Tomasetti points. “There’s her Mustang.”

Sure enough, parked in the shadows beneath the tree is a red Mustang. Neither of us speaks as I park in the gravel driveway, blocking in her vehicle, and shut down the engine. Reaching into the pocket next to my seat, I hand Tomasetti an extra Maglite and we exit the Explorer. The night closes over us like a black hand slamming down. The wind grabs at my jacket as we pass through the gate. I can hear the chain latch clanging with every gust. Our Maglites flip on simultaneously, twin beams illuminating hundreds of small white headstones that run in neat lines, parallel with the fence. In the darkness, they look like ghosts, restless souls rising from the earth.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been here. My parents are buried just a few yards away, and I’ve attended several funerals over the years. I’m familiar with the general layout and use my Maglite to scan the south side where any new graves would most likely be located. I nearly miss the mound of freshly turned earth fifty yards away. A small heap on the ground next to the headstone.

“There,” I whisper.

We break into a run, both beams focused on the small form huddled next to the headstone. A sick feeling augments in my gut when she doesn’t move.

“Chloe!” I call out. “It’s Kate Burkholder! Are you all right?”

“Doesn’t look good.” Tomasetti mutters the words beneath his breath.

I’m a few feet away when she raises her head. I see the pale oval of her face. The shimmer of tears on her cheeks. She’s lying on her side with her arms wrapped around the headstone, as if trying to keep it from sinking into the earth.

I reach her first, drop to my knees at her side. “Sweetheart, are you all right?”

When she raises her head and looks at me, her eyes are glazed and far away. “Noah…” she whispers. “He was here. Just a moment ago. I saw him.” She looks around. “Noah…”

Tomasetti kneels beside her. “Chloe, honey, did you take any medication or pills?”

She looks away. “It doesn’t matter. I just want to be with them. Noah and my mom.”

Locating her handbag, he upends it on the grass. A wallet, makeup bag, hairbrush and, finally, a brown prescription bottle spill out. He snatches up the bottle, shakes it. “Empty.”

I grab my lapel mike, put out the emergency call for the ambulance. “Ten fifty-two. Ten eighteen. Expedite.”

“Noah wanted to marry me,” Chloe slurs. “But I said no and he died before I could tell him I’d changed my mind. Why did that have to happen?” she asks. “He never knew.”

“It’s going to be okay,” I tell her. “Everything’s going to be okay. I promise.”

Chloe begins to cry. “Tell my dad I love him.… He worries all the time.…”

Grimacing, Tomasetti looks at me over the top of her head. “Let’s get her to where the Explorer is parked. Speed things up.” Even as he says the words, he lifts the girl into his arms, carrying her as if she weighs nothing.