This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.

Detective Sarah Mitchell had seen her share of peculiar cases during her fifteen years with the Metropolitan Police, but the scene that greeted her on the seventh floor of the prestigious Meridian Tower defied every expectation she had cultivated about human behavior and criminal methodology. The apartment belonged to renowned art collector Victoria Ashford, a woman whose reputation for acquiring priceless artifacts was matched only by her legendary reclusiveness. What made this particular morning extraordinary was not just that Victoria had vanished without a trace, but that she had apparently done so from a locked room with no other means of exit.

The mahogany door to Victoria's private study had been discovered sealed from the inside, with the key still resting in the lock on the interior side. The windows, positioned forty feet above the bustling street below, remained latched and undisturbed, their antique brass fittings showing no signs of tampering. Yet when building security had finally gained entry after Victoria failed to appear for a scheduled appointment with her estate attorney, they found the room completely empty save for the furniture and the lingering scent of jasmine tea that Victoria was known to favor.

Sarah examined the study with the methodical precision that had earned her recognition within the department. The room measured approximately twelve by fifteen feet, with walls lined floor to ceiling with leather-bound volumes on art history and archaeological discoveries. A massive oak desk dominated the center space, its surface bearing only a crystal paperweight, a fountain pen, and a half-finished cup of tea that had long since grown cold. The chair behind the desk sat slightly askew, as though someone had risen from it hastily, but there were no other signs of disturbance or struggle.