Page 28 of Signs and Wonders

Evan could see Drake’s frustration and didn’t blame the agent. On a much smaller scale, he had dealt with employers who demanded workers turn a blind eye to fraud and theft, and he knew how much it rankled to stand by and do nothing.

“Were any of the things you saw in your visions tied into this stuff?” Evan asked, always curious about how people’s abilities worked.

Drake nodded. “I saw faces and matched them to missing persons reports. And then I saw a person change into someone else.”

Evan’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it and thumbed the notice off. “Just Tyler checking in. So far, nothing unusual.”

“How is the Hub connected to Swain?” Seth asked, returning his attention to Drake.

“Through several trusts and shell companies,” Drake replied. “Someone definitely wanted to make the link difficult to find.”

Seth and Evan exchanged a glance. “Interesting,” Seth said. “This isn’t the first time we’ve found the coven members involved in online crime. We helped bust a trafficking and relics theft ring a while ago when we were in South Carolina. I’m not surprised the witch disciples have more than one iron in the fire.”

“I know people can do a lot with computers and artificial intelligence to make fake stuff look real,” Drake said. “But I think there’s even more going on.”

“Like what?” Travis asked.

“Doppelgangers. I know it sounds crazy—”

“Not so much,” Seth replied.

“I think the Hub is big into cybercrime, but I also think it’s connected to other bad shit that’s going on,” Drake continued, seeming relieved to find people who believed him. “Once I saw the cases about online fraud, I started looking into other complaints. People reported having a personwho looked just like themshow up at the bank and take money out of their account, or sign a lease or hold someone up at gunpoint.”

“And you believe them?” Evan’s thoughts swirled, coming up with several ways those reports could be true.

“Yes. In each case, the person who supposedly committed the crime had an iron-clad alibi,” Drake told them. “Video proof, witnesses—in some cases, people who were at offices where signing in requires biometrics. That was enough to get the case dropped, but it didn’t change the fact thatsomeonewho committed the crimes looked like those people. Which is where I think my vision gives us a clue.”

“Was there anything the people who were impersonated had in common?” Evan asked.

“They were all people in local positions of authority,” Drake replied. “Even though the cases were dropped, the coverage damaged their reputations, so they had to leave their jobs. It made me wonder if there were other cases that weren’t reported because the goal was blackmail.”

“Do you have a theory about what really happened?” Seth asked.

Drake glanced to Brent, who gave a nod. “Brent told me that you know about the stuff that isn’t supposed to be real. I think that someone recruited shapeshifters for the scams.” He tossed out his scenario and looked like he was bracing himself for ridicule.

Evan had seen more than one movie based on the urban legend that lizard people from outer space could impersonate world leaders, even the king of England. Given the present circumstances, those wild scripts didn’t seem as funny as before.

“Tyler saw something up at the lodge that sounds a whole lot like a shapeshifter,” Seth said. “So your theory isn’t as far-fetched as it might seem.”

“If someone had a group of creatures who could perfectly impersonate people in positions of power, there’s an endless opportunity for chaos,” Evan said. “Why stop with blackmail? Just remove the real person and substitute the doppelganger. That would destabilize everything.”

“I think you’re onto something,” Travis cut in. “And shapeshifters aren’t the only creatures that can mimic voices or appearance. Crocottas, wendigos, and kitsune can do it. There are ways to catch them, but it requires looking for them in the first place—and that takes believing that creatures like those exist.”

Drake sighed in relief. “Thank God, you believe me. There wasn’t anyone else I could talk to, no one local I trusted. Then I remembered hearing that Brent survived an attack in the army under some strange conditions, and I reached out.”

Evan knew a little about Brent’s story. His family and twin brother, Danny, had been slaughtered while he was away at football camp as a teenager, an attack the police chalked up to gang members but which Brent believed to be demonic. During his time in Iraq, his team had been pinned down in a village by supernatural forces, and only Brent’s knowledge of how to fight demons and evil spirits based on video games enabled him to save his soldiers. Everyone else died bloody.

“Travis, Seth, and I are going back for another look at the old campground,” Evan told Drake. “We think that Swain might have hidden something there that he’ll need before he can make the next big move. If we can retrieve it first, that might help save lives.”

“Not to mention the restless ghosts and the creepy shadow thing that went after us,” Seth said. “We’re hoping Travis can help with those.”

“In the meantime, I’d like to look closer at the Hub,” Brent said. “We might not always play by the rules. Are you in?”

“Following the rules hasn’t gotten me anywhere, so yeah, count me in. I’m done with this job and the Bureau after this—although I’d really like to stay out of prison,” Drake replied.

* * *

Drake and Brentagreed to stay behind and dig deeper into research while Seth, Travis, and Evan headed back to Camp Morning Glory. On the way, Travis called another hacker friend, Teag Logan, whose Weaver magic supercharged his computer skills. Travis recounted the newest updates, including what they had just learned from Drake about the Hub, and Teag promised to have a look.

---