She broke off, her gaze going past me to the entrance. I thought by her startled expression that she’d spotted the mysterious Micah Durant or perhaps even the hunchback silhouette. But then I felt a familiar tingle along my spine and I turned.
Devlin strode along the path toward us. Maybe it was Temple’s warning or all the strange events occurring around me, but I couldn’t help shivering as our gazes locked.
He was dressed in black, the European cut of his trousers and jacket giving a stylish edge to his otherwise somber attire. He was clean shaven, his hair neatly combed, and when he turned his head, the silver at his temple caught the sunlight.
And I caught my breath.
Fifteen
A little while later, Devlin and I walked back to his car together.
After our initial greeting, we hadn’t said much until we were through the gates and well away from Temple and the others. I could tell something was on his mind, but he didn’t seem inclined to enlighten me.
I gave him a sidelong glance, studying his profile for a long moment before I broached the tricky topic. “How is your grandfather?”
“He’s in the hospital having some tests run.”
“So he is sick, then.”
Devlin hesitated. “He’s not himself.”
I wasn’t sure how to interpret his response, but I also knew better than to press. If and when he wanted to tell me about his grandfather, he would do so. Just like I would confess all my secrets to him when I felt the time was right. Given all that I still kept from him, I could hardly expect candor in return. Still, I missed the closeness we’d shared during his recovery. The distance between us now made me worry about the strength of our bond. Made me ponder the sustainability of a relationship between two people as insular as Devlin and I were.
“I’ll keep him in my thoughts,” I said, and he gave a brief nod.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Other than a little soreness, as good as new. Thank you for bringing my clothes by this morning.”
“No problem. You were sleeping so I didn’t want to wake you.”
Now it was I who nodded and we walked on in silence until I stumbled over a tree root that snaked across the path.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Devlin asked as he took my elbow. “No lingering headaches or fuzzy vision?”
“Just clumsy,” I said with a smile. “It might help to watch where I’m going.”
“That’s generally a good rule to follow,” he teased, but his eyes were dark and attentive. “I hate what happened to you.”
“It’s over now and it could have been so much worse.”
“And preventable if I’d been with you last night.”
“No one could have foreseen the break-in. You were exactly where you needed to be last night.”
“This situation with my grandfather...” He trailed off with a frown. “I don’t know that I’m ready to talk about it yet.”
“I understand.”
“He’s been so deceptive in the past. It’s hard to tell how much of what he’s going through is manipulation and how much is delusion.”
“Delusion?”
Devlin glanced at me. “It’s possible he could be seriously ill.”
“Then, you should go and be with him for these tests. You don’t need to worry about me. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”
“And I intend to do everything in my power to make sure you stay that way. I’ve requested extra patrols on your street and I had all your locks changed. That’s why I was late to the ceremony.” He fished a set of keys from his pocket and placed them in my palm. “As for the shopkeeper, Owen Dowling, I’ve run a background check. He doesn’t have a criminal record and the shop is legitimate. It’s been at that same location for decades and has an impeccable reputation among local collectors.”
“So that’s that, then. It’s a dead end.”
“It would appear so.”
“Well, I do have a bit of news,” I said. “Dr. Shaw brought Ezra Kroll’s sisters to the cemetery to meet me earlier.”
“How did that come about?”
“Dr. Shaw and Louvenia Durant became acquainted a few years ago when she contacted him about disturbances on her property. I gather that’s one of the reasons she came to see him this morning. They’ve had some recent sightings.”
Devlin’s silence spoke volumes as he turned back to the path. His disdain for the unknown was our biggest bone of contention. How could I explain my gift to someone who clung to his disbelief as though it were a lifeline?
“Anyway, Dr. Shaw brought them to Oak Grove to meet me because they’re interested in having Kroll Cemetery restored. You mentioned that you used to explore the old commune when you were a boy, but you didn’t say much about the graveyard. Do you remember anything about it?”
“A little. As I recall, the entrance was hidden by a maze,” he said. “As a kid, I found that pretty fascinating.”
“Fascinating but not unusual. Mazes were often planted at graveyard entrances for the same purpose you’ll occasionally see high thresholds in Japanese cemeteries. To discourage ghostly wanderings.”