4 comments/ 6450 views/ 0 favorites The Mystery at Pere Lachaise By: bzarajic Chapter 1 "Noah come we will have to go now" Claude called to Noah who was busy sweeping leaves the grave of Ferdinand Barbedienne on Chemin Mont-Louis. Noah put his broom into the wheelbarrow and followed Claude leaving Rene to take the wheelbarrow and other items back to the yard. Noah was a 24 years old student, a smidge under 6 foot tall, with a lean but muscular build, a handsome, though often unshaven, face with green eyes, surrounded today with long dark brown shaggy cut bed hair. He had been part of the architectural maintenance team at Pere-Lachaise for just four months. He had joined the team for two reasons. The first to provide some much-needed finances and the second to support his research for his sponsored Archaeology studies at the Sorbonne. It was what his professor termed an internship. He was studying the connections between social architecture and art so Pere was perfect and he was particularly interested in the work of the designer of Pere. His professor had got him the job and negotiated study breaks; access to records, archives and a reasonable salary for his 20 hours a week job. His connection and his study had been why he had been working with Claude Villeneuve who was due to move to his new job at the Palace of Versailles but had delayed his date for one month so he could see the 'Lady in Black'. Claude had told the story to Noah with great passion and had promised Noah he would take him to see her when she came. Noah thought the story the imagination of many workers at the cemetery a story to tell tourists and encourage them to visit more frequently. But no Claude had assured him only a few workers knew the story and as he was leaving he wanted to ensure the new lady would have a watcher. The story was easy enough to remember. A young man named Christian Romero had been interred at the cemetery in 1812. The young man had died of wounds sustained while fighting in the Napoleonic Peninsula War in Portugal at the beginning of the previous year. He had returned to Paris, and his mother, but unfortunately had succumbed to his wounds a few months later. His mother was said to have been a Danish prostitute and rumours abounded Paris, at the time of his death, that he was the bastard son of Christian VII of Denmark and Norway. The young man had been born on Tuesday 29th February 1780 and died on Saturday 29th February 1812 at the age of 32. That in its self seemed a strange and unique thing to Noah. How many people were born and died on the same date and even more unique to be born and die on the Leap Day. Claude claimed that the young man's mother was poor, so not a high-class prostitute, that her son had been bought a commission as Captain in Napoleon's army and the tomb an ornate neoclassical designed by Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart the cemetery designer himself. An honour allowed by Napoleon and rumour had it that Frederick VI, who would have been his half-brother paid for it. In fact the young man was buried on Chemin Mehul not far from Brongniart himself who died in 1813. These were just rumours no evidence was ever presented to prove it. The story went that at his funeral was a young woman dressed in black, a not unusual fact or occurrence, but Claude said the same young women returned to the grave every year for 25 years and then was replaced by another and another until now 200 years later the eighth 'Lady in Black' would come and bring with her the next young woman who would then visit the grave for another 24 years. Claude had been told the story and watched the woman who he knew as Anna-Elise come every year to place three white calla lilies and one red rose on the grave. Today was her 25th visit and she would bring with her the new 'Lady in Black'. Claude knew the current lady by fore name only and he had won the right to know her name because every year he spoke to her after four years she had finally answered his many questions with her name. The story said that each lady seemed to choose at the beginning of her 25 year span to either come on the 28th of February or the 1st of March and she had to keep to that but on a leap year she had to come on 29th February. Anna-Elise always came on the 1st March but this year being a leap year she would come on the 29th February. Noah had seen how much the event meant to Claude and had agreed to be passed on the secret. He had no real interest in the story and no intention of looking for the next Lady for the next 24 years in fact he hoped not to be working at the cemetery for the next year let alone 24 years. Claude took them to the division of Chemin Denon, Chemin du Coq and Chemin Mehul where they would be able to see the Lady in Black walk past. Chapter 2 At exactly 2 pm, as Claude had said, the Lady in Black, Anna-Elise, walked past them and she smiled at Claude. She wore all black, as the name would suggest. It was a cold day and she wore a belted classic Yves Saint Laurent coated-twill trench coat, covering a fitted dress, black stocking or tights and a pair of St Laurent black heels. She wore black gloves and a black hat with a black veil. She carried the three white lilies and solitary red rose. Her face was still beautiful and Noah suspected she would be about the same age as Claude around 45. She had her hair tied back, it was auburn in colour and she had azure blue eyes and pale skin. Her walk and deportment, not just her clothes, showed she was a woman of means and breeding. A younger woman around 25 followed her. She had long blonde hair tied into a high ponytail; she was not wearing a hat but had a veil across part of her face, which was attached to a plain hair clip. She wore a pair of black leather boots with metal-heels which had a silver snake wrapped around them and a leather trench coat, which was belted. She did not look at Claude and Noah and walked straight past her head held up. She carried a small teal coloured box with a white bow which was the distinctive design of Tiffany and Co. Noah wondered what it contained and why she had brought it to the cemetery. Claude and Noah followed the women at a distance and stopped to watch as first Anna-Elise entered the tomb. The tomb was larger than most at Pere and she was able to enter by opening the marble door and place her flowers on the altar inside, kneel and offer a small prayer then turnaround and leave. Once outside she passed on the key she had used to open the tomb to the younger woman. She took the key smiled and hugged Anna-Elise then she entered the tomb, with the Tiffany box, and closed the door behind her. This meant Claude and Noah could not see what she did inside. After 10 minutes she emerged, without the Tiffany box, closed and locked the door and walked off towards Avenue de la Chapelle. Noah wondered what had happened to the box and why she had left it in the tomb. What on earth could a dead person do with it? Tiffany boxes would hold something expensive and if the new lady brought such a trinket how many more were inside the tomb? While he contemplated his many questions he caught a glimpse of a man, dressed in black head to toe but with spiky blond short hair, who seemed to have stood and watched the bizarre act of the Ladies in Black. He turned to Claude and asked "Who is the Billy Idol look alike standing by the painted tomb over there?" as he pointed the stranger turned and walked briskly away. Noah noticed another man taking photographs, a man with short blonde hair with a nasty looking scar on his left cheek, he had definitely taken a photo of the other man. "Who? I don't