The Girl with the Uninvited Ghost: Pandemonium Cozy Mystery #1

Chapter 7

A few minutes later, Mahogany parked her Vespa outside Hot Brews, Pandemonium's best café.

"This is cute," Guy said, joining Mahogany on the wide sidewalk in front of the cafe. "Magic Mike didn't let me out much while we were here."

"How long were you in town?" Mahogany asked, pulling Bazgul from her head and placing him on her shoulder. He loved nesting in her hair right after a wash.

"About a month," Guy said.

"Did he ever mention why he'd brought you all the way here from Ohio?" Mahogany headed for the cafe's glass door.

"No, he was pretty tight-lipped about everything," Guy said, floating after her.

As they entered the cafe, Guy's mouth dropped open. Uniformed police officers occupied nearly every table. "Why is this place filled with cops?" he whispered out of the side of his mouth.

Mahogany ignored him and got in line behind several more officers. The last one in line glanced over his shoulder and offered Mahogany a smile, which died on his lips as his gaze fell on Bazgul. The officer blanched and stepped around his compatriots, placing space between himself and the lunatic with the giant spider perched on her shoulder.

"Good morning, Mahogany, Bazzy," said the beautiful blond woman behind the counter. "Long time no see. What can I get you?"

"A chocolate croissant and a strawberry smoothie would be great, Evelina," Mahogany said, cringing inward at Evelina's nickname for Bazgul.

"My pleasure," Evelina said. She moved behind the counter with the grace of a prima ballerina. Each lock of her golden hair gleamed like spun gold. Her dewy complexion appeared ageless -- no scar, fine line, or flaw of any kind could be discerned. Her willowy frame appeared as if a strong wind might blow her over, yet she hefted the thick glass blender as if it were featherlight.

"Is that for here or to go?" Evelina said. Her hand poised to pour the smoothie into a pint glass.

"Better make it to go," Mahogany said. "I've got business elsewhere."

As Evelina placed the order on the counter, Mahogany cleared her throat. "Heard any gossip about the police station recently?"

Evelina eyed Mahogany, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised. "What kind of gossip."

Mahogany peered around at the uninformed patrons. "Oh, I don't know. This place is packed with cops. Have any of them mentioned anything about the station?"

Evelina raised her other eyebrow. She grabbed a mint from a dish on the counter and offered it to Bazgul. The demon spider took the striped candy in his mandibles with the gentleness of a flower fairy depositing dew on gossamer.

Mahogany sighed. "Did you hear about the wizard getting stabbed the other night?" She took a sip of her smoothie, her taste buds singing.

"I heard that there was a murder the other night. How it happened wasn't mentioned. How do you know the victim was stabbed?" Evelina leaned her elbows on the counter and rested her pointy chin on her manicured hands.

Mahogany glanced around, making sure no one was in earshot. "I was there. I got a message that a wizard had died, so I headed over, and it turned out he was murdered. Then the cops arrived." Mahogany said. She pulled the chocolate croissant from its white paper baggy and took a bite. Mahogany's mouth flooded with joy. No wonder this place was always packed.

"What about me?" Guy whined. "Someone murdered me too."

"Jeez, Mahogany. Are you all right?" Evelina said, her rosy cheeks fading to a less radiant shade of pink.

"I know, but you're not what's important," Mahogany said to Guy. To Evelina, she said, "I'm fine."

"Who are you talking to?" Evelina asked, peering over the counter at the floor. "Do you have an imp with you?"

"The ghost of the murdered wizard's apprentice," Mahogany said, rolling her eyes in the direction of Guy.

Evelina threw back her head and laughed, exposing her beautiful, swan-like neck. "Oh. Man. That's perfect. What's their name? Are they cute?"

Mahogany ignored Evelina's questions. "I need to get into the evidence locker. I'm pretty sure that the last magical relic I need is in there."

Despite pressing her bow-shaped lips together, a hiccup of laughter escaped Evelina. "Well, I did happen to overhear that a pipe burst in the station near the evidence locker and that they had to leave the windows open and get some of those large dehumidifiers to dry the place out. Maybe you could get in that way."

"Whoa. That's a lot of information to glean off customers," Guy commented, assessing Evelina's princess-like exterior with new respect.

Mahogany counted to ten in her head. "She's Fae. When humans eat something prepared by a Fae, they can't help but talk. It's like truth serum," she said to Guy. Mahogany turned back to Evelina. "That sounds perfect. Do you have any idea where the evidence locker is?"

"Sorry, no." Evelina turned to welcome a new customer. "Welcome to Hot Brews. What can I craft for you?"

They placed their order and took a seat at an empty table to wait.

"Oh, how much do I owe you?" Mahogany grabbed her coin purse.

"After that story? It's on the house." Evelina waved away Mahogany's money.

Mahogany raised her smoothie in thanks and turned to leave.

