Natalie had met us at the front door, taken one look at my face, and then motioned for Doc and me to follow her out to Aunt Zoe’s workshop. Once there, I’d filled in my aunt and her on what we’d learned about the mirror, which was still in the back of my Honda even now.
Aunt Zoe had been particularly interested in what Doc had “seen” while he was under and picked his brain for details. I’d already heard some of his story when he’d given Cooper a quick rundown before the detective headed back to work with Cornelius in tow. I sat on Aunt Zoe’s worktable and listened as Doc shared his adventure into the looking glass—or should I say on the other side of it.
Prudence had been more friendly with him this time, allowing him to sink “under” instead of practically running him over in her haste to communicate—if that’s what she was doing with Doc back before Zelda came and provided a clear channel for her. Actually, I thought of it more as a spine-chilling possession with the way she’d bombarded Doc in the past and held him prisoner.
Anyway, Doc had shared how he’d been able to see into the thoughts of whoever was peering over my shoulder into the mirror, but only information relating to whatever Prudence had requested. For Cooper, that meant seeing the ghost that had been in the courthouse basement this morning. For Harvey, it was some sort of R-rated scene involving some impressive acrobatics on Harvey’s part and two painted ladies—and by that he meant actually coated in a silver paint—that still made Doc’s cheeks a shade pinker than normal.
As for Cornelius, it had been a chaotic scene visible through a crack in a door. Doc had described it as some sort of frenzied demonic rave—those were his words, not mine. When I asked him what the entities behind that door looked like, he grimaced and told me it would take some time to make sense of what he’d seen in there, adding that a single peek had scared the hell out of him. Cornelius had apparently been exposed to some dark shit in his past.
When Doc had finished, Aunt Zoe asked if he felt that the mirror could be used to help me with the lidérc.
His face lined again. “Maybe, but there were other entities in the mirror with me.”
I shivered at that idea. “Did you see any?”
He shook his head. “I felt them.”
“Were they able to actually touch you?” Natalie asked.
“No,” he told her, scratching the back of his neck. “I think Prudence was shielding me somehow, but I could feel slight variations in temperature as they came and went.” His gaze shifted to me. “And I could smell them.”
Of course. He was a bloodhound, after all. “How many?”
“I think I counted six. I could sense their agitation, making the air feel electrified.”
Aunt Zoe and I shared troubled glances.
“So, it’s a well-used mirror, apparently,” Natalie said. She shuddered and rubbed her upper arms. “Sort of creepy, considering how many times I’ve looked in that mirror.”
“You can’t really see out,” Doc told her. “At least I couldn’t until Violet opened the channel. Then I could see her and whoever was looking in with her. Their thoughts came as flashes of images in my head.”
“Jeez, Doc.” Natalie’s frown looked worried. “That’s trippy.”
He shrugged. “Just another day on the job.”
“Maybe, but I’ll stick to fixing shit and kicking ass.”
I chuckled. “Kick Cooper’s ass while you’re at it, would you?”
“For you, babe, I’d wear my pointy-toed witch shoes.”
She was full of it, but I played along. “I think Cooper would like that.”
“I hope so.” She scrubbed her hands together. “I have some particularly naughty spells saved up for him.”
Aunt Zoe laughed at the face I made. “Speaking of Coop, where is he?”
“He took Cornelius back to Calamity Jane’s and then he needed to head into work,” Doc answered, sitting on the work table next to me while inspecting one of Aunt Zoe’s squished tree pieces.
“Good,” Natalie said.
“Why is that good?” I’d have thought she’d be upset about Cooper’s work being a priority, same as it had been before when he’d chosen it over her.
“Because you and I are going to go spy on Hawke.”
We were? “I have to go into work in a bit.”
“That’s no good. Call in sick.”
“I can’t. Why are you wanting to spy on Hawke?”
“Because he’s off work this morning and I suspect he’s meeting up with Tiffany again.”
“What makes you think that?” Aunt Zoe asked.
“I heard him insinuate it through the register.”
Ah-ha. Natalie was back to playing Sherlock Holmes. Hawke better watch out. “Did he say Tiffany’s name explicitly?”
“No, but he did say Ray’s name and hinted about a previous liaison between him and the person on the other end of the line.”
Doc set the glass tree on the worktable. “Where are you going to spy on Hawke this time?”
“They are meeting at Bighorn Billy’s.”
I harrumphed. “That doesn’t seem like a very clandestine place.”
The sight of Elvis the chicken strutting out from the back room where Aunt Zoe kept a bunch of her supplies and the couch she slept on during long work nights made me do a double take. “What’s Elvis doing out here?”
“She’s been cooped up long enough.” Aunt Zoe held her fingers out while she made soft clucking sounds. Elvis ran toward her, clucking back after Aunt Zoe picked her up. “I told Addy she could let Elvis hang out with me for the day. Besides, I can use the company. All of this work has me a little stir crazy.”
“If you’re looking for friendship from a chicken, I’d say you’re more than a little crazy.” I thought of someone else who would be happy to keep her