see anyone" Claude looked forward as Anna-Elise walked over to him. She was smiling and she took off her hat and allowed her hair to fall at her shoulders. Noah was again hit by how beautiful she was, how soft her skin looked and how soft it would feel to the touch. She wore so little make-up if any. Noah understood why some of his friends had such a passion for older women. "Claude I am now free and we can now be together as we wanted" Noah noted what had been said she and Claude wanted to be together and yet Claude had said they had not talked very much. "I should explain Noah" Claude said" Anna-Elise and I have spoken on many occasions not about why or what she has done here but about our life when she finished. You see she made a vow to remain pure, unmarried and unattached for the 25 years she was the Lady in Black. Now she has finished her term she is free to find love and marry. I have waited 21 years for today. She is coming with me to Versailles" "You mean she is ...I mean she has ...I am not sure I understand" Noah really didn't know what to say. Was she a 40 plus year old virgin? "Yes, Noah I am a virgin. I began my vow when I was 17 and yes I am 41 tomorrow, and have never kissed, laid or known the touch of a man. I am not a nun, I have no religious affiliations, but part of the vow demands purity. I can't answer any of your questions about the vow or the tomb. My vow of confidentiality and silence on that remain for life. I first saw Claude who was just 18 when I started to come here. Eventually 21 years ago he plucked up the courage to talk to me and we have spoken every year since. No, we have not met outside of the one day a year -- it was not allowed. But we have fallen in love and today we are free to be together. Yes, I can read your thoughts that is how Claude and I have our relationship we have learnt to share our thoughts because I was not allowed to 'talk' to him. I can't talk about my replacement but I can tell you she is called Alice, I have her permission to tell you that, all of us have to have a name beginning with A and I don't know why. No I do not know who the man was to be honest I never saw any man" Noah was shocked and aware he had his mouth gapping open. She had answered every question he thought of. He could see clearly that she and Claude were indeed in love and he remembered that Claude was not married. So he wondered. "No, I have kept myself celibate since we agreed to wait for each other alas I have experience of woman, from before I met her, I wish I was a virgin but I am not but I have been true to Anna-Elise" and Claude grabbed her hand and walked off down towards the Avenue Casimir Perier kissing her hand as they walked enthralled with each other. Chapter 3 The rest of the day Noah spent with Claude, Anna-Elise, Rene and the others who came to the party held at a local hotel to celebrate Claude's moving to work at the palace and his new life with Anna-Elise. Before Claude left he said goodbye to all his guests and then walked over to Noah. "You will continue to watch the new Lady in Black?" "I will, even when I no longer work at Pere, I am fascinated by all of this. I will research what I can of the man in the tomb" "You will waste your time I have done that in fact I have a gift for you come with me" Claude led Noah to a small room of the main reception area of the hotel. Once inside Claude closed the door and picked up the satchel he always carried. He took out a large folder full of papers. Noah had often wondered why the satchel always looked so heavy now he knew. Claude passed him the folder. Noah opened it and saw the content was about Christian Romero, his tomb and history and contained old pictures of women in black. "I researched myself and added to the work of the two men preceding me, who like me will watched the Lady in Black each year. It covers the last 100 years. All of the ladies once they died were buried here in Pere-Lachaise you will find them in divisions 41 and 35 in small plots. The last one Amanda Trufant died in 1988 just before her 47th birthday. It may help you if you want to follow on this work." From his pocket he removed a skeleton key "It opens the doors to all of the tombs in Pere but not this one maybe you can find a way in somehow I am sure. I have tried to find additions to the key and because of Anna-Elise I have never tried to force open the door it would have been wrong. I knew when I was told you wanted to be like Indiana Jones you were the right person for this task. I like you want to know what it is all about. Oh and for the records Anna-Elise her last name is Dante I didn't know it until today so it's not in the folder" Noah wrote the new piece of information on the top page of the folder. With that he hugged Noah and left the room. Anna-Elsie and Claude went of to their new life. A month later they had a large white wedding that Noah attended, and they bought a house near the palace. It seems cliché but they lived happily ever after. Chapter 4 Noah spent the next three days reading the information contained in the file much to the annoyance of his occasional roommate and on and off girlfriend Missy Dallough. Missy was a law student from Manhattan. Her father Bryan was head of an entertainment group and Missy was going to join the firm in its legal department when she passed. Daddy had thought a law degree from the Sorbonne would be more media than one from Yale. Sorbonne sounded class and bling as Missy always told Noah. She was obviously Daddy's little Princess and she had Daddy's credit cards. She was a beautiful girl, with wild curly copper hair and bright green eyes, a perfect, surgery, pixie nose and Cupid's bow lips. She was a size 2 and could buy and wear the best creations Paris offered. She wore killer heels mainly because she stood sans shoes at 5 foot 3 inches. They had met through a mutual friend at a drinks party the previous year. It had been a wild meeting both very drunk they had found themselves having sex on the balcony within 30 minutes of meeting. They had a difficult relationship mainly because Noah being a sponsored student had to work to help support himself and had no rich Daddy to bankroll his extra curricular activities. Noah D'Estaing was being sponsored from a scholarship fund set up by a wealthy French artist Amarante Donovan who lived in LA and painted borderline, pornographic, art pictures. She had wanted to sponsor young artists and/or architectural historians. Noah was both and hoped once he had finished his studies to follow his hero Paul Faure into archaeology. He was one of four students at the Sorbonne she supported. Amarante had sponsored him throughout his studies from honours degree and Masters. But her sponsorship was limited and paid for his tuition, course fees, materials, IT Equipment, books and related travel. His apartment and associated bills were paid for but anything else he had to find himself. He didn't mind he knew how privileged he was to have her sponsorship. Noah was an only child and his parents had a modest lifestyle they weren't rich and they weren't poor. His mother owned a popular high-class beauty spa in Lyons and his father was an accountant. They gave him as much support as they could though most was in the form of love rather than finance. They sent him an allowance of €1,000 a month which he thought was generous but with Missy around it often didn't last long. His work at Pere paid him a modest amount but it was far better than working for McDonalds as he had before, working long night shifts and smelling of burgers had limited his already limited social life. Missy didn't understand why