Vladimir Torin’s "The Silence of Sabrina 2," a synopsis

This book is a steampunk novella with urban fantasy elements, written in 2023. Set in the dark and bizarre city of Gaben, the story centers on the fate of the animated doll Sabrina. She finds herself drawn into the deadly intrigues of a street theater and its sinister inhabitants.

This novella is part of the "…from Gabin" series. The series tells interconnected stories about the town and its inhabitants. This series also includes books such as "And the Light Goes Out," "My Post-Imago," "The Mystery of 12 Rue Florette," and others. This novella is the second act of Sabrina’s story.

Those who got into their heads

The events begin in Tully Breckenbock’s van. Breckenbock is the eccentric owner of a street theater called "The Booth." He is carefully repairing the doll Sabrina after her recent physical injuries. He uses paints, brushes, and wood clamps. The booth owner suspects the jester Finn Guffin of orchestrating a fake police raid. Guffin, also known as "The Manner of Smiling," allegedly orchestrated the police raid to disrupt the upcoming theater premiere. Sabrina is hiding the truth from the theater owner. Guffin has cruelly taken the doll’s valuable brass mechanism.

While repairing the device, Breckenbock finds an old newspaper clipping with a photograph in his desk. What he sees deeply shocks him. The discovery clearly connects Sabrina’s past with Breckenbock’s forgotten secrets. The jester recalls the puppet’s memory trepanation and his creepy puppeteer father.

Meanwhile, an unknown detective, wearing a rain-soaked coat, enters the abandoned shop of Goodwin the Dollmaker. He finds a murdered tram driver. The dead fat man has a rotten fish in his pocket. Inside the building, the detective accidentally stumbles upon a brood of giant grub fleas. The insects hide in old fur coats. The detective picks the lock of a secret door. The intricate mechanism is triggered about two meters away from a light source.

The detective discovers a hidden doll factory. Goodwin’s thick notebooks, meticulously documenting the habits of prominent Gaben citizens, line the shelves. A tired guest lies down on the dollmaker’s bed. The detective reads strange inscriptions on the ceiling. He instantly falls asleep. At that very moment, a deadly black insect creeps up on the detective.

Mr. Autumn Tobacco and other nice people

The detective wakes up just in time and escapes a swarm of giant six-legged fleas. He runs through the grimy, dark streets of the Flea district. Accurate shots from his revolver into the monsters’ heads help him survive. The fleas fall dead one by one.

Meanwhile, Sabrina sits in the rain near the circus wagons. The doll holds a green umbrella. She obediently memorizes the lines of the role of the Poor Thing. At the same time, Sabrina watches the striped abode of the evil Goofin. The wily jester receives a mysterious package in a hot air balloon from a mail airship. Sabrina constantly encounters the cruelty of the performers. The rogue Patch kills a beautiful lilac moth with a dirty shoe for his own amusement. Then Patch informs on Breckenbock about the doll. Breckenbock is furious with all his subordinates. The owner is determined to stage the play, despite any obstacles.

Old mechanic Bulldog Jim is trying to fix a musical instrument. He urgently needs a small part for the calliope. The old man cold-bloodedly decides to cut off Sabrina’s index finger with pliers. The doll cries and cries loudly for help. Brackenbock arrives just in time, hitting the mechanic with his umbrella and stopping the mutilation. Guffin watches the doll being tormented with obvious pleasure. Immediately after this conflict, a detective appears in the alley with an umbrella. The man is smoking a cigarette of the "Autumn Tobacco" brand. He calls himself Mr. Nesbit. The detective asks to join the show’s troupe.

Patch and Slick and Chalk

Breckenbock readily hires Nesbit. Guffin is furious with the new actor and retreats to his van. Left alone, Breckenbock and Nesbit reveal their true identities. Nesbit is Detective Herbert Mayhew, an old friend of the show’s owner. The men grew up together in Madame Lappin’s cruel orphanage. Mayhew is investigating a series of bloody murders, hot on Guffin’s trail. Breckenbock agrees to secretly assist the detective. In exchange, Mayhew is required to find an important object in the former Market Square.

