“I’d be inclined to agree with you, if that didn’t mean losing track of it forever, which is part of the service if I understood you correctly.” The chief raised an eyebrow.
“That’s usually considered a perk, not a detraction.”
“Come up with anyone likely to want the window badly enough to hire an out-of-town tough to try to steal it?” Hendricks asked. “Because someone who would believe that the window was really haunted might also believe you could—and would—protect the store with magic.”
“Not yet,” Erik replied. “We’ve made some quiet inquiries with people who might know.”
Hendricks looked like he might be getting a headache. His eyes squinted and his forehead creased. “Why is it never simple with you two? We’ve got a big event coming up in town, and we can’t have a Mafia war brewing. Not that there’s ever a good time for that,” he added under his breath.
“We totally understand,” Ben jumped in. “We want this settled and done as quickly and quietly as possible.”
Hendricks looked skeptical, but Erik hoped their candor had won some of the chief’s trust, even if he didn’t like what he heard.
“Let me talk to the lawyers about permitting you to hand off the window to a third party,” Hendricks told them. “Do you think your person could put it in safekeeping for a while before burying it forever, in case we get a lead in the case?”
“I can ask.” Given the dangerous magic entwined with the window, Erik thought the Alliance was unlikely to want to give it back.
“Much obliged.” Hendricks’s comment was sarcastic but not mean-spirited, and Erik thought the other man looked tired. Getting ready for a large event and an influx of people was probably already a scheduling nightmare, without worrying about Mafia complications.
“If we get anything useful out of Cosentino, I’ll let you know,” Hendricks told them as he turned to go. “And if you find a hot lead, I’m counting on reciprocity.”
“We will keep you in the loop,” Erik promised, making a few mental exceptions.
Hendricks looked skeptical, but he wished them a good day, told them to stay out of trouble, and headed back to the station.
“That was fun. Not,” Ben observed.
“At least he isn’t dragging us into the station and making us give statements,” Erik said. “Maybe he’s worried about what we’d say.”
FOUR
BEN
After breakfast, Erik called Haley and Monty to arrange times to get together and asked Alessia to reinforce the shop’s protections, then he and Ben headed to the oldest cemetery in Cape May.
“Grant Samuels, the collector from Wildwood, was a very wealthy man who made his money in shipping and freight,” Erik said as they drove. “Suspected to be a witch.”
“Those are businesses that historically have a lot of ties to organized crime,” Ben supplied. “But if he lived in Wildwood, why was he buried in Cape May?”
“Good question, and I have no idea,” Erik admitted. “If I had to guess, I’d say that since he was a witch, he might have thought that Cold Spring Cemetery held more magical energy than the options in Wildwood because it’s much older.”
“I guess that’s possible,” Ben said.
“Wildwood is known for its haunted attractions, fake vampire castles, zombie mazes, and that sort of thing,” Erik added. “But Cape May is one of the most truly haunted towns in the Eastern U.S. Maybe that mattered to Samuels as well.”
“Because he didn’t want to be lonely after he croaked?” Ben grinned. “I guess I’ve heard stranger things. But what’s the connection to the Tiffany glass?”
“The Tiffany cemetery markers,” Erik replied. “Samuels already owned an angel statue that was a real Tiffany. By the time he commissioned his own headstone, the Tiffany company was no longer doing that kind of work, so he hired a talented stone carver to do one for him in the same style.”
“Do you expect to find a clue of some sort at the grave?” Ben asked.
“I don’t know what we’ll find. Maybe nothing. I’d be surprised if Samuels’s ghost was still hanging around, but he might if he had a strong enough purpose,” Erik replied. “If we can’t find him there, maybe Haley can summon his spirit.”
Cold Spring Cemetery dated back to the 1700s. Ben felt the hair on his arms rise, which usually meant strong ghosts close by. He saw Erik stiffen as soon as they got out of the car and guessed his partner also sensed the spirits.
“Ghosts?” he confirmed.
Erik nodded. “Lots of them. The cemetery was started by the people who founded the village of Cold Spring. It’s a living history museum now, but back in the day, those early settlers braved hurricanes and pirates to put down stakes. The historic village area is said to be very haunted.”
