Page 73 of Eternal Surrender

I left her standing there.

Chapter Fifteen

Night returned once more to Highgate Cemetery, bringing with it the bitterest chill to a fast-fading evening and throwing an eerie luminescence from the few flickering light bulbs, failing miserably to scare off the murkiest of shadows.

Wearing a long woolen coat and flat heeled boots, Ingrid strolled through the high-fronted brass gates and crisscrossed along the pathway, pausing now and again to view the names of the departed engraved on the well-tended tombstones.

Undetected and shaded by dusk, I moved among the low hung sycamore trees, looming close enough to encroach on her thoughts that trailed quickly away like the falling leaves around me.

The modest mausoleum was the final resting place of one Daumia Velde. Ingrid took the three short steps to the door and found it locked. She rummaged through her handbag and pulled out an L-shaped tension wrench, a rake pick, and half-diamond pick. Checking to see no one was watching, she picked the lock. Most women reached into their handbags for lip gloss. Ingrid could have solved a crime with what she carried, and the fact that she thought this was normal was oddly adorable.

Ingrid stepped inside, leaving the door ajar.

With a flash of thought, I entered right behind her and settled into a dusky corner.

She rested her flashlight on her handbag and pointed it in the direction of the sarcophagus. She ran her fingers along the marble lid.

I stepped forward. “Never knew you were into burial desecration.”

She jumped backward and bashed into a stone stand upon which rested a porcelain vase filled with wild orchids. It slid toward the wall and cracked.

She gawped with horror at the damaged vessel; it looked expensive.

“You scared me half to death!” she gasped.

“I know how that feels.” I examined the vase, running my fingers along the fissure, feigning concern. “Qing dynasty.”

She coughed, clearing dust from her throat.

I tutted. “I should press charges. Let me see, breaking and entering, desecrating a tomb.”

“I haven’t touched anything.”

I glanced at the vase.

She hesitated and then said, “I’m here to pay my respects, and you?”

“Careful.”

“Jadeon and Orpheus were enemies, so how come I’ve seen you both at the castle and the club?”

“I’m a peacemaker.” I held her gaze, hoping to convince her.

“Are you in touch with either Orpheus or Jadeon?”

My focus turned toward the sarcophagus. “What part of deceased don’t you get?”

“The answers I need are in Belshazzar’s, I just know it.”

“Ingrid, please close this case. It’s too dangerous.”

“That some kind of threat?”

“From me, no.” I sighed. “Next time, I might not be around to save your life.”

Ingrid reluctantly acknowledged what I’d done for her back at the club. “This case won’t be closed until it’s solved.”

I moved closer. “One day you’ll rally the courage to ask for that which you desire. The very reason that has you searching for an underworld.”