Page 92 of Coordinates of Death

Great, being stuck in a dark, creepy mansion that reminded her of the past she wanted to forget was not how Aurora wanted to spend the next ten hours.

Kordell’s pulse pounded in his head as scraping followed by a thud came from the level above, as if someone was hauling a chair across the wooden floor then banging it. Scrape, thump, scrape. Every nerve in his body locked, his heart thumping in a frantic rhythm. He observed Aurora staring at the riddle, her gorgeous eyes intent on the words. If it wasn’t for their precarious situation, he wouldn’t mind getting locked in with the beautiful Corporal Aurora Hunt.

Scrape, thump, scrape.

He covered his ears. “Make it stop!” He took the steps two at a time and checked the door. Locked. Then returned to Aurora’s side. “Still locked.”

“Did you think it would magically open? You heard SBK.” She held up the page. “We have to solve this first.”

Kordell motioned to the first room on the left. “Let’s go in there and study the riddle. I need to sit because this won’t be easy.” He entered the damp room and yanked the cord. The light flickered before fully illuminating the room, bringing its contents into focus.

A full bookcase lined the far wall from one end to the other. A small wooden table was positioned in the middle with two chairs. A ratty desk in a corner dominated the room.

“This looks like it might have been a library back in the day.” Aurora set the riddle on the table before running her fingers along the spines, disturbing the dust and leaving a trail. “Classics. My mother would have loved this room. Reading was her favorite pastime.”

“I’m sorry I never got the chance to meet her. Was she as beautiful as you?” Oops. He hadn’t meant for that to slip out.

Her gaze whipped to his, her jaw dropping. “Funny.” She returned to checking the books. “Most people said I was the spitting image of my mother, but I always hated to hear that.”

“Why?”

She stilled and dropped her hand. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s get back to the riddle.” She marched to the table and plopped into a chair.

Obviously, something about his simple one-word question had bothered her, but he let it go. They had a riddle to solve and a victim to find.

An hour later, Kordell pushed his chair back abruptly, scraping the floor. “My eyes are going buggy. This riddle makes no sense other than that it came from a haunted mind.” He shuffled to the bookcase, massaging his neck.

“I’m good at cryptograms but not so much with riddles. For once, I wish Dirk was here. He’s really good at them.”

Kordell turned from the books. “What’s his story, anyway? You stiffen every time he comes into the room. What happened between you?”

She pushed the riddle aside. “As you can probably guess, he cheated on me with my best friend.”

He studied her face, strained and contorted. Kordell sat back at the table. “Tell me about your relationship with Dirk. Our eyes need a rest from that page anyway.”

She slumped in her chair. “At first I played hard to get, as Dirk rubbed me the wrong way when we met, but his continuous acts of kindness won me over. We dated for six months, and then he proposed.”

“His rough demeanor doesn’t strike me as someone who’d shower you with kindness. Was that an act?”

Aurora tilted her head, the gold flecks in her green eyes sparkling in the dimmed lighting.

Those flecks had always been his kryptonite. Still were.

“He certainly fooled me.” She drummed her fingernails on the table. “The day of our wedding, I found him kissing my best friend.”

“What?” Kordell’s muscles locked at the thought of the betrayal still etched on her face. He reached over and placed his hand on top of hers. “I’m so sorry you went through that.”

“Thanks. That was eighteen months ago, but he married her two weeks ago, so the freshness of it stings.” She bit her lip. “I’m working through it and will be fine, but I vowed I’d never be that gullible again. It taught me a lot, actually. I’ve become better at reading people’s body language, tone of voice, and that sort of thing.”

“Good. I guess what Maxwell once said to me is true.”

“What’s that?”

“That God uses the ashes of life to create beauty.”

Aurora nodded. “I like that. What about you? You can’t tell me that a handsome guy like you hasn’t found love yet.”

“You think I’m handsome?”