the old bird wasn't paying it all and she often stopped being his girlfriend when she tired of paying for everything adding the comment it would be cheaper to hire a prostitute than date you. Right now they were on again and she had decided that she would live with him for a few weeks before she went home to the US for summer break. Unfortunately she decided to live with him just when he got the Lady in Black information. The apartment he had was generous, or at least he thought, with one large double bedroom, one small single box-room where Noah stored his weights and study materials, one bathroom and an open plan living area which was made up by the living room, kitchen and a study area. Missy said it was compact which meant small and she didn't like its location not too far from the Gare Du Nord "why cant the old bird get you something decent she makes pots from that porn she passes as art." Missy had a beautiful large three-bedroom place out towards the Pont du Neuf where Daddy's money bought the right address, right quality accommodation, right location and right friends. Today she was being annoying Noah wanted her to go home, go out anything but be with him because he wanted to do his research but she kept sighing loudly, talking, walking around singing and dancing to the music on her iPod, moaning that he didn't have a TV, moving his papers and now she had decided to sit on his lap. "Arty you are so boring, Lets go shop or eat. This is just some old paper and they smell. In fact Arty you smell" he hated when she called him Arty. It wasn't his name and as a nickname he failed to see what connection he had to it. "Missy I have research to do. You know how important my work is" Noah was by now very angry. "Oh Arty you are so sexy when your mad" she planted a life-sucking kiss on his lips and began pulling at his white t-shirt. He struggled free to catch his breath. "Missy! Please let me study for one more hour" "No, I am sick of this" and she pushed the papers on the table to the floor with one move. Noah was livid and stood up knocking her away so he could pick up the documents he had meticulously put in order that were now scattered on the floor. Missy sat herself on his desk and kicked his chair to the floor. She pulled off the tight black t-shirt she was wearing to reveal her naked breasts; she crossed her legs and laid her self-back supported by the piles of papers and books covering his desk. "Missy not now! I promise later" Missy never liked the word no, in fact no one every said no to her, and she wasn't giving way now. Noah stood with his now reclaimed papers and debated whether just to simply push her off the desk or to get rid of her by screwing her. Her body did not sway his decision, though it was okay, but the fact that if he did screw her she would buy him dinner and he was hungry and broke did help sway his decision. HIs monthly allowance from his parents and pay from Pere wouldn't be deposited in his bank until the next day. His head told him no but his stomach told him yes. He turned and put the papers on the second smaller desk where his MacBook was sitting, Internet open, awaiting his research requests. He quickly logged out of his computer shut the lid down and turned towards Missy. He put out his hand and beckoned her to follow him. Sex on his desk was always a no. No matter how hungry he was. He walked towards the double bedroom. There was a large metal-framed double bedstead with the bed still unmade from when they had left it that morning. Missy had been home all day but chores well it wasn't a word she understood and it could damage her manicure. Missy thought he should get a maid after all everyone else she knew had them. Noah had been to Pere working and had no got around to housework. Missy followed him giggling like a little schoolgirl. Noah ran his hands through his hair, under his chin and across his face. He stretched his arms and back to relieve the aches of sitting scrunched up reading his papers and then began to take off his white t-shirt. Missy having already taken off her shirt set to work on her Camilla Skovgaard ankle boots and Current/Elliot arrow print skinny jeans. She was naked she rarely wore knickers with jeans. Noah took of his black Levi jeans and stood in front off her wearing just his white D&G briefs. Missy had bought them and he was glad he had worn them today. It would put her in a good mood to spend lots on dinner. She put her long red painted nail of the index finger of her left hand to her lip, she thought it was cute Noah thought it stupid, and moved her right hand out to touch his chest. Like most men his age who cared about their body Noah had an entire body that was hills and valleys of muscle carved into flesh and less than 5% body fat. He had worked hard to get it, and keep it, in tiptop condition. He knew he looked good naked he had sculpted his look on that of the now infamous white pants bloke from the perfume ad. He had a tattoo on his left shoulder that he thought was sexy but women seemed to ignore. The Mystery at Pere Lachaise He pulled her forward and kissed her and she went to work running her hands on his back and pushing her hands into his pants. His hands did much the same exploring her back. Missy was like most young girls body conscious and she was very slender almost willowy. She had humble breasts and a small apple bottom. He never had a type but having seen Anna-Elise he now felt he preferred his women a little more ample. Missy was eager as ever to move to the foreplay and was already grabbing at his cock in his pants and trying to pull the pants off from the side. He helped her by stopping, stepping out of them and then returned to her lips. She grabbed his cock, pulling away at it, which hurt. He picked her up, turned ninety degrees, and placed her on the bed. She shuffled about then laid centre of the bed her legs already wide open and waiting for him. Missy had no subtlety or class for that matter. He was now distracted fully, as his cock showed by being erect, from his research and he rest on top of her kissing her lips. His right hand exploring and tweaking her right breast as his tongue moved from her mouth to her neck. Her hands still searched for his cock but he had moved down her body slightly placing it out of her reach, and pain, he knew that would annoy her. He moved further down her his hand moving from her breast to her now wet area between her legs and his tongue replaced his fingers on her breast. Her hands twisted and pulled at his shaggy shoulder length hair as a consolation for not having his cock. He buried his hand into her hard his fingers plunging in and out of her. She moaned as he pushed them into her and her breathing seemed to imitate the rhythm of his movements. He brought her easily to orgasm and as always she gave him notice with her audible "Mickey Mouse Donald Duck." It always put him off and he never understood what the Disney characters had to do with sex and her orgasm but he never questioned her about it. But she came and as always she was happy to go down on him. She had his cock in her mouth so quickly it took him off guard. She seemed to have had a lot of practice at blow-jobs, she knew what she was doing and many ways to do it, and seemed to relish it. She licked him from the tip of his shaft down and up several times and pulled his foreskin down, as far as it would go, to run her hot wet tongue over its head. She carried on till he was about to come then promptly sat up. Missy never allowed anyone to come in her mouth, or on her, the idea repulsed her but she expected guys to keep their tongues inside her, though