A heavy, compliant silence fell over the gathered mourners. The crowd, which had moments before been a seething mass of accusation, now parted like the Red Sea, making a path for the man who commanded the very air in the cemetery.

Linsy turned. Backlit by the weak autumn sun, Michael Helwart strode toward her, his tailored black coat making him a silhouette of imposing authority against the grey day. In that moment, the taut wire of her nerves slackened. The frantic, defensive beat of her heart ...