Chapter 9
Shaken by the death of her informant, Olivia wandered away from the others to search for more clues leading to the perpetrator. Seeing Lee's body with that charred hole in his chest had taken her off guard. The man may have been dishonest, but she still liked him. Lee had been a witty and sharp man who provided a great deal of helpful information over the years.
What really shocked her was the nature of Lee's death. No normal human being or machine – to her knowledge – could have created that charred hole. The other body – identified by Darryl as one Jon Linderman – possessed a large stab wound in the heart. Which struck Olivia as normal. But that hole in Lee's chest! Who . . . or what had created . . .?
"Hey!" a female's voice hissed. "Olivia!"
The witch whirled around and drew her pistol in one smooth movement. She aimed it at a second figure, who turned out to be . . . her. What the hell?
The doppelganger continued, "Listen, I realize that this must seem odd . . ."
Using her telekinesis, Olivia sent the double flying toward the nearest wall, where she kept the latter pressed against it. "Who in the hell are you?" Olivia demanded in a harsh voice.
"I'm . . . Olivia. Olivia . . . McNeill," the doppelganger gasped.
Olivia shot back, "Wrong answer!"
"I'm still single!" the other woman cried. "I haven't married Cole, yet!"
A suspicion that this woman might not be a shapeshifter, niggled in the back of Olivia's mind. But she kept the other woman elevated above the ground. Olivia shot back, "Okay, so you're lacking a wedding ring. What are you doing with my face?"
The doppelganger continued, "My name is Olivia Jocelin McNeill. I come from an alternate dimension." She added sardonically, before Olivia could protest, "Please don't tell me that you know nothing about alternate dimensions or you have no idea of what it means."
That sardonic tone struck a very familiar chord within Olivia. Not surprising, since she has heard it numerous times over the years . . . coming from her own mouth. Just to be sure, she said, "Okay. If you are whom you say you are, tell me something . . . about ourselves."
The woman sighed. "Okay. Both of us were born on March 31, 1971. We had graduated from Baker High at the age of seventeen in 1988. Four years later, we received our Bachelor's degree in Law from Stanford University. Another two years after that, we received our Master's . . ."
Again, Olivia used her telekinesis to lift the woman even. "Sorry, but you need to be a lot more original than that."
Panic crept into the woman's voice. "Okay! Okay! Near the end of your sophomore year in high school, this girl named Prue Halliwell had talked the Drama teacher into passing you over for the lead in a school play for a friend of hers. You retaliated by casting a spell on her. Well, on her teeth, actually. Which is why she wore braces up to the first half of our senior year."
"And what else?" Olivia demanded.
With a sigh, the doppelganger added, "I . . . or perhaps we had to pay for Prue's braces from our trust fund. And about a day or two ago, Cole . . . well, my Cole had told me that I have a freckle shaped like Australia on my left boob. Right above the . . ."
". . . nipple," Olivia finished in a whisper. Now that definitely sounded familiar. "Oh my God! You really are me!" She finally lowered the other Olivia to the ground. "What are you doing here?"
The other redhead gravely replied, "To warn you. I believe that someone is here to grab the Aingeal staff. Your staff."
Olivia shook her head. "Wait a minute. That would mean this person who is after the staff is a McNeill or a descendant of the wizard Niaghallas." She paused and stared at the doppelganger. "One of our cousins is after the staff? Who?"
"Dear Cousin Fiona," the doppelganger replied. She referred to one of Olivia's cousins, with whom she had to compete in a ceremony for possession of the Aingeal staff, last summer. Fiona, who came close to becoming the staff's new bearer had not been pleased when Olivia finally acquired the honor.
Shaking her head, Olivia replied, "Are you speaking of Cousin Fiona . . . from this dimension?"
"No, she's from another dimension," the other Olivia replied. "A third dimension. She's certainly not from mine. Somehow, she must have been denied possession of the staff and wants any other version she can get her hands on."
An idea came to Olivia. "But in order for her to get the staff . . . she would have to kill us. Kill any version of Olivia. Is it possible . . .?"
"That she killed the Olivia from her dimension?" The doppelganger hesitated. She glanced away, as if unwilling to answer the question. Her reaction told Olivia all she needed to know.
"Oh Goddess! You mean to say that there is a third version of Olivia who's dead?"
The doppelganger said, "The family in her dimension must have denied her possession of the staff. It's not the first time it's happened. This Fiona tried to kill me in my dimension, but she failed."
