its hood, 'besides I don't like doing business with people around'. She had long brown hair, with a sharp face and light blue eyes. She then took off her gloves, folded them up neatly, and put them in the pockets of her coat.
'I'm looking to buy something very particular, I was told by an associate that you could help me.' The strange woman started to walk further into the shop, examining the knickknacks, 'but I don't suppose the interesting stuff is on display.' She ran a finger over a dusty set of spoons.
'I don't know what you are talking about.' Old Anne puffed out her chest like a bloated chicken. 'Leave my shop immediately!'
The stranger turned around and looked at the old woman with a scowl.
'Maybe you should listen to what the woman wants first,' Galanski said nervously as he started collecting the tea set, fumbling with the spoons.
'What do you want?' Anne asked as she nervously watched the stranger roam around her shop.
'A ring,' the woman said, 'with a silver band and a midnight blue stone. There's a faded inscription on the inside.' Her hand disappeared into the inside of her coat and old Nan gasped loudly, awaiting to be attacked, but instead, the stranger threw Anne a heavy purse filled with coin.
'I hope this is sufficient. There's more if you don't ask any questions.'
Anne released the breath that got stuck in her throat and started counting the coins. She shared a glance with the bookshop owner and nodded.
'This seems sufficient.' She handed Galanski the overwhelming amount of money and he quickly stashed it somewhere under the counter. 'Let me look in the back and get it for you.' Anne left the room and it became very silent in the shop, apart from the nervous noises Galanski started to make.
'I'm not going to kill you.' She simply stated and looked the frightened man in the eyes, 'I don't plan on making a mess. Messes tend to lead to questions, and I don't like it when people start looking for answers.' All Galanski could do was nod.
Anne had returned as quickly as she could and handed over the ring with no questions asked like instructed. She took the ring from Anne and put it around her thumb before even inspecting it. 'This it the ring.' The stranger said and a small smile broke her cold face for a second. 'Excellent.' She threw both of them another coin before turning towards the exit.
'Thank you, for cooperating.' And with that, the stranger left and disappeared. The bell rang again. Such a peaceful sound. Only a couple of minutes left on the clock before the tourists would come swarming in.