"Oh, Mahogany, one more thing," Evelina said. "Watch out for Detective Sawyer. She's the new homicide detective. She just transferred from Southern California. You're going to want to stay off her radar."

"Thanks again," Mahogany said and headed for the door. As she did, she bumped into a tall young man distracted by his phone. Her smoothie slipped from her hand, and the man caught it easily before it hit the tiled floor.

"I'm so sorry," he said, handing her the plastic cup. "Are you all right?"

Mahogany stared into the man's deep hazel eyes and found herself getting lost in them. In her ear, Bazgul chattered. The man's gaze lit on Bazgul, and he smiled. Mahogany regained her voice. "Yeah, sorry," and skirted around him and out the cafe door.

Once outside, Mahogany gazed across the street at the large, formidable building. The police station had once been a hotel for the new residents of Pandemonium as they fled persecution. Many towns like Pandemonium emerged across the New World as witches and their ilk were imprisoned, banished, and executed for signing covenants with Lucifer. Little did humans know that Lucifer hadn't the slightest interest in the goings-on of magical Folk. He was much more interested in toying with humans.

"Oh, so that's why the place is crawling with cops." Guy looked from the police station to the cafe. "That makes sense."

"Detective Sawyer," called a young plain-clothed man. He jogged down the station's steps to meet a tall woman with dark curly hair exiting a royal blue Charger.

Mahogany studied Detective Sawyer. Unlike female detectives on television running to tackle perps in stilettos, Detective Sawyer wore sneakers with her sharply ironed work trousers. Immediately, Mahogany respected Sawyer for her sensible footwear. She gave her beloved turquoise boots a gentle dust before crossing the street.

"So, how are we going to find the evidence locker?" Guy said as they casually walked up the street along the side of the station.

Low awning windows lined the building at street level. Two-foot-deep window wells surrounded each window, covered by metal grating designed to keep out vermin and, on this particular occasion, Mahogany.

Mahogany pulled her phone from her pocket and pretended to answer a text as she glanced past the phone to the window grates. "There's no way for me to get in there. It'll have to be you two," Mahogany said, her mouth barely moving. "Guy, I need you to pop inside and see what's in each room."

"Oh, I see," Guy said. He stepped up to the grate, sank through to the room below, and reemerged a few seconds later.

"It's filled with filing cabinets."

They moved to the next window, which contained an empty office. The one after that was a break-room.

"Last one on this side," Mahogany said, still pretending to play with her phone. They had reached the back corner of the building. An alley separated the station from the next building on the block.

Guy disappeared through the grate and returned moments later. "This is it!" Guy raised his hand for a high five. Mahogany frowned and rolled her eyes.

"Right. I'm not solid. OK, boss, what's the plan?"

"Locate Magic Mike's evidence box and lead Bazgul to it with the port-o-hole," Mahogany said.

Guy frowned. "Poor Bazgul. He never learned to read? What a shame."

"Move. Let's get this over with before we attract attention," Mahogany said.

At that moment, a woman carrying a baby stopped to stare briefly at the strange fuchsia-haired girl standing in the alley with a giant spider perched on her shoulder. She gripped the child to her chest and hurried up the street.

Guy nodded and disappeared into the evidence locker. A few minutes later, he floated back through the wall.

"What took you so long? Did you find it?" Mahogany's impatient energy flushed her dark cheeks.

"Sorry. I found my box next to Magic Mike's." Only then did Mahogany notice that Guy's cheerful disposition had darkened.

"I'm sorry. This can't be easy." A pit of empathy knotted in Mahogany's stomach.

Guy nodded. "The box is in the middle row, bottom shelf. The only box without water damage."

Mahogany relayed the directions to Bazgul. "Do you understand?"

In response, Bazgul began to shimmer, his body becoming translucent until it dissipated into a red-brown mist. The demon mist rose from Mahogany's shoulder and traveled through the grate, where he rematerialized on the other side. Mahogany crouched and passed a small black fabric-like object through the grate. Bazgul took the scrape in his mandibles and crawled through the window.

"I was murdered early in my training and didn't learn much about demons. Why a spider?" Guy asked while they waited for Bazgul to return.

"Bazgul is a lesser demon and can take the shape of most small animals," Mahogany said, pretending to be on a phone call. "Spiders are his favorite because it freaks out humans."

"And what about being attached to a human? Demons don't usually do that unless they possess them."

Mahogany shrugged. "Bazgul came to me when I was a baby. At least that's the story Neema tells me. She came to get me from my crib one day, and a large tarantula was snuggling with me. He's been by my side ever since."

The tinkling of Bazgul's claws on the window glass ended their conversation.

"Let's see what's in the box," Mahogany said.

_____

A/N: Well, that was a creative means of sneaking into the police station. Good thing Mahogany has magic on her side.

I've dedicated this chapter to my friend and writing pal, Sarel303, whose book, A Touch of Magic, is a beautiful coming-of-age fantasy with a touch of romance.