The Diablo Ouija (A Haward Mysteries Short Story)

Part 1: More Information

Theo looked up at the shop-front: last time he had seen it, the place had been a wreck. Now a sign proudly told him, 'Esoteric Books', and warm, orange light spilled out into the dark October night from between rows and rows of shelves within.

"DCI Swanson, bane of the criminal underworld, interrogator extraordinaire, bought a book shop?" Remy asked as he stopped beside Theo on the pavement.

His twin's incredulity was not a surprise to Theo, since this had been a secret he had promised Bill Swanson he would keep.

"Not a word to the rest of the squad," Theo decided to repeat the oath he had extracted from Remy before he had shown him a picture of it on his phone for the Fade.

"Cross my heart," Remy rolled his eyes and smirked when Theo tried to fix him with a big-brother look.

More or less satisfied that his ex-partner's secret was safe with his twin, Theo crossed the wide, London pavement towards the door, that, even at 6pm, was showing 'Open'. He was forced to step back when the door was pulled inwards and two young women dressed head to toe in black and purple practically fell through the entrance, each holding a brown paper bag and giggling a little nervously. They paused and gave Theo an up and down look, which made him wish he's taken the time to fade home and change.

"Nice costume," one of them decided.

Theo smiled awkwardly, glad that the girls didn't know the guy in the poet-shirt and breeches was a police officer on duty.

"Ladies," Remy greeted them with none of Theo's reticence, leaning half over Theo's back and left shoulder.

The girls' eyes widened and Theo knew they were admiring the glamour Remy was wearing.

"OO, teeth and sparkles, you can both come to our party if you like," the more forward of the two girls invited and made eyes mainly at Remy.

"Thank you, but we're expected elsewhere," Theo answered quickly before Remy could reply.

The young woman pouted her black-stained lips, took her friend's hand and, looking them up and down once more, replied, "Pity."

Then, with one last smile at Remy, she led her companion off down the street. Remy remained lounging over Theo's back and when Theo glanced at him, his brother's mouth was hanging open so he could just see the tips of the fangs Remy had lengthened for the night.

"Unless you want Swanson to laugh you out of his shop, drop the glittering," Theo shrugged Remy off him and took hold of the door handle.

Pushing inwards, he was followed by the tinkle of a bell and, "Oh, and I suppose he's going to be fine with your ghostly Byron impression is he?"

Theo ignored the quip and felt Remy's magic shrug off the glamour as Remy shadowed him into the shop. As soon as he was inside, the musty scent of old books hit Theo, reminding him of the library back at Blackwood and he sensed magic permeating the shelves here as well. There was a desk piled with books and what Theo thought was an old-fashioned, manual cash register somewhere underneath the varied collection of old and new tomes, but the chair behind it was empty. A much more ordinary-looking, red-headed young woman than the costumed two who had just left was sitting behind a computer, half hidden behind one of the bookshelves on the other side of the room, but she did not look up from whatever task she was on.

"The Prof will be with you in a moment," she told them, eyes on her screen.

"Prof – are we in the right place?" Remy murmured into Theo's ear.

Theo didn't bother to reply. They didn't have long to wait, although the man who strode towards them from the back of the shop was not the forever suited and booted DCI Swanson who had shown Theo the ropes in the SeCT Murder Squad. The figure had Swanson's face, which was at that moment, looking down at an open book, but where there had once been a buzz-cut, long, grey hair fell around the man's engrossed expression, and contacts had been replaced by half-moon spectacles. Coupled with a pair of rather worn old brown cords and a fading T-shirt sporting the monolith of an owl, the whole impression went much more with the title the girl had given Theo's ex-mentor than any memory Theo had of the man. The change left him shocked and Theo couldn't help himself, he was staring when Swanson walked blindly up to him and finally looked up.