Noah never did, when she came. Today she moved a little slowly and she ended up with his seed on her chin, which she promptly wiped on his sheets while complaining about his aim and lack of respect for her and stating how he knew she hated 'that stuff on her body'. Noah wanted to laugh but knew better. She whacked her hands up and down his cock and when it was hard again sat on it, after applying a condom, and he held her hips as she moved up and down. In truth he was trying to install some rhythm in her moves and stop her landing at awkward angles that often resulted in his cock coming out of her, some pain and her moaning. He rolled her over and took on the work. He pushed himself hard into her and lifted her bottom a little to vary the angle of entry. She in answer twisted his nipples that caused him to cry out which she thought was funny. He did not. His stomach reminded his cock that it was there and in need of food so he picked up the pace and came. She obviously hadn't come and grabbed at his buttocks and grinded against him until finally she came. He left her and walked to the bathroom. It was an old deco apartment block, that had seen better days, and the bathroom reflected a more elegant age. The large round shower-head came from a mixer tap attached to the old iron footed gigantic china bath. He sprayed himself liberally with hot water, which splashed on the floor, and rubbed his Lynx shower gel all over himself. Missy entered the room and said something about the smell of his cheap shower gel and he passed her the shower-head as he jumped out and went to retrieve a towel from the built in linen cupboard. He dried himself then went to his bedroom and his closet. He pulled out some out of date black Hugo Boss jeans he bought at an outlet store and a blue Lacoste polo shirt from the same shop. He couldn't follow fashion on his meagre finances. He finished by putting on a pair of black oxfords his only pair of shoes. He had one good quality leather jacket a brown leather copy of Steve McQueen's bomber jacket from the Great Escape. He loved it his parents had bought it for him for his birthday a few days before. He shared with irony the same birthday as the owner of the tomb 29th February. He had been born in 1988 on the day Anna-Elise second but first solo visit to the tomb in her role as the Lady in Black. Missy came in the room she had some clothes in his wardrobe. One pair of her designer jeans would probably cost more than his entire wardrobe put together. She picked some Gucci black leather and cotton jeans and a plain white t-shirt and her Gucci beige suede and black leather trim biker jacket. She dragged out some Gucci black Cambridge brogue suede boots and a Prada messenger cross body bag. She was always dressed head to toe in designer. She put on her yellow Max Azria watch and threw Noah his black leather strapped old 1970s Timex. She smiled and he picked up his empty wallet and the keys to the apartment and they left for dinner. Today she paid so they went to an Italian restaurant in Montmartre by taxi. After dinner Missy decided she wanted to go clubbing with some friends and Noah knew instinctively that she wanted to go home to her place to change and also that she wasn't inviting him to join her. Missy had never introduced him to any of her rich friends, which was all her friends; he knew he was her dirty little secret, her bit of rough, poor trash. In truth he really didn't care. Chapter 5 Problem was Missy went off in a taxi and he had to use the metro system lucky his sponsor bought him a season ticket but it would take him some time to get home. As he travelled he thought about the new Lady in Black he wondered who she was? What she did? Where she lived? He guessed he couldn't work out any answers to those questions until he worked out the mystery of the person in the tomb. It was 10:30 pm when he got home. He went to the fridge and got himself a Pepsi Max and sat down by his desk and looked at the pile of papers Missy had thrown on the floor. He put his drink down and started to put the papers back into the order he had them so he could start his research again. From the window by his desk he could see the vast amount of lights that gave Paris its name the City of Lights. Alice was out there as were the answers to all his questions. His phone rang to tell him he had a text message and he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket to retrieve it. His iPhone 4 was a huge investment, the one luxury he allowed himself, paid for on contract from his monthly allowance. He knew it would be from Missy. Sometimes she would get bored with her friends and try and get him to visit her for a booty call. He didn't do that anymore because as soon as they finished having sex she wanted him to leave. She didn't want people seeing him leave her apartment like she was ashamed of him. He guessed she wanted to tell him she was going home, to her apartment, after the club and sure enough he was right. He was glad. She was become a real pain in the arse. He didn't have any lectures to attend or tutorial meetings the next day so he decided to re-start his research. He went to his bedroom and took off and hung his new jacket, sat on the bed and took off his shoes and socks, then his shirt and stood up to remove his jeans and pants. He went to his chest of drawers and removed some old track bottoms he now used as pyjamas put them on and placed his feet into some old sheepskin moccasins. He picked up an old long sleeve shirt and put that on too. He glanced at the bed and remembered the sheet Missy wiped his seed on and removed it along with the 4 pillowcases. Missy always got make-up on the pillowcases so he rolled everything in a ball and took it, along with Missy's clothes which she had left on the floor and his pants to the washing machine and started a quick wash cycle. He returned to his desk and began to run through what he already knew about the three ladies who preceded Anna-Elise Dante. Amanda Trufant, who had died in 1988 aged 47, the other two, whose names were Adelaide Murdoch and Angeline Merchant, all had remained single and, except Amanda, lived very long lives. The, very sketchy, histories of the last four ladies showed no obvious connections between them. No family connections, no locations or evidence of their paths crossing but not having much on them he couldn't rule out finding connections. They shared the fact that they were all born around the Leap Day. Adelaide and Angeline on the 28th February and Amanda and Anna-Elise on the 1st March. Amanda had died on the Monday 29th February 1998, the same day he had been born, the day before her 48th birthday and the Leap Day. A whole list of rare things he thought. All three dead ladies were in Pere and they would seem to suggest all lived in Paris. He assumed none had ever talk about the vow they had made, though all had given their watchers their first names, nothing on how they came to be chosen or by whom. Why the bizarre ritual carried on or why it started in the first place. But there must be a connection how else did they know who was replacing them or did they just meet at the gates of Pere maybe they knew who they were by the flowers. No wait only Anna-Elise had flowers Alice had the Tiffany box but they would know what they had to do so maybe the flowers were for identification purposes. Noah swigged his Pepsi Max and looked at his reflected image in the glass of the window. His hair was way too long. He had grown it because Missy asked him to. He had long hair when they met but he cut it about 3 months later and she had been on at him to grow it