“Birmingham has the police who are allowed to carry weaponson this,” she reminded him quietly.
He nodded. “Birmingham is always with us. And I do think hebelieves in us—simple as that was, once we met the second time,” Andre saiddryly. “We’ll just keep going until we find Edith Greenbriar,” he added withassurance.
Cheyenne started as she saw someone step into their view,emerging out of the fog as if he were a specter himself.
It was Inspector Claude Birmingham.
Cheyenne nudged Andre. “See! Birmingham is with us,” she whispered.
Andre groaned slightly.
“You two doing okay?” Birmingham asked them. “Anything?”
“A sore calf muscle,” Andre said. “You?”
“Something, yes. An old tunnel. One of my men tripped andfell just outside the wall by one of those massive, old trees. He crashed downby the wall and found a covered-up hole beneath. We’re combing the old recordsnow to find out more. Once he uncovered the entry point, he was able to getinto an old space that was empty but showed signs that someone had been there.”
“Gum wrappers? Bottles? Something with DNA?” Andre askedhopefully.
Birmingham shook his head. “Scuff marks and old boxes. I’mnot sure if the hole was part of the original plan. Maybe it was intended as asmall catacomb. Or when the place was abandoned years ago, a would-bevampire-hunter managed to dig it out. Anyway, if it’s there, I’m sure we’llfind more. And we have a forensics team down there. Hope, as you know, springseternal in the human heart.”
“You found something,” Andre said. “That absolutely means theremight well be more.”
Birmingham fell into step with them. “And therein lies ourtrouble. The area is old. London is old. Conquerors have come and gone, alongwith the crazed and obsessed.”
Cheyenne felt her phone buzzing in her pocket.
She hung back a minute to dig it out and look at the callerI.D.
It was late, nearing two in the morning.
But it seemed that Internet sensation, Benjamin Turner, wasawake.
“Hello, Donegal here,” she said quickly.
“Hey, I didn’t wake you, right? I heard there was a searchgoing on. Thought you might be part of it.”
“Yes, I’m awake. And, yes, we’re on a search. Can I helpyou, or did you call because you can help me?”
He laughed softly. “I think I can help you.”
“Then do so—please.”
“You know I cater to the weird, right?” he said.
Cheyenne couldn’t stop her grin. “Yes, we noticed.”
“People love it. But that’s all beside the point. I havedone bits on Highgate Cemetery. Some just for fun, some about the explodingcoffins, or about famous people—”
“Yes, yes, of course.”
“Well, I went through all my old videos and found aninterview I did with a fellow who was an architect.”
“And?”
“He was involved with some of the construction on the highend of the lane. Anyway, he said something went on at some point in history,soon after Highgate officially opened. When he went to work, they had to changesomething about the foundations. We’ll never know if the caverns—orcatacombs—the architect claimed to have seen really existed. Depending on whatyou wanted at the time, burial wasn’t all that expensive. But, like today, itcould cost a year’s wages. He believed a group of people dug out their owncaverns or vaults or whatever one wants to call them. Holes in the ground. And then,for whatever reason—maybe they were outside religion or some such thing, orjust so broke they couldn’t pay costs at all—they created their own catacombs.The land would have been empty or forested at the time. The area I’m talking about would be somewhereup by the new high-rise. I’m not sure how you’d go about finding them, but…Icould have called the police, but they seem to think of me as thesensationalist who dated Sheila. A suspect, not someone who wants to help. AndI didn’t really give you anything, I suppose, but with those search parties outthere, maybe you have some sway.”
Yes, thankfully, they did have some sway.
And while the fog closed in, and she hung back to make thecall private, she could hear Birmingham and Andre talking quietly up ahead.
Ghostly shapes moved through the fog around them.
“Definitely, Benjamin. I believe they’re listening to usnow. I’m just behind Inspector Birmingham and Andre currently. We’ve felt certain the killer has a hidingplace where he…drains his victims. We’ve been thinking underground, but you’vegiven us some direction. You’ve been a tremendous help.”
“I should have been on this bloody damned case sooner. I’vespent so much time in Highgate Cemetery doing bits, and every time with thebest tour guides.”
“Well, thank you. We’ll get on it.”
Cheyenne hung up, ready to hurry forward to tell Andre andBirmingham what Benjamin had told her.
Words suddenly swam in her head.
Tour guide.
Birmingham had pretended to be a tour guide.
And this evening…
Someone had mentioned that. Someone who shouldn’t have knownabout it.
She opened her mouth, ready to hurry ahead.
And then she felt it. Hard, searing pain on the top of herskull.
The moon’s light faded. The fog swam all around her.
And then, darkness was complete.
Chapter 11
“We’re grateful that you’re doing this. I honestly believewe have a chance of finding Edith Greenbriar alive,” Andre told Birmingham.
“You’re grateful? It’s my job,” Birmingham said and lookedup at the sky. “The fog has come in heavy tonight. But if we’re underground, itmay not matter. I’ve had men everywhere, but you’re right, we found a big holewe knew nothing about. We can bloody well find another.” He hesitated. “I guessI should have listened more to Clark Brighton. But you understand, we deal withwhat’s real. I’ll ask you to understand that with all the hauntings and vampiretalk—‘the earth is moaning’ indeed!—he just sounded like another fanatic. Itdidn’t occur to me that people might be held captive beneath the ground. And,yes, they’d be moaning and screaming. How did you come to that? Isn’t it flatlandwhere you come from? We hear about flooding over there.”
“Ah, yes, we have our share of stories in New Orleans. Ithink this one was made up, but as the story goes, a woman and her husband inthe first half of the nineteenth century practiced horrible medical
