{"product_id":"2940013695573","title":"She Faded into Air","description":"The story of the alleged disappearance of Evelyn Cross was too fantastic\u003cbr\u003efor credence. According to the available evidence, she melted into thin\u003cbr\u003eair shortly after four o'clock on a foggy afternoon in late October. One\u003cbr\u003eminute, she was visible in the flesh--a fashionable blonde, nineteen\u003cbr\u003eyears of age and weighing about eight and a half stone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe next minute, she was gone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe scene of this incredible fade-out was an eighteenth-century mansion\u003cbr\u003ein Mayfair. The Square was formerly a residential area of fashion and\u003cbr\u003edignity. It had escaped a doom of complete reconstruction, but some of\u003cbr\u003ethe houses were divided up into high-class offices and flats.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis particular residence had been renamed \"Pomerania House\" by its\u003cbr\u003eowner, Major Pomeroy. He speculated in building property and had his\u003cbr\u003eestate office, as well as his private flat, on the premises.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe ex-officer might be described as a business gentleman. Besides being\u003cbr\u003ecorrectly documented--Winchester, Oxford and the essential clubs--he had\u003cbr\u003enot blotted his financial or moral credit. In appearance he conformed to\u003cbr\u003emilitary type, being erect, spare and well dressed, with a small dark\u003cbr\u003etooth-brush moustache. His voice was brisk and his eyes keen. He walked with\u003cbr\u003ea nonchalant manner. He had two affectations--a monocle and a fresh\u003cbr\u003eflower daily in his buttonhole.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShortly after four o'clock on the afternoon of Evelyn Cross' alleged\u003cbr\u003edisappearance, he was in the hall of Pomerania House, leaning against\u003cbr\u003ethe door of his flat, when a large car stopped in the road outside. The\u003cbr\u003eporter recognized it as belonging to a prospective client who had called\u003cbr\u003epreviously at the estate office to inquire about office accommodation.\u003cbr\u003eWith the recollection of a generous tip, he hurried outside to open the\u003cbr\u003edoor.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBefore he could reach it, Raphael Cross had sprung out and was standing\u003cbr\u003eon the pavement. He was a striking figure, with the muscular development\u003cbr\u003eof a pugilist and a face expressive of a powerful personality. Its\u003cbr\u003eruthless force--combined with very fair curling hair and ice-blue\u003cbr\u003eeyes--made him resemble a conception of some old Nordic god, although\u003cbr\u003ethe comparison flattered him in view of his heavy chin and bull-neck.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe crashed an entrance into the hall, but his daughter, Evelyn, lingered\u003cbr\u003eto take a cigarette from her case. She was very young, with a\u003cbr\u003estreamlined figure, shoulder-length blonde hair and a round\u003cbr\u003esmall-featured face. With a total lack of convention she chatted freely\u003cbr\u003eto the porter as he struck a match to light her cigarette.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Confidentiality, we shouldn't have brought our dumb-bell of a chauffeur\u003cbr\u003eover from the States. He's put us on the spot with a traffic cop.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Can't get used to our rule of the road,\" suggested the porter who\u003cbr\u003einstinctively sided with Labour.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It is a cockeyed rule to keep to the left,\" admitted Evelyn. \"We took a\u003cbr\u003eterrible bump in one jam. I'm sure I heard our number plate rattle. You\u003cbr\u003emight inspect the damage.\"","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47145707241712,"sku":"2940013695573","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013695573_p0.jpg?v=1763584090","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013695573","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}