again. Now he saw it was a mess. He looked like a schoolboy, hair all over his face covering his eyes got just like Justin Bieber so not cool. He needed to look more his age more rock star he thought, and then decided a faux hawk that's what he needed and who cared what Missy would say. In fact he felt like a makeover of his life, some real changes and Missy was one of those changes he felt he needed to make. He knew someone, a friend of his Mum, Monique, who would cut his hair for him, and cheap, he would ring her tomorrow and see if she could fit him in. Time had marched on and it was midnight so he decided to go to bed but first he had to put clean sheets and pillowcases on the bed and it would feel fresh and new for him. He set his alarm for 7.00 am and got under the covers and rubbed his head into the clean cold side of the pillows under his head. Chapter 6 The alarm sounded and Noah quickly reached out and tapped it with his hand to stop it. He rolled onto his back and stretched out. It was great not to have Missy spooning him and to wake up fresh and happy instead of hot and sweaty. He moved aside the curtains and looked out of the small window and saw the sun. He got up went to the bathroom as he did every morning to answer natures call, wash his hands, face, push water through his hair and brush his teeth. He went to the kitchen and put the kettle on for his coffee and he prepared his muesli breakfast. He found some orange juice thankfully Missy hadn't drunk it all yesterday as she normally did. His thoughts flicked to his research he decided to visit the graves of the three ladies who had preceded Anna-Elise and photograph them from every possible angle. He dialled his Mum's friend Monique and she said she could fit him in at 8.30 just before the first clients of the day. She had a fine, expensive and popular, salon in rue Rambuteau luckily for him near the metro station of the same name. He had time to have a quick bath and he picked out the same jeans he wore last night and a tight black V-neck jumper. He put on his shoes and grabbed his old fleece jacket. He had time to get his camera, empty wallet and notebook and put them safely in his cross body messenger bag. Rambuteau was five stops away on the metro but one change of line and with the Monday morning commuters he needed to allow himself time to walk to Gare du Nord and to arrive early for his appointment. He thought about what to do about Missy on the metro journey. He had no feelings for her and he knew she had none for him the relationship was more a series of arguments, break-ups, make-up sex, drunken sex and well just sex. It wasn't going anywhere and she didn't really make him happy. In truth he was really like her unpaid prostitute or poorly rewarded kept man. She never spoke about her friends, her life in the USA, family and she certainly made sure he never met her friends. She would often mention his Mum was Jewish seemed her Daddy wouldn't like that. So there it was they were friends with benefits no they weren't even friends just fuck buddies. He walked towards the salon and Monique unlocked and opened the door for him. She greeted him, kissed and hugged him she was after all his godmother. She left the door unlocked so her staff could get in. She asked him about his studies, his parents, his love life and then she commented that his hair was a mess. She liked his idea of the faux hawk very on trend very rock star. As she worked her staff began to arrive. They were all much younger than Monique who like his Mum was in her 50s. She rarely cut hair now she managed the salon and was planning to open another salon around the Champs Elysees area. A woman approached and smiled at Noah in the mirror. She introduced herself as Chantal, Monique's chief colourist, and he was sitting in her chair. She talked to Monique then asked him if wanted a coffee. He accepted. When she came back Monique had finished cutting and asked Chantal to style his hair and Monique kissed his cheek and told him not to be a stranger and that she had to go. Chantal was a rare thing a natural blonde, no dark root that he could see and the eyelashes and brows matched, with pale skin and deep blue eyes. She had soft lines on her heart shaped face and a fringed shoulder length graduated bob framed it. She was tall just a few inches shorter than him. She had an amazing body, way more ample than Missy's, a real woman's body, that was wrapped today in tight black trousers and knee high boots and black three-quarter-length sleeve linen top all designer. They were the same boots he had Alice wearing and he asked her about them. She told him they were a special limited edition by Giuseppe Zannoti only five pairs were made. She was interested in him and his work and had said Monique had mentioned her 'Indiana Jones' godson. He mentioned his new project on the Lady in Black and she seemed caught up by the mystery. She told him about herself she was 39 but looked much younger, divorced with no children. She lived not far from him and he knew her apartment block and vice versa. She listened to his history and he listened to her. She used the hairstyling as a way to be very hands on with him, she flirted with him and she asked if he had a girlfriend or wife and if he was gay. When she got her answers, no to all three, she smiled and asked him if he would like to meet her later for a drink maybe a meal. Noah accepted and she put her number in his phone and his in hers and they made arrangements to meet at 8 pm at Gare du Nord Metro station. Monique had left instructions that the hair was on the house and that he should call her and come for dinner next week, Tuesday, something that would become a regular appointment. Noah still had a long day ahead of him. His iPhone rang and he looked to see the caller id. Missy. He answered it. She was full of her evening out and she wanted to meet him for a sex lunch. "Missy I have been thinking about us and I ...well I am not sure that we really work. You have a different life to me and I don't fit into it and I have a lot of research to do. So I think that maybe we should call it quits" he knew he was a shit to break up with her on the phone but last time he broke it off she punched him. "You bastard how could you do this to me? I fucking bought you dinner last night it cost me €300 you owe me" "Missy I am not a gigolo you don't own me, and I don't owe you, because you bought me dinner. I am not some piece of arse you call up when you have no friends to go out with or just want to have sex. Missy its over don't call me ever again. I will have your clothes boxed up and I'll drop them with the concierge at your building" She ranted on while he pressed the end call button. The phone rang again it was Missy he declined and she tried another five times so he turned off his phone. Chapter 7 Noah felt a wave of relief that he had decided to end things with Missy right then and there. He felt free and his next stop would be an ATM machine to check his allowance and salary had cleared into his bank account. He had a date with an attractive older woman who had said casual smart dress. Noah owned 2 pairs of jeans, 1 set of overalls, 5 t-shirts, 2 pairs of trainers, his good shoes, his new jacket and a weeks worth of pants and socks. He felt he needed something new to mark his new life. He knew a good second hand store so he hoped on the metro and went shopping. He soon found himself some khaki G Star arc tapered trousers, grey military style jacket and a white tight knit granddad style shirt. The same shop provided him with some Gaultier for men fragrance and body wash. All last season, second