“Meow,” she said as if to encourage me.

“I have no idea how to start investigating the big black car.” I put the prices on the three books I had left in my arms and found a place for each of them on the bookshelf. “As for the bronzes, I know exactly where to start.”

***

I closed up the shop promptly at five, locking Pandora inside despite her belligerent howls. Guilt ate away at me as I headed out of town and up the mountain, but it was for her own good. She never stayed put in the car and I just couldn’t bring her with me this time. I was going to start my inquiries about the bronzes at the source and I didn’t need to be chasing my cat around the Bates estate if she decided to take off and run wild.

The humid fog had turned to drizzle. Dark clouds rolled in along the valley as I drove the winding mountain road to the Bates mansion. I passed the cutoff to Barry’s and wondered if I should check in on him in case he had had another fainting spell, but thought better of it. He was a grown man and didn’t need me looking after him.

The Bates mansion cut into the side of the mountain—an immense old estate. The granite house boasted four stories, complete with million-dollar views from every window. An imposing black iron gate surrounded the main buildings. Thankfully, it was open and I drove my Jeep up the crushed gravel driveway, which circled around a giant fountain in front of the house.

I couldn’t say the house was friendly. The gray stone was cold and the oak door with black, cast-iron hinges looked like something you’d see in a medieval castle. A black iron fence ran along the roofline, its posts stabbing angrily up into the sky.

I slid out of the Jeep, my stomach twisting and my leg burning as I approached the gothic wood door. I pushed the doorbell and felt a twinge of panic.

Maybe I should have planned what to say first?

The door glided open and a man in what looked like butler garb stood in front of me.

“Yes?” He quirked an eyebrow at my frizzy hair and faded jeans.

“I’d like to talk to Idris Bates, please.”

He stiffly stepped aside and gestured for me to enter.

“I’ll see if Mr. Bates is available,” he said, then glided off down the hall.