The Darkest of Dreams by Emigh Cannaday

Author:Emigh Cannaday [Cannaday, Emigh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Emigh Cannaday

It was well past dinnertime when the foursome landed at Heathrow and found their rental car. Adams drove it directly to the front steps of the London Embassy and dropped off Annika, Finn, and Tripp. Instead of going through the usual security clearance, which was often administered by Gerald, it was Cyril himself who allowed the three of them into the building and through the empty hallways. Most of the staff had left for the day, which gave every floor a forlorn quality to it. A team of scribes was waiting in his office to type up their every word as Annika and Tripp each gave their accounts of how Finn had walked back into their lives. Then Finn was asked to do the same thing, all while Cyril took notes at a furious pace. When every minute detail and fact had been recorded, Finn was escorted to a medical lab by two very large security guards.

“What are they going to do to him?” Annika asked.

“A blood test, fingerprinting, that sort of thing,” Cyril said. He tossed the pen he’d been using down onto his desk and rubbed his tired eyes. After meeting him at Finn’s funeral, Annika didn’t think she’d ever seen such a put-together man so close to coming undone. His jacket was hanging on a hook, although his shirt and his vest were both wrinkled. His necktie had been loosened and his neatly combed hair was slightly disheveled. It was the closest to an emotional wreck that Cyril Sinclair would ever be.

“Why does Finn have to be tested?” Annika argued. “Believe me, it’s definitely him!”

“Oh, I do believe you,” Cyril agreed. “His story is too ridiculous to be fabricated. Then again, if I were in his predicament in regards to his history with you and certain controlled substances, I suppose I can understand going to a monastery to clear my head. Still, we need to have rock-solid, lab-verified evidence of his identity before I can issue an Imperial order to exhume the body that was buried in his place. And as a friend of the family, I’m not sending him home to his grieving parents until I have absolute proof. Either way, I’d certainly like to know who’s lying underground.”

Annika couldn’t help but scoff at the idea.

“The grave is on his family’s property. Why do you need an official order? Couldn’t you just ask them?”

“I’m guessing it’s for legal reasons, for when they address Talvi’s prison sentence,” Tripp suggested.

“Precisely,” Cyril said with a nod.

“Why wouldn’t you just let him out?” Annika knew she was tired and hungry and beyond irritable, and she was nearly at her limit. “I thought having Finn turn out to be alive was the ultimate ‘get out of jail free’ card.”

Instead of responding with as much enthusiasm as Annika was displaying, Cyril remained steadfast in his chair. He gave her an endearing, yet skeptical smile.

“One does not simply travel to Bleakmoor and ask for prisoners to be set free. I understand that this is an emotionally volatile situation, however, proper procedures must be adhered to.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.