"Wonderful!" Olivia retorted. "Anything else? How did you know that this third Fiona is in this dimension?"
The other redhead spoke of a dominion duke who had appeared before her, following Fiona McNeill Craig's arrival. "He gave me this." She held up an amulet with strange carvings on its sides. "This enables me to travel from one dimension to another. Of course, for this dimension, I had to enter via a specific spot."
Olivia continued to eye the amulet. "Interesting. That amulet looks familiar to me. But I don't recall from where." She glanced at her doppelganger. "What do you need me for?"
"To help find Fiona. To make sure that your staff is safe . . . and that it remains safe."
After a quick glance over her shoulder, Olivia replied, "Okay. I'll help you just as soon as I deal with this homicide." She paused, as an idea came to her. "Do you know anything about this?"
The doppelganger regarded her with confused eyes. "Know anything about what?"
"The two bodies in the other alley," Olivia said in a hard voice. "One of them is Lee Ramos. Is that name familiar to you . . . in your dimension?"
Green eyes widened in horror. "Oh my God! Lee is dead?" Then she shook her head. "What am I saying? It was bound to happen . . . knowing Lee."
"I'm not so sure in this case," Olivia said. "This Lee was found dead with a hole in his chest. Someone . . . had incinerated his heart."
The doppelganger regarded Olivia with suspicious eyes. "Wait a minute. I had nothing to do with that. I had followed you from the station. The only person I can think of . . ."
Olivia sighed. "Fiona. Of course. She probably killed Lee to lure me here. I'm sorry. My paranoia got the best of me. I keep forgetting that you're actually . . . me." She glanced around the alley. "I just hope that she's still not here."
"She might be on her way to wherever you live."
A derisive snort from Olivia followed. "And what is she going to do? Break in? I doubt it, considering that Cole has that apartment warded . . ." She broke off, recalling Phoebe's premonition. "Oh my God, Cole! Does Fiona have a shape shifting ability?"
"No," the doppelganger replied. "But I'm certain that she knows a spell or two. Why?"
"Oh my God." Olivia inhaled sharply. "Listen, why don't you hide somewhere for a few minutes, while I finish up here. Then we'll go to my apartment."
A voice cried out her name. Darryl's voice.
The other Olivia suggested that she could go to the apartment to make sure that Fiona has not arrived. "I'll need your key."
Shaking her head, Olivia replied, "That's okay. I should be finished with this case before . . ."
Before Olivia had time to think, the doppelganger whipped out a Glock .29 pistol. The witch spotted a muzzler on the pistol's nozzle, before she felt a sharp pain strike her stomach. "Wha . . .?"
"Sorry," the other Olivia nearly whispered. Her face assumed a cold mask. She fired a second bullet, which struck the witch's chest. The pain had become unbearable for Olivia, as she sank to the ground.
Now lying on her left side, Olivia struggled to fight through the pain and haze. "Wha . . . why?"
"Because I'm the one who wants the staff," the doppelganger coldly declared. "Our cousin Fiona – at least in my dimension – no longer exists, thanks to me." She knelt beside Olivia and forced the latter, flat on her back. She proceeded to remove the witch's keys, cell phone and service pistol. "I'll be needing these." Then she grabbed Olivia's right hand and removed the wedding ring. "Something tells me that I'll need this, as well."
Again, Darryl's voice cried out Olivia's name.
The doppelganger stood up. She aimed her pistol at the wounded police officer. "Shame. If only you had given me those keys."
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Just as she was about to shoot the witch for a third time, Olivia heard the sound of a bottle hitting the ground. The warlock whirled around and found a derelict staring at her. Great! A witness.
"I . . . I didn't see nothing!" the tramp declared in a shaky voice. "Honest! I won't talk."
Olivia aimed her Glock pistol at the tramp. "Of course you won't." She shot him twice – in the heart and in the head. The man slumped to the ground.
Satisfied, Olivia returned her attention to her double. But as she whirled around to finish off the witch, she discovered that the latter had disappeared. What the fuck?
"Hey Olivia! Where are you?" The voice of the witch's partner grew closer.
Olivia signaled her demonic companion. The latter teleported beside her. "The witch got away. The other Olivia. And I don't know how."
"She teleported," Klymus explained. He spotted the tramp. "Who is that?"
Coolly, Olivia replied, "An inconvenient witness. Never mind him. Just get me out of here before someone sees us. Back to Cole's penthouse."
