Free Satan's Mirror by Roxanne Smolen Page B

He…disappeared.”
    “What? What happened?”
    She balled a fist in her hair, unable to answer.
    “Emily! What did you see?”
    She looked across at the video. What had she seen? “I don’t know. I’m not sure anymore.”
    “Where are you?”
    “Saint Augustine police station. They have me on trespassing charges.”
    “All right,” Ross said. “I’ll handle everything. I want you on the first flight back.”
    A harsh mix of emotion swamped her—relief, gratitude, guilt. “But I can’t. I can’t leave him.”
    “I told you I’d take care of it. I want you home.”
     

TEN
     
     
    Emily’s eyes watered in the bright, morning sunlight as she stepped out of the police station. While Ross and the lawyers worked their long distance magic to set her free, she managed to get a couple hours of troubled sleep in the holding pen. This lack of rest mixed with the horror of the night before caused her head to throb and her stomach to twist. She tried not to think of Dan, but his absence was like a dull ache that wouldn’t go away.
    True to his word, Officer Harris returned her backpack along with Dan’s camera and camcorder. The police then booted her out the front door without the courtesy of calling a cab or allowing her the use of a phone book. Emily thought this was harassment, but she was too tired to argue. Now she stood at the corner, feeling dazed and fighting to gather her thoughts.
    A police cruiser pulled before her, and Officer Harris leaned across the front seat to open the passenger door. “Hop in. I’ll drive you to your van.”
    She dragged the backpack off her shoulders and slid into the car. “I thought it was against policy to assist troublemakers.”
    “It is,” he said, smiling, “but I figure, hey, I’m off-duty, heading home. It wouldn’t hurt to give you a lift.”
    “That’s not what the others said.”
    “Well, the others are convinced you’re running a scam.”
    “What do you think?”
    He hesitated. “I don’t believe it is possible for anyone to vanish into thin air. However, it is possible to make it appear they did. Magicians do that sort of thing all the time.”
    “You’re telling me it was a magic trick?”
    “I’m saying you didn’t see what you thought you saw. And, clearly, there was someone else in that house with you.”
    She blew out a breath, leaning back against the headrest, watching buildings and trees glide by. “Can I ask you something? Saint Augustine may be small but it’s a city nonetheless. A lot of people live here.”
    “More all the time.”
    “Then how is it that when I mentioned Vanessa, you knew who I was talking about? It doesn’t make sense that everyone should know her.”
    He put on his turn signal and completed a turn before answering. “Vanessa is active in the Preservation Society, and has been a political thorn in the mayor’s side on more than one occasion. But that’s not how I know her.” He glanced at Emily. “This is off the record, right?”
    “Of course.”
    “There’s been an upswing in disappearances the past five or six years. I mean, we’ve always had some, but lately—” He shook his head. “Most were drifters or homeless people. One was a high school kid who was into the occult. Then there was old Grimley, whose wife had just died. He owned the house next to the one where you were found. They vanished without a trace. Cases never closed. All of them with one thing in common—each had seen Vanessa the week they disappeared.”
    “You’re kidding,” Emily said. “She’s been under investigation before?”
    “Many times. Always comes out clean. I know she’s involved somehow. A gut feeling, you know? But I can never prove it.”
    Emily looked away. Tears burned her eyes. She’d also had a gut feeling—and look what happened to Dan. “Vanessa owns that house now. The one next door. She said Joey told her to buy it.”
    “I’ll be on the lookout for Joey Mastrianni, thanks to you. It’s a good