Deadwood Mystery 11 - Devil Days in Deadwood

by Ann Charles

  “What did you see, Parker?” Cooper asked, looking back and forth between Zelda and me.

  “I saw my reflection, only I was covered in blood and my face was peeling off and then my eye fell out and dangled next to my nose.”

  Doc cringed, lowering the mirror, while Cooper made shark fins out of his hair, turning his back on us and undoubtedly this whole mess.

  Harvey reached for the last flattened honeybun, while his cheeks were stuffed with the one he was still chewing.

  “Really?” I snapped at him. “You want to keep eating after hearing that?” My stomach was a churning cauldron of gut-ache.

  “Don’t start chompin’ at me just because you’re wound up tighter than a two-dollar watch.”

  “Sorry, Harvey.” I really was. I didn’t mean to take things out on him. I wrung my hands together, trying to forget the repulsive sight I’d seen in that mirror. Whose bright idea was it to hand that blasted thing down to me? I wouldn’t mind taking my mace to it and scattering the pieces to the ends of the earth, too.

  Cornelius watched me, his mouth twisted. “Are you sure it was your bloody face in that looking glass?”

  Before I could answer him, Zelda spoke. “Prudence says that what you saw in the mirror wasn’t you.”

  Cornelius let out a satisfied harrumph. “I knew it.”

  I crossed my arms. “You know what, you two? That thing I saw …” I sputtered for a moment, then took a breath and continued. “It not being me doesn’t give me much comfort.”

  “If it wasn’t Violet in the mirror,” Doc said, “then who was she seeing?”

  “Or what?” Cooper added.

  “Prudence suspects that what you saw is a remnant of something captured long ago. An entity that might or might not still be alive and trapped in there.”

  I took the mirror from Doc and held it up toward Zelda. “How about Prudence looks into it herself while saying its name and gives me a more definite answer?”

  Zelda shied away from it, shielding her face with her hands. “No! She says that the danger is too great for her to even touch it, even through me, let alone peer deeper into it like you did without protecting herself first. Mirrors such as yours can be deadly. She’d prefer to shatter it if given the choice.”

  That reminded me of Mr. Black, and how Aunt Zoe had warned him not to touch the mirror. A glance in Doc’s direction told me he was probably remembering that same moment in Aunt Zoe’s workshop.

  Doc took the mirror back from me. “Can this mirror help Violet catch the lidérc or not?”

  Zelda closed her eyes for several heartbeats, although my heart was still jackhammering, so it might not have been that long.

  “Prudence remembers you, Medium,” Zelda said to Doc. “She would like to show you something if you’ll allow it.”

  “No,” I said, stepping in front of Doc, shielding him from Prudence even though I didn’t know where she was floating.

  “Violet,” he touched my shoulder. “It’s okay.”

  “No, Doc. I told you I can’t handle her doing that puppet thing to you again.” I leaned into him, feeling his warmth at my back, my gaze darting here and there around the room. Where was she hiding, damn it. “Prudence, enough of these games! Show yourself.”

  “Prudence wants the medium to lie down on the couch.” Zelda’s eyes were still closed. “She says he needs to be relaxed for her to continue.”

  “I don’t like this,” I grumbled, wringing my hands together. “Prudence, you better not hurt one hair on his head.”

  Harvey stood and shuffled aside, stuffing the last honeybun in his mouth and then offering Doc his place on the couch. There were crumbs scattered here and there on the leather cushions.

  “Doc, don’t,” I said, grabbing his arm. “I can catch the lidérc without the mirror. We’ll figure out some other way.”

  He set the mirror on the coffee table and took me by the shoulders, his dark eyes holding mine. “Killer, you have to trust Prudence this time.”

  I shook my head. “She’s going to do something that’s going to fuck with your head—and then mine.”

  “Of course she is. That’s why we’re here. Did you think I came along just for the smashed honeybuns?” A small grin crept onto his lips. “Although watching Harvey peel them off your butt was something I won’t forget for a long time.”

  I groaned.

  He chuckled. “Now kiss me and let’s get this over with.”