The wily Guffin continues to weave theatrical intrigues. The Jester blackmails the former lawyer, Sneak. Sneak had previously killed the old actor, Sid. The lawyer was concealing secrets in a document about an invention. The Jester categorically orders Sneak to poison the troupe’s morning soup. Guffin also threatens the fortune teller, Madame Shmyga. The villain has kidnapped the younger sister of a woman named Lisbeth. The Jester forces the fortune teller to fake a mystical fit during breakfast. The hysteria is intended to distract all the actors from the kitchen pot, allowing Sneak to slip the deadly poison undetected.

Night Performance at Flea

Mayhew goes to Mama Gorbin’s cabaret. The local dive is housed in the rusty hulk of a crashed airship. The owner admits patrons only by burned-in marks. Mayhew manages to avoid the painful branding thanks to Breckenbock’s name. Gorbin tells the detective a hidden truth. The police raid on the cabaret turned out to be completely illegal. A secret client hired the constables for money. The perpetrator flagrantly violated the fragile laws of the criminal district. Gorbin gives Mayhew a detailed paper map. The diagram is needed to infiltrate Fenwick Smokeymirrorbrim’s base. Fenwick is a very dangerous enemy of Breckenbock. The owner of the dive gives the detective some canisters. The canisters are filled with a remedy against the local carnivorous monster, Grumpel.

The arrested actors of the farce come to inside a metal cell. Actress Margot Treppl aggressively attacks Sergeant Broom. Broom led the night raid. The policeman frankly confesses to his crime. He acted under strict orders, allegedly delivered by Breckenbock himself through an intermediary. Apparently, the constable and the actors were cruelly deceived. Suddenly, the thick metal door of the cell opens. A tall, faceless man appears in the doorway. His thick suit falls to the floor. His gray body disintegrates into black, shiny tentacles. Margot and Broom scream in terror.

Seasonings to taste

A cool morning dawns. Guffin has been drilling locks all night. The Jester rubs his hands in joyful anticipation of success. Madame Shmyga throws a fake tantrum at the dinner table. The woman speaks of impending nightmares and a terrifying twisted man. Madame Bji’s cook pours hot soup. Sabrina manages to save the actors from certain death. During the night, the doll quietly crept up to the sleeping Slick. Sabrina replaced the poison in the pouch with Madame Shmyga’s powerful sleeping pill. The troupe devours the soup and instantly falls asleep right there at the table. Guffin is triumphant. The villain mistakes deep sleep for mass death.

During the night, actors led by Breckenbock stole dozens of chairs from an abandoned mansion. The Jester forces the awake Slick and Patch to carry the stolen wooden chairs to the stage. Soon, Guffin enters Breckenbock’s empty van. The thief deftly opens the secret compartment with master keys. Inside, he steals an old notebook containing secret plans for mechanical dolls. Meanwhile, Madame Shmyga climbs onto the roof of the ladies’ van. The fortune teller intercepts a new mail package. The box was dropped from a passing airship belonging to the Bandit Pack. Inside, a small vial containing an unknown milky-white drop is concealed. Guffin catches the fortune teller in the act. The Jester mercilessly kicks the woman. Guffin rips the hapless fortune teller’s hair from her head.

Boom and boom

Sabrina breaks into Guffin’s filthy home. The room is completely littered with broken objects and old posters. The doll finds her original Gear inside a chest of jester’s props. Sabrina quickly hides the long-awaited find in the chest compartment. Meanwhile, the doll steals newspaper clippings about her forgotten past from the sleeping Breckenbock’s desk. Two voices constantly argue in Sabrina’s head. The kind voice tries to help, while the evil one encourages aggression. Flashes of other people’s memories regularly disturb the doll’s memory.

Hearing Madame Shmyga’s pained cries, Sabrina rushes to the rescue. She boldly points a revolver at Guffin, a weapon the doll had stolen from Breckenbock. An evil inner voice loudly urges Sabrina to kill the tormentor. The voice recalls the harsh words of a certain Mr. Maregott from someone else’s memories. Sabrina refuses to become a merciless executioner. Life is too precious. Enraged, Guffin lunges at the doll. Sabrina accidentally pulls the stiff trigger and wounds the jester in the shoulder. The villain escapes into the dense fog.

The sleeping pills gradually wear off. Breckenbock wakes up with a stiff neck. The booth owner scolds the cook for the sleepy morning soup. Mayhew returns from his foray. The detective attempts to report the results of his investigation to Breckenbock. The serious conversation is interrupted by a rather horrific sight. A bloodied actor named Empty Space appears on the threshold of the van. All the booth’s inhabitants firmly believed him dead.