Satan's Mirror Read Online Free PDF Page A

seventy-six, thank you very much.”
    “You should try out again. You’re good enough.”
    “I’ll stick to recreation. Do you have any room for me?”
    “Sure. It’s been quiet this morning.” He checked a chart. “Why don’t you take lucky seven?”
    Emily grabbed a paper target from the counter and stepped out the back door to the range. Clive wasn’t joking when he said it was a quiet morning—she was the only person on the field.
    She pinned her target face to a straw mat at 240 feet. The target rings were gold, red, blue, black, and white, with ten points for gold down to one point for white. She remembered target practice as a kid—Grandfather would think of a number, and it was up to her to score the right amount of points.
    She walked back to the seventh slot and assembled her bow. The ends of a recurved bent away from the archer in a gentle S shape, making it easy to string. The shape also gave extra spring to power the arrows.
    A deep breath helped calm her mind. That was what she loved about archery—you had to concentrate so fully on the target, you couldn’t allow daily worries to intrude.
    She took her stance, drew the bow, and let the arrow fly. It was a good shot, perhaps even a bull’s eye. Emily smiled, thinking that maybe she should try out again for the Olympic team.
    The ring of her cell phone broke her thoughts. Emily cursed and, for a moment, considered not answering. She checked the number—it was Ross Devine. “Hey, boss,” she said into the phone, “you can’t possibly be ready for my voice-over yet.”
    “I’m not. I have another assignment for you.”
    “What? No, no, I just got home.”
    “Sorry. This can’t wait,” Ross said. “There have been disappearances. I want you to follow up while they’re still fresh.”
    “Recent? That means I won’t have any police support. They’ll think I’m mucking up their turf.”
    “They might not mind so much. Rumor has it there is sorcery involved.”
    “We’ve already done a piece on Wiccans.” She shook her head. “We should leave them alone for a while.”
    “This isn’t Wiccan. It’s haunted houses, devil worship, and something called Satan’s Mirror. You need to get down there.”
    “Where?”
    “Saint Augustine, Florida.”
    She groaned. Florida in September would be stifling. “Set me up for tomorrow morning.”
    “Today.”
    “I’m not going today. I have plans that can’t be broken.”
    “All right, then. In the morning. Good hunting, Em.”
    Emily hung up the phone thinking about what her daughter said in the cab— don’t go when Uncle Ross calls.
     

FOUR
     
     
    Emily drove the rented van down Avenida Menendez beside the Saint Augustine Municipal Marina. The Intracoastal Waterway shone bright blue in the morning sun, decorated with white sails and masts. She, Dan, and his camera equipment had arrived at Daytona Beach International Airport an hour before. The drive north gave her a chance to acquaint herself with the area.
    “It’s beautiful here,” she said with more of a sigh than she’d intended.
    “Hot.” Dan scowled, adjusting the air conditioning vents. His hair blew with the force of the fan.
    She smirked, shaking her head. “I think I’ll stop here for gas.”
    “We have plenty.”
    “I know.”
    She pulled onto a cracked driveway and parked the van beside a pump with a Pay Inside First sign. Moist air and birdsong flooded the van as she opened the door. With a groan, Dan followed her out.
    Lotto posters dotted the windows of the small building. On either corner, wilted impatiens in barrels begged for water. Bells clanged as she pushed open the heavy door and entered a cramped room. A paunchy man in stained overalls looked up from his crossword puzzle.
    Emily smiled. “I’d like five dollars on pump number three, please.”
    His eyes darted from her to Dan, who stood at a display of brochures. “Regular or premium?”
    “Regular.”
    “Five dollars won’t get you far,