  I looped my arms around his neck, kissing him good and plenty while keeping my fingers crossed behind his back so that the next time I locked lips with him Prudence didn’t join in the fun and make me lose my mind.

  “Come on, you two,” Cooper snapped barely a second after our lips touched. “Nyce is not going off to war. Enough of this PDA shit.”

  I lowered onto my heels and wrinkled my nose at Doc. “I think Cooper is allergic to romance.”

  He smiled. “Someone better warn Natalie not to waste money on any lingerie.”

  Harvey hooted. “She could make a sexy number out of artillery belts and camouflage.”

  “I’ve seen ladies’ unmentionables with bull’s-eyes on the front and back, depending on your preference,” Cornelius joined in, rising from the couch. When I gaped at him, he gave me one of his crooked smiles. “Don’t forget, I spent many years in Las Vegas. I often think of that delightful town as an exotic human zoo worthy of much study. An anthropological fantasyland, if you will.”

  “Coop can always use more target practice,” Harvey said, snickering. “Last time we went to the range he couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.”

  “That’s a lie, Uncle Willis, and you know it.” Cooper crossed his arms, his face rock solid. “Keep it up, smartasses, and I’ll use you all for target practice instead of therapy when this debacle of Parker’s is over.”

  Which particular debacle was he talking about? I was stacking them up like planes on the runway at LAX.

  I turned back to Doc. “Okay, let’s do this. But don’t let her leave anything behind when she’s done in here.” I tapped his temple. I leaned in and gave him one last peck on the lips. “That’s a good luck kiss from Cooper.”

  Cooper cursed. “Just get your ass on the damned couch, Nyce, and let’s get this freak show started.”

  Without further ado, Doc took his place on the couch. He was a little too long for it, so his feet hung over the armrest.

  “Now what?” I asked Zelda.

  “You are to sit on the table facing him and hold the mirror so you can look into it. But whatever happens, you cannot turn the mirror toward him.”

  I picked up the mirror, pulled the table a few inches closer to the couch, and then took my place at Doc’s side while facing him. My chest felt tight, my breathing shallow, and we hadn’t even started yet.

  In spite of what Doc said, I still didn’t trust Prudence. She’d proven in the past that her sense of humor was warped. I wouldn’t put it past her to do something to Doc, or any one of the other guys, that would knock me on my ass again—literally or not.

  “Ready,” I said, peeking into the mirror. The face looking back was my plain old black-and-blue mug again, thankfully. No dripping blood or hanging flesh to be seen.

  When I looked over at Zelda, she’d opened her eyes, only they were no longer green. Two white orbs stared in my direction. Zelda’s forehead seemed taut, too. Her mouth and cheeks were pulled tight, and the cords in her neck were showing.

  It appeared that Prudence had joined our parlor show after all. Did whatever she was planning to do to Doc require her to have a physical presence? Or did she just want to be here to see this in person—or rather inside a person?

  “Now, Scharfrichter,” Prudence said, opening and closing Zelda’s mouth a couple of times as if oiling her jaw. “Let us see if you can manage not to bungle this as you do everything else.”

  “Your confidence in my abilities is inspiring, Prudence.” I would have liked to whack the uppity Executioner upsi
de the head with my family mirror if only Doc weren’t about to let her into his head and Zelda wasn’t the one who’d take the brunt of my blow.

  Instead, I took a calming breath and stared into those empty white eyes. “Let’s get this shitshow over with.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Once upon a time not so very long ago in a small mountain town known for several bigger than life historical figures like Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and Seth Bullock, there lived a single mom who believed ghosts weren’t real, enchanted mirrors were only found in fairy tales, and love was for suckers.

  Boy howdy, life had sure taken a torpedo and blown those beliefs to smithereens.

  Now, here I sat in a haunted house with a bossy ghost who liked to take her frustrations out on me, a magic mirror possibly full of incredible terrors, and a sexy medium who held my heart in his hands.

  What was next? Little green men in flying saucers? Unicorns with wings? A cyclops named Burt?

