Heritage of Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page B

out with what seemed destined to become a murder
    investigation.
    
    The home Sigrid shared with her daughter was a beautiful Queen
    Anne structure just blocks from Vesterheim. Chloe let Roelke carry her suitcase inside, and she couldn’t focus on the impressive architecture or the antiques furnishing the parlor.
    Yikes, she thought. I am upset.
    Roelke took Mom’s and Chloe’s luggage upstairs, and Sigrid
    ushered Mom into the kitchen. After Roelke returned Chloe fol-
    lowed him to the front door. “Thanks for everything.”
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    “Are you OK?” He smoothed a strand of hair away from her
    face.
    “Not entirely,” she admitted. She reached for his hand, twining
    her fingers through his. It still felt strange, sometimes, this business of being with Roelke McKenna. They had almost nothing in
    common. His cop demeanor had sorta freaked her out when they
    first met. During today’s car trip, when he charmed her mother,
    she’d seen a completely new personality—which made her wonder
    just what else she did not know about him. But tonight … well, she was very glad he’d been present when she opened that trunk.
    “I need to go.” He put his free hand behind her head and kissed
    her. “Emil’s waiting out front.”
    Emil. Right. Emil Bergsbakken, Roelke’s host. “Of course,”
    Chloe said. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She stayed by the front window until Roelke had gotten into Emil’s old pickup and driven
    away. Something about those disappearing tail lights made her feel lonely.
    She turned away. Get a grip, she ordered herself. She might be
    dating a cop, but she was not willing to pin her entire sense of
    security on his presence. Next time she’d carry her own suitcase,
    too.
    Before following the low murmur of conversation into the
    kitchen she paused in the dim foyer, taking a moment to consider
    the house, opening herself. Sigrid’s home was, she guessed, about a century old. Chloe was sometimes receptive to lingering emotions
    in historic structures, great joys or piercing sorrows too strong to contain in a human soul. Most often, she perceived only a faint
    jumble that she was able to tune out. That was the case here in Sigrid’s home.
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    Which was good, since she’d be staying here all week. If some
    dark emotion had sent her running, she would have had a hard
    time explaining it to Sigrid and Mom. Or Roelke. Roelke was many
    things, but “fanciful” didn’t make the list. She had no idea how to tell Roelke about her little gift of heightened perception.
    Well, Chloe thought, that will have to wait for another day.
    Preferably one that doesn’t include finding an injured woman
    stuffed into a trunk.
    She joined the others. Unlike the immaculate living room, the
    kitchen was clearly a busy, lived-in place. Cookbooks lined up on a shelf, with extras poked sideways on top. Dishes were drying in the drainer. A fruit bowl contained one lonely tangerine.
    Mom, Sigrid, and Sigrid’s daughter Violet were sitting at the
    table drinking tea. During Chloe’s high school years the Sorensens had sometimes visited her family in Wisconsin. Violet was closer
    in age to Chloe’s sister Kari, but they’d all gotten along fine. Chloe hadn’t seen Violet in years. She was still slim, but her long honey-toned hair was now styled in feathered layers.
    “Chloe!” Violet got to her feet. “It’s been a long time.”
    “Too long,” Chloe agreed, returning the other woman’s hug
    before dropping into the empty chair.
    “Tea?” Violet asked. “It’s chamomile.”
    “Have some, sweetie,” Sigrid urged. “We all need to settle our
    nerves.” Violet pulled a mug from the cupboard.
    “I just don’t believe it,” Mom murmured. “I saw Petra on that stretcher, but …”
    Good thing you didn’t see her before she made it to the
    stretcher, Chloe thought, suppressing a shudder.
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    “I know.” Sigrid’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Someone attacked
    Petra. In the museum .”
    Chloe felt