hand, and all for just under €90. His next port of call was Pere to take pictures of the graves and to stop by to chat to and have lunch with Rene. Rene had taken on the supervisor role from Claude. They talked about the many stories of Pere and Rene mentioned that he knew of the Lady in Black and part of the story. He told Noah that there had been rumours that the tomb was empty just a shrine to the young man that his body had been removed from the embalmers the night before the interment. There were stories that the young man was supernatural, his mother some sort of witch. Some said that each Lady had a baby born the first year of the 25 and if the child was a male it lived and was adopted out but if it was a female it was kept to be the next Lady in Black. Pere was full of stories and this tomb had attracted more than a few over the years. Rene had seen another woman poking about the tomb a few days ago and she had asked Marten, a colleague of theirs if any one had taken on the role of watching the tomb. Marten had said yes but not who. Noah listened to the stories Rene had and at the end of their chat they shock hands and parted. Noah went home and en route stopped to buy some vegetables and Toulouse sausages, for tomorrow's dinner, at the market by his apartment. He was still full up from lunch. Rene's wife always packed enough food for Rene to share with Noah she knew he was a student on limited funds. At home he sat down on a brown leather couch with a Pepsi Max and pondered on Rene's stories. Surely the tomb couldn't be empty and if it was what had happened to the young man's body. It did seem too weird that the man had been born and died on a Leap Day but supernatural he doubted that and who was this other mystery woman and the man he had seen. Before long Noah noticed that the time had marched on and it was 6:30 pm. He needed to get ready for his date. He turned on his phone to see if anyone other than Missy had called. Chantal had called just to say that she would be a little late due to clients and she would be at the metro at 8.30 not 8. Even better a little extra time to bathe and dress. Missy had left him 6 voicemails and 17 text messages that got ever more abusive and ever more littered with swear words. She demanded he call and she wanted her stuff today or she would send the police around to see him about his abusive behaviour and the theft of her clothes. Melodramatic Missy at her best especially when she said she had told her Daddy what he had done and he was going to get the little Jewish boy sorted out. In a few keystrokes Noah deleted and cleared the text and voicemails and wiped Missy's numbers from his phone. The Mystery at Pere Lachaise His attentions now turned to his date with Chantal. She was an older woman and she would expect more from him than Missy ever had. He bathed thoroughly in the new body wash. He shaved carefully leaving just enough of a beard to frame his dimpled chin and follow fashion, his hair had to be perfect. He put on a pair of pants he had bought but never worn by 2[x]ist. They were like a thong except the back was a Y shaped not just a string. They looked great and when he put the trousers and top on he looked in the mirror. The top was fine knit and his muscular body showed below. He gelled his hair and put on his fragrance. He thoroughly cleaned, gargled and flossed his teeth and tongue. Noah felt good about himself and he hoped for a successful and enjoyable evening. He took one last look at himself picked up his phone, keys, grabbed some breathe mints, some condoms just in case he got lucky, his wallet and went out to meet Chantal. He arrived at the Metro station at 8.15 and she arrived a few minutes later. She walked over to him smiled and kissed his cheek. They spoke for a few minutes and she suggested a good but reasonably priced Chinese restaurant she knew. As they walked to the restaurant she talked about her job and how she loved it. When they were seated at the restaurant Noah helped her remove the long leather coats she was wearing. It revealed that underneath she was wearing a Dolce and Gabbana tight fitting navy and white stars dress. He knew this dress Missy had it but it looked crap on her. Chantal filled the dress as the designers would have wanted and he complimented her on it. She complimented him on his clothes and said how handsome he was. She invited him back to her apartment and he accepted. On the way they stopped at a shop and bought two bottles of wine a red and a white. She asked him about his sexual experiences and though taken aback by her forwardness he talked about Missy and the four other girls he had had sex with and finally she spoke. "Before you come in you should know that I have adventurous sexual tastes. I like to use toys, ropes and other things. I need to know that you understand that and that whatever we do you will be safe and I won't hurt you. If it's not for you I understand and we can part company" Noah wasn't sure what to say. Did this mean she liked to be tied up or to tie people up? He had said he wanted a new life and this would certainly be a new start so he said ok. He followed her into the apartment block and they entered the elevator. As soon as the door closed she turned and started to kiss him and her left hand went straight to his cock. While she kissed him her hand gently repeatedly squeezed then released his cock in a gentle rhythm. He felt his breathe deepen and he pulled her close to him. She stopped just before the elevator did. She had the top floor apartment and the elevator opened to a small entrance hall. She rummaged in her Channel handbag and retrieved her keys. She opened the door and allowed him in. She went straight into the open plan living space. Noah followed. She put the wine she had been carrying onto the kitchen counter and reached in a cabinet for two large wine glasses and a corkscrew. She opened both bottles. She suggested they drink the white first and Noah agreed it was a good quality Vihno Verde. Noah looked around the room. It was a spacious apartment and had cream walls and all the furnishings were either cream or a pale silvery grey. There were two gigantic sofas in grey leather and on the floor thick deep cream carpets. There was a Bose stereo system, three cream cabinets, two bookcases and a large silver flat screen TV hung on the wall above an illusion glass open fire. There was a floor to ceiling window at one end of the room surrounded by grey silk drapes and matching pelmet. Chantal walked towards him, gave him his glass of wine, beckoned him to sit, put her glass down then went and closed the grey drapes. She came and sat next to him on the sofa that was very soft and comfortable and engulfed them. She kicked off her killer heeled black shoes, picked up her glass from the coffee table and pulled her legs up onto the sofa. Noah wasn't sure what to do so drank his wine he was nervous. "It's a beautiful apartment have you lived here long?" he finally asked as he finished his wine and put the glass down on the coffee table. "About 10 years I got it as part of the divorce settlement. It's a good place the area is a little out of fashion but its close to the salon and the terminal for international travel. You live a few streets away in that delightful art deco place. Do you like it there?" "Yes, its part of my sponsorship so I live there rent and bill free. It's nice, compact, but great for me." Noah was never lost for words with women but with Chantal he was. "It's ok to be nervous. You don't know what to expect? Wonder what I meant by adventurous sexual tastes? I am not a dominatrix if you thought