  “Constable,” Prudence called to Cooper, bringing me back to the situation at hand—Doc lying on the couch and me cuddling an alchemist’s looking glass. “Move behind Violet so that you can see into the mirror as well.”

  Cooper joined Doc and my floor show, staring at me in the mirror. “I’d better not end up with another black eye from this, Parker.”

  I stuck my tongue out at him.

  He tugged on my hair.

  Some things never changed, whether there were ghosts and imps or not.

  “We’re ready,” I told Prudence while peering at Doc around the side of the mirror. His eyes were closed, his breathing slow and steady. I’d seen him slip into this state several times before the start of a séance. As for me, my chest felt tight and my eyes were on the verge of bugging out, so I tried to mimic Doc and take long, steady breaths. The smell of honeybuns still lingered this close to the couch, as well as Doc’s cologne. Together, they made my mouth water and remember happier times filled with all kinds of sugar.

  “Medium, listen to my words carefully as I lead you along,” Prudence said to Doc. “If you veer from my instructions even slightly during this process, we might not be able to rein you back in after we are finished here.”

  “What do you mean, ‘might not’?” I said to her while frowning at Cooper in the mirror. “This is too dangerous.” To the tall medium with his feet hanging off the end of the couch, I said, “Forget it, Doc. We’ll find another way.”

  I reached toward him.

  Zelda’s hand clamped onto my forearm, her fingernails biting into my skin, her grip bruising.

  I looked over. Her white eyes were inches from my face, her lips pulled back in a fierce snarl. “Do not touch him until he is ready, Scharfrichter, or you might lose him for good. Do you understand?”

  “Yes. Okay.” I pulled back. When she released her hold on me, there were half-moon fingernail marks dug deep into my skin. Two were bleeding a little.

  Jesus, Prudence was intense.

  “Are you ready, Medium?”

  I waited for Doc to nod or reply, but he did neither.

  “Then we shall begin,” she continued, settling back into the chair.

  “He didn’t answer you,” I pointed out.

  “Yes, he did, only he spoke on a level above your abilities.”

  I sighed, keeping my fists to myself. But one of these days … Pow! Right in Prudence’s kisser.

  Cooper’s reflection was grinning at me. He appeared to be enjoying Prudence’s repeated jabs.

  “Let me get this straight,” I said to Prudence. “From here on out, only you will be able to communicate with Doc?” I didn’t like the sound of that one bit.

  “Precisely. Now, if you will stop this filibustering, I will show the medium what he needs to see.”

  “Yeah, Parker, zip it,” Cooper said, laughing under his breath.

  While waiting for Prudence to continue, I pointed my finger at Cooper in our reflection and pretended to shoot him. I glanced over my shoulder at Cornelius and Harvey. Both looked on from their positions bracketing the fireplace. One was stroking his goatee thoughtfully while the other was shaking the crumbs from his beard. Silence settled throughout the room, except for the whirring of air through the heater vents and the crackling fire.

  “Violet.” Prudence’s voice was softer than usual, nicer. It made me antsy. “Take the medium’s hand in yours while holding onto the mirror with your other hand.”

  “I thought you said not to touch him.”

  “I said do not touch him until he is ready. Now he is in a secure place and you can make the connection.”

  I reached for Doc, pulling his hand onto my lap. His fingers were warm, but his grip was lax. She wasn’t joking, he really wasn’t with us at the moment. I tried not to let this disconnect make my pulse pound even harder. Doc had said to trust Prudence, so I would try. For now.

  “Whatever happens next,” Prudence continued, “do not let the medium touch the mirror or its frame. You must keep it away from him, do you understand?”

  Jeez Louise. This was turning into a game of Twister. I put more distance between my hands, and rested the mirror on my left thigh. “Got it.” So long as he didn’t flop completely over and reach for me with his other hand.

  Now, if only I could manage to hold the mirror steady for as long as needed. It wasn’t a huge, heavy frame, but it was no feather either. I adjusted the mirror so I could meet Cooper’s steely gaze again in the glass. Furrows ran along his brow like fence posts. He looked as happy about this paranormal experiment as I felt.

