Page 25 of More Than Meets the Eye

“I have no idea.” But then he aimed a narrow-eyed stare at Mrs. Frost, who beamed beatifically back at him.

Somethingwas going on, for sure. But I didn’t have the brain capacity for minor stuff. I had a magic mirror to figure out, and I knew just the guy to help me do it.

When services were over, we thanked Pastor Nash, a nice guy who never made me feel bad about my horrible singing. Then we chatted with Uncle Mike and Aunt Ruby for a few minutes, since we’d arrived too late to sit by them. When Shelley raced out of Sunday School, she ran over to Jack and grabbed his hand.

“Did you ask her yet?” She whispered loudly.

Jack groaned and walked off toward the parking lot, pulling my new sister along with him.

“What was that about? And why was everybody giving Jack weird looks in church?”

Aunt Ruby gave me a shocked look. “Tess Callahan! How am I supposed to know everything that goes on in this town?”

Uncle Mike and I exchanged wry glances. She was supposed to know everything because she always had, even before the town elected her as mayor.

“How’s the plumbing?” Uncle Mike asked, probably to change the subject before we had to listen to Aunt Ruby tell us mayor stuff. I loved my aunt, but town politics bored the stuffing out of me. She hadn’t said a word about Quark, so Susan must not have reported it yet.

Icertainly wasn’t going to tell her.

“Plumbing’s fine, but I’m having an issue with the electric,” I told my uncle, allowing his distraction to work because I really had been having an electrical issue. “The breaker for the kitchen keeps going off if I try to use the mixer and another small appliance at the same time. Maybe the circuit breaker can’t carry the load. Jack’s not good with electrical stuff, and neither am I.”

He held up a hand and flashed a grin. “Say no more. The boy can’t help it if he’s not as good at me at, well, pretty much everything. Do you have frayed wires? Do the outlets feel hot? Any sparking or burning smells?”

I shook my head. “No, Uncle Mike, I know the danger signs. You taught me enough when I was growing up. Still, something’s up.”

Suddenly, I realized I didn’t want him coming out to my house until the situation with NACOS and Quark was resolved. “Maybe you can stop by … sometime next week.”

“Why not today?”

“Oh, I’m busy with a new item at the shop today, and I want to be home to learn when you fix it, so I know what to look for next time.” I kissed his cheek and hugged Aunt Ruby, and we said our goodbyes just as Jack and Shelley returned.

“Lunch?” Jack asked as we drove out of the church parking lot.

“No, we just ate breakfast,” I said absently, texting. “Okay, great! We need to go to the shop.”

“Why? It’s Sunday.”

“Because Phin’s going to help us figure out what to do about that magic mirror.”

Turned out, Phin didn’t have a clue, either, but he was willing to help.

After church, we stopped by Jack’s house to get his truck and then went to the shop, where Phin was waiting for us. Phineas Hunter went to high school with me. After graduation, he moved away, went to art school and vet tech school, and now he was home in Dead End, working at our new vet clinic and doing art on the side. He’d always been fascinated with old mirrors and magic, so I hoped he’d have thoughts.

“I have no thoughts.” He stared down at the cloudy mirror, his warm brown eyes serious. “Are you sure there’s a person in there?”

“Well, no,” I said, frustrated. “I’m sure there’ssomethingin there. Jack saw him, too. But is it a magical construct? A function of an ancient spell? Or a real person who somehow got trapped inside the mirror?”

“You could have just asked me, girlie,” the mirror shouted at me.

Actually,Horatioshouted at me, as we saw when he stomped forward from wherever he went.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy, and I meant to?—”

“You meant to,” he sneered. “People alwaysmeanto help, and then they?—”

“Somebody killed a man at her house last night,” Jack said flatly. “Maybe give her a break, or I’ll go get that hammer.”

Horatio’s eyes widened, and then I saw what looked like regret in his eyes. That might just have been the cloudiness of the mirror, though.

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