Muffled laughter bubbled from beneath the flour-dusted crinkles of her eyes. "You're telling me you didn't see the mayor's parrot sneak out with those files?" His fingers kneaded the dough with a force that betrayed his surprise. "The mayor has a parrot?" "Oh, he's a magician when it comes to obscuring his escapades. But that bird knows more about their rivalries than even the council themselves." A gleam danced in her eyes as she shaped another loaf. "How oddly fitting for a baker to uncover the truth, isn't it?" He let out a chuckle that raised clouds of flour. "Perhaps there's a baker's dozen of secrets in this town we've yet to discover."