I would force you to lick my dirty boots but I do like to push boundaries and enjoy sex and sex toys" Noah was again shocked at her forwardness but appreciated that she understood he was nervous. She was right he had thought she might want to beat him, pee on him or worse. She was smiling at him and she asked him if he wanted to take off his jacket. He stood up and took it off and was about to lay it on the sofa when she said she would take it. She left the living area and went down the corridor down the side of the kitchen. She did not return straight away and Noah wondered whether he should just get up and go. He was still unsure about this and Chantal and his palms were sweating. He began to run his fingers through his hair then got up and walked towards a painting on the wall above the bookcase. Chapter 8 He heard the faint sounds of her coming along the corridor and turned around. She stood on top of the coffee table and he knew he sighed out loud and thought to himself that he had hit the jackpot. She had been away changing from her dress into he didn't quite know what. Was it was nightwear or lingerie? It was basically a series of soft knitted straps adorned with delicate chains, metal rings, and handcuff shaped clasps that formed a sort of suit. It was halter necked and the strappings went down each side of her body inches apart, in a U-shape, her breasts could be seen through them and the strappings joined to what should have been panties but was more strappings and a thong. Her back ,he could see reflected in the mirror like surfaces of the kitchen cabinets behind her, was uncovered with just the strappings barely on her bottom. Noah knew he would be staying now and could not believe this woman wanted him. Her body was amazing she had breasts probably three or four times the size of Missy's, curves and a plump well-structured bottom and long shapely legs. He walked towards her and he already knew he had a hard on. She stood still while he ran his hands up her long beautiful legs and touch the strappings that didn't really cover her body. He could see her natural blonde pubic hair and he touched her. She put out her hand and he helped her down from the table. "I changed into something more comfortable" she said and smirked. It was more comfortable for her, perhaps, but right now his cock hurt from being with-strained in his clothes. He lent forward and kissed her and she reciprocated and he found his hands exploring her back and the strappings and chains on her bottom. "Good" was all she said as she pulled her lips from his. She took his hand and led him down the corridor they passed three open doors on the left. The first was a bedroom, all cream again, with a large sleigh bed. The second was clearly a large black and cream bathroom. The third a dressing room he could see her clothes hanging up. To the right was a closed door and at the end of the corridor where they were headed was a bedroom clearly the main bedroom by its vast size. It could have been a bedroom in Versailles in fact there was one similar there he had seen it. The bateaux bed had a pale blue silk canopy supported by two uprights and a silver ring that hung from the ceiling. The bed was piled high with pillows and cushions. The walls were cream and had panels containing gold cameos. The floor was covered with a deep pile pale blue carpet. There were a few antique looking cabinets around the room. Off the room, to the right, he saw the en suite the door to the left was closed. She turned to him and she began to remove his clothes slowly and gently, like unwrapping fine china. She admired his chest and then she undid his trousers releasing his encased cock. She pushed his trousers down to his knees and walked around him touching his skin in odd places as she did each touch felt electrified. She asked him to take off the rest of his clothes except his underwear. She sat on a small winged back chair, legs crossed, and watched him move and bend to take his clothes off. He stood before her in his white strappy pants and his erect cock bulging from the front pouch. She opened the drawer of the small desk next to her and she took out a length of black material threw it to him and told him to blindfold himself. He hesitated then looked at her and did as she said. She had stood up and was moving around him and he felt her hands take his wrists to the back of his body and he felt cold against them and the sounds of locks. He moved his arms and he knew she had handcuffed him. Shit she did like to tie people up. She kissed his back and her hands went to the back of his pants and he felt her touch his naked buttocks and pull at the Y shaped thong. Her hands were soft and he enjoyed the sensation. Gently she pulled down his pants and took each foot from them kissing them as she did. So far so good he thought. She led him to the bed and he lay down. A few moments later he felt her get on the bed and she parted his legs and knelt between them he felt the chains of her outfit touch his inner thigh. Next he felt a very soft thing being moved across his body. The sensation made his body erupt in goose pimples. She gently kissed him from left ankle to right ankle and as she approached his cock he felt he would explode but she never directly contacted with it. Then she kissed him from just above his pubic hair to his neck. He wanted to grab her but the handcuffs stopped him. The sensations were amazing. She never spoke to him. She kissed each nipple and he audibly sighed at the delight. She stopped touching him and he felt his cock deflate. He couldn't believe she had just stopped or worse still he was now limp. She told him to stand up and she guided him towards his right and he heard a door open it was the closed door to the left as he came in. The floor of this room was heated and felt soft but rubbery. She moved forward and she undid the handcuffs. She turned him and guided him back against the wall. It was heated, soft and rubbery just like the floor. It reminded him of the soft play areas designed for small children. She took each of his wrists and put them palms outward, at shoulder height, against the wall and he felt a strap close around them. She then parted his legs and he felt straps close around his ankles. Shit what had he done he thought. He heard the whirl of an engine or something and his arms went up the wall above his head. He was anxious now. She took off his blindfold and smiled. The room was indeed completely covered in a pale grey sort of rubber. He looked up and his arms were in rubber-covered straps coming out of the wall, as were his feet. It looked like lights and water jets in the ceiling and the floor seemed to have drainage holes. The room contained some furniture that looked pretty normal, no obvious torture equipment; there were 6 closed cabinets on the wall opposite him. He caught site of a sort of chair to his right in the corner. "It's a fun room not a dungeon" she said, "magic happens in here" "Is this for BDSM?" he asked "It could be. But for now no your new too all this. I want you to enjoy this room no one gets hurt in here that's not my style and I do like vanilla sex as well so its all fun between consenting adults. Anytime you want me to stop just tell me. If you like it or you don't tell me that's all I can ask I'll do the same" He agreed he wanted to experience this. "So okay so we begin?" she enquired and he smiled to agree. She pressed a button and warm water came from above him and ran down his head and his body. The water was different it tasted of oranges and was almost oily. She walked towards him and began to kiss him on the chest