Read Online Black Magic Shadows by Gayla Drummond - Free Book Online Page B

circled to my left. "Does the change in height mean something?"
    "I have no idea."
    "Hm." He waved his hand above and below my finger. "I don't feel anything."
    "Me neither." I kind of hated cases like this one, which looked as though it'd take weeks to solve. My longest-running case had taken almost four months, and had also involved a stolen item.
    The problem was, the return of magic and supes had made crime-solving much more difficult. It was hard to determine motive when you didn't know if the culprit was human. Throw in the use of magic or beyond-human abilities, and it could be downright impossible to figure out whodunit.
    Unless you had an edge, like us. But our "edges" didn't guarantee anything, as our current situation illustrated.
    "Frustrating." Dane glared at the tip of my finger. "I don't know what we do next."
    Dropping my hand to my side, I grinned. "Yes, you do. Let's go back to the car."
    "Argh, time for 'what do we know'."
    "Yep."
    Once in my car, he began. "We know a magic mirror was stolen from the museum. We know who owns the mirror. We know the mirror was transported by shadows."
    He fell silent while I started my car and pulled out of the parking lot. Once I'd merged with traffic, I prompted him. "And?"
    "We know only a being with powerful magic can manipulate shadows. Which means our suspects are elves, demons, or gods."
    I nodded. "Give me a motive for each type."
    Dane thought about it for a few minutes. "Elves, well, it's a magic mirror. They collect magical artifacts. Could be power greed or collector's jealousy. Maybe even a personal vendetta against Celadine, because of elvish politics or something."
    "Okay. Next?"
    "Gods. No clue. Gods can do almost anything, so I can't think of a reason one would need to steal a magical artifact. Except to take it out of play or put it into play."
    I glanced at him, and could feel my brow wrinkling. "What?"
    "If Celadine was using the mirror, or maybe because she allowed humans access to it, a god may have decided to put a stop to it." Dane grinned. "Or, it wasn't being used and a god decided it should be, so took it and gave the mirror to someone who would use it."
    "Huh, okay. Why would a god decide to do that?"
    "Mischief? A reward to a devotee? I don't know. Gods are weird."
    "Yeah." As though I didn't know that, having been used as a vessel by two. Their exit method had left a lot to be desired. "Okay, that leaves demons."
    He shrugged. "Again, magic mirror. Demons could have a use for it."
    A use we probably wouldn't like, but no need to say that. "You're lead. What's the next step?"
    "Try to determine which suspect type is most likely? But I don't know how."
    Cruising down the highway toward home, I tried to recall what I knew about the mirror. "In the story, the mirror only spoke truth, but it could tell the Evil Queen where Snow White was."
    Dane snorted. "But that's a story, not real life. And the lady at the museum said the mirror talked a lot."
    "Thorandryll told me the spirit in the mirror was put there by a god," I said, remembering.
    "Well, maybe the same god took it back to release the spirit. Prison sentence over."
    My turn to snort. "Possible, but is that plausible?"
    "No clue."
    "At least we have some angles to think about now. Good job, partner." I tossed him a smile, which Dane returned.

    W e needed more clues to advance on the case, and none appeared forthcoming. Once home, Dane decided to stick around for a while, so we played with the dogs to enjoy the weak afternoon sun.
    Leglin joined Bone and Dane in a rousing game of fetch. Diablo watched, but didn't play. I needed to catch my breath from the laughter and romping, so I joined him and the Chihuahuas on the porch.
    Squishy and Speck squabbled over the tug-o-war rope toy I was sliding across the floor for them.
    " Mine ."
    " Mine ." Speck growled, slapping at her with his tiny paw. Ears perked to the point that the tips met, she bounced at him, forcing him away from the toy.
    Then they