  “Close your eyes.”

  I obeyed Prudence’s command, but my shoulders tensed. If she told me to open my eyes and I saw that bloody face in the mirror again, this show was going to be over lickety-split. It didn’t matter if it was me in the mirror I was seeing or not, that was nightmare fodder right there, and I had enough other hellish candidates to fill my dance card throughout the night.

  “Constable,” she said. “I want you to stare at yourself in the mirror now, but do not look at Violet’s reflection.”

  “Okay,” Cooper said behind me.

  Doc’s arm jerked, making me jump in surprise. His hand almost slipped from my grip. The mirror teetered in my other hand, leaning toward the couch.

  “Hold onto him!” Prudence barked. “And keep that mirror away from the medium!”

  “I’m trying!” I scowled.

  “Do not open your eyes no matter what, Scharfrichter.”

  “I wasn’t going to.”

  God! So many freaking rules. Squeezing my eyes closed even tighter, I gripped Doc’s hand firmly and rebalanced the mirror on my leg.

  “Once again, Constable. Look in the mirror at yourself and conjure the ghost you saw this morning inside of the courthouse.” She paused for a moment, and then asked, “What color were his eyes?”

  My mind whirled in the dark. Cooper saw a ghost? What was he doing at the courthouse on a Sunday morning? How did Prudence know about this? She must have found that nugget when she was reading everyone’s minds earlier. How come she didn’t read mine? Or had she already read it by the time Cornelius started sharing her whispered words? Was I supposed to be focusing on something in particular while I sat here with my eyes closed holding onto Doc and the mirror?

  Doc jerked again, but this time I was ready for it and his jolt wasn’t as strong.

  What was Prudence doing to him? Was he trying to break free of her hold? The last time he was in this house and he’d switched places mentally with her, he’d been lying on the attic floor shuddering like crazy, trying to break free while I tried to wake him. Doc had been worried about getting stuck inside of her mind that last time. Was this couch session any different for him?

  “That is enough, Constable.”

  I heard the floor creak as Cooper stepped back from me. “Can I open my eyes now?”

  “You will not. The procedure is still underway.”

  I shifted, my back muscles aching slightly from sitting
in one position so long. I really needed to start joining Doc at the gym. I knew he liked my “softness,” but if Harvey kept cooking bacon-filled breakfasts for us, I’d be positively doughy in no time.

  “Mr. Harvey, step behind Violet.” I heard footfalls on the carpet, then smelled something sugary—honeybuns. “You will now follow the same instructions as the constable.”

  “What do you want me to think about?”

  “Something that the medium has not witnessed with his own eyes.”

  “Gotcha,” he said, snickering.

  Several seconds passed with Harvey breathing behind me. What was he thinking about? Was Prudence reading his mind? Was Doc? How did this mirror work? Could Doc read my mind, too, right now? Would I want him to read my mind? It probably would be okay, unless I was thinking about plucking and pruning and other body maintenance stuff that I really didn’t want him to witness in any shape or form.

  Doc’s hand started to tremble. I almost opened my eyes to check on him, but then remembered Prudence’s warning.

  I heard his breath fluttering. Was he having trouble breathing? “What’s going on?” I asked, interrupting Harvey’s magic mirror moment.

  “I believe the Tall Medium is laughing,” Cornelius answered.

  Why would Doc be … “Harvey, what are you thinking about?”

  “I’d rather not kiss and tell in front of you ladies.”

  Lord love a duck! “Is Doc going to be scarred for life when he wakes up?”

  “I make no guarantees.” I heard Harvey’s clothes rustle, and then a snapping sound—which I knew was one of his suspenders.

  “That is enough, Mr. Harvey.”

  “Are we finished here, Prudence?” I asked, shifting again to give my tailbone a break. The coffee table wasn’t getting any softer.

  “One more,” she answered. “Now, Mr. Curious, take off that silly hat and look in the mirror.”

  She must mean Cornelius. “His last name is Curion,” I corrected the know-it-all.

  “I know the Collector’s name, Scharfrichter.”