at first then all over. She repeated the ankle-to-ankle movement she had performed on the bed but this time when she reached his cock she took it into her mouth. She twisted her tongue around the head of it and then moved her mouth up and down the length of his shaft. He felt himself moving his body back and forward in time until he came in her mouth. She carried on for a while till he had to ask her to stop. She stopped the orange tasting water and ran some regular water and she washed him. She walked to one of the cabinets and returned with a strange item. She told him it was a masturbator and she explained once he had an erect cock she would put the masturbator on him and it would electronically do what the name suggested. She got him erect by running what looked like a stick with an orb attached over his body which gave a light electric stimulus. Eventually she ran it over his cock. Once his cock was erect she put the masturbator onto him, pulled two ends of a cord attached to it, underneath and up between the cheeks of his bottom, tied them around his waist and attached them to the top of the masturbator. She told him this would stop it coming off. She brought forward what looked like a small vacuum cleaner and hose that she attached to the masturbator. It wasn't heavy but he knew he had it on and understood the cord under his butt. "Why use this and not your hands?" he asked "Well, it's a sort of training device. You see young men are very athletic but are often not good on stamina they ejaculate too early. You were very good on the bed and just now at stopping yourself from coming too early but this will help you more. You see it will take you to the edge of ejaculating and if you can stop yourself then we will fuck. I assume you do want to fuck me" She knew he did. She started the vacuum and the masturbator moved in three distinct divisions on his cock. The sensation was better in some ways than a hand it had rhythm and was long and slow. While he adjusted to the experience Chantal walked towards the strange looking chair and picked it up. She placed it about two feet in front of him. It was made of black plastic in a sort of bowl shape. The back of the chair allowed the person sitting in to be propped up, half lying down, but it had from each side what looked like birthing stirrups. Chantal got on the chair and placed her legs, up to her knees, along the plastic stirrups. Her lower legs draped down and her legs were wide-open and he could see her genital area through the strappings of her outfit. The masturbator had reached its first attempt at making him come and he had to think of something to stop himself and he knew it would get harder to control himself; she was not just going to sit on the chair. He was right she undid the halter part of the outfit and pulled it down exposing her breasts fully. A disc studded with crystals surrounded each nipple and she rubbed her hands over herself and pulled her breasts up so she could swish her tongue over each. Noah was amazed that he was able to watch her and in his head recite his 13 times tables, in order, his chosen method to distract him from his orgasm. She smiled and she moved her left hand down towards her genital area. She began to pleasure herself with her fingers. He breathed heavily he wanted to fuck her and the masturbator had speeded up a little and the edge of ejaculating came more often. She had reached out and took a blue sort of 2-pronged thing from the side table and he soon saw that it could be used in her vagina and on her clitoris. It gently vibrated she held it in her right hand then used her left hand to add to its work on her clitoris. Noah had survived 8 cycles of the masturbator he knew it wouldn't be too many more before he came. "Do you want to fuck me Noah?" did she really need to ask "Yes I do" She removed the prong thing from her body and reached and pressed a button on a remote control. The masturbator stopped and his legs and then his wrists were released. He took the masturbator off and walked towards her. He wanted to enter her straight away but thought it would be the wrong move. She had returned to fingering herself so he knelt before her and at first licked her fingers as she moved them. Then he used his tongue to follow them and begin to take over their work. He could taste her salty come, She moved her hands away and he could then use his owns hands to rub her and explore her vagina. She encouraged his work by touching his hair. He found himself burying his tongue inside her and using his nose against her clit. She undid the clasps at the side of the outfit and he understood and removed it from her. She was now totally naked and he noticed for the first time a dragon tattoo. Its tail and legs ran down the line at the top of her leg and its head rested on the top of her pubic hair. His cock wanted her but his condoms were in his jacket pocket as if hearing him she told him to go to the cabinet closest to the door and bring back a black packet of condoms. As he did she reached for something. Standing in front of her his cock erect he undid the packet of condoms. She reached forward and put a cord around the base of his cock and she tied it tight to act as a cock ring. She allowed the extra length of cord to hang down between his legs. The condom when he pulled it on had a head of small soft spikes. She smiled and pulled his cock gently forward. He knelt down again and he gently thrust his spiked cock into her. "Remember what you learnt we don't want the main event ruined" he understood her no premature ejaculation. The condom spikes were not just for her pleasure he found they also heightened his and he had to try hard with his 17 times tables. She didn't lie still, as Missy often did, she moved her hips up to meet his thrusts and their breathing was in time. He moved so he could take a breast into his mouth. The cord around his cock tightened as he worked inside her. She asked him to stop so they could change positions and she got up and laid on the rubbery floor and he got on top of her again. She wrapped her legs around him and pushed up against him as he moved inside her. He wanted to come but the cord around his cock stopped him. She rolled him over and sat straight up on his cock and she moved up his shaft till the tip almost came out of her then moved back down the length. She leant down and grabbed his left nipple in her teeth and licked him. She told him to put his hands behind his head and not to move them and she rode him until finally she reached behind her and untied the cord and then she told him to fuck her hard. So he rolled her onto her back held her wrists beside her head, forced her left leg up high with this right leg and he did exactly that. He hit her hard with each thrust and then they both came together. The walls of her vagina squeezing his still pulsing cock. She pulled him down towards her and she began kissing him. She pushed him onto his back and she very carefully removed the condom and she kissed his abdomen and finally rested her head on his chest. Noah had never enjoyed sex so much. They lay together for a while then she said they should shower and he followed her to the en suite and the biggest walk-in shower he had every seen. She started all the jets and grabbed his hand and pulled him in. She pressed a button and vanilla shower gel fell down on them. They washed each other and when finished she handed him a cream bathrobe. Putting on hers she walked into the bedroom drying her hair with a small towel. He dried himself in the bathroom and then entered the bedroom .She was dry and laying in the now uncluttered bed.