Klymus grabbed her arm. Seconds later, they materialized outside of the Turners' penthouse. "What if she's here?" the daemon asked. "Or Belthazor?"
"If the other Olivia was here, we would have seen her in this foyer," the red-haired warlock commented. "As for Cole . . . we'll see." She inserted the witch's key into the lock and turned it. It unlocked the door with ease.
Olivia signaled Klymus to wait in the foyer, while she entered the penthouse. "Cole?" She was greeted with silence. "Cole!" She turned to the daemon. "He's not here. Come in."
Klymus entered the penthouse. A low whistle escaped from his mouth. "Very nice! I always thought that Belthazor had good taste."
Olivia noticed a barometer that hung on the west wall. It was a Scottish piece made from rosewood. And it came from the late Georgian period. The warlock noticed that it was an exact replica of the one that hung in the New York penthouse she shared with her Cole. "Apparently, so does the other Olivia."
The daemon broke away and quickly rushed through the penthouse's numerous rooms. "Your doppelganger is not here. And I don't see the staff anywhere."
Olivia tried to imagine where she would place the Aingeal staff in its dormant state. Then she remembered. Her desk. Of course. "Look for a desk," she said. "It's a Louis XV Cylinder desk. Very expensive. I usually keep all of my valuables inside it. Like a safe."
"A staff inside a desk?" One of Klymus' brows rose questioningly. "Exactly how would that work?"
A sigh left Olivia mouth. "The staff is magical. Which means that it can shrink in size. Each Aingeal staff bearer can stretch it to its normal size just by holding it."
"So the other Olivia can do this?" Klymus asked.
"I mean . . . me. Now did you see that desk?"
The daemon replied that he had seen such a desk in the penthouse's study - opposite the master bedroom. He led Olivia to the room. Sure enough, an ornate 18th century Louis XV Cylinder desk stood against the south wall. Olivia had purchased one just like it in her dimension at a Parisian antique shop, seven years ago. She wondered if her counterpart used the same password to unlock this desk.
"The staff is kept inside this desk, huh?" Klymus muttered.
Olivia stared at the daemon. She realized that she no longer required his assistance. The uncomfortable expression on his lean face told her that he may have sensed her thoughts. "Uh . . . well, I guess it's time for me to leave."
"I believe so," Olivia replied. A brief smile touched her lips. "Thanks for the help. And offer my thanks to Artemus, as well."
Klymus' mouth opened briefly. Then he gave her a nod. "Well, good luck." He teleported out of the room, only to return flat on his back. "What the hell?"
"Cole's protection ward," Olivia explained with a slightly amused smile. "I'm afraid that you'll have to leave by the front door."
The daemon smiled weakly and left the room. Olivia followed. Once she closed the door behind him, she started to return to the study. She had not taken three steps when the living room telephone rang. The redhead hesitated before she answered. "Hello?"
"Hey! You're home!" Cole's soft voice was unmistakable. Olivia mentally found herself transported back to the Manhattan penthouse that she shared with her Cole. "I tried calling you at work, but no one answered. And I couldn't get through to your cell phone."
Olivia wondered if anyone had found her doppelganger's body, yet. In her most cheerful voice, she replied, "Sorry, . . . uh, Darryl and I had received a call. And my phone needs charging. Is . . . there a reason why you're calling?"
Cole demanded, "Have you forgotten already?"
The warlock's heart lurched. Oh shit! "Yeah . . . I guess so," she said weakly. "It's been a busy day."
"You too, huh? Listen, I should be home in another half-hour or less," Cole continued. "After I finish this brief meeting with Jackman."
With as much enthusiasm as she could muster, Olivia replied, "I'll be waiting." Like hell, I will, she added silently. The pair bid each other good-bye and hung up. Twenty minutes. Olivia figured she would be gone by then. She marched back into the study. Using the password that she had created in her dimension, she managed to unroll the cylinder that covered the desk. It did not take her long to find the staff. Made from Larch, it had been reduced to a size small enough to place inside the desk. The staff possessed Celtic symbols carved into the wood. A gold knob, shaped as a dragon, held a red carnelian stone in its eye. Olivia felt a sense of triumph. At last! Then she spotted a small notebook made from leather on the desk. Her other Book of Shadows. At least the one where she kept the most important spells and potions. Olivia wondered if her witch counterpart had created anything new. She opened the book and read it. One entry caught her attention . . . and gave her an idea. And idea that led her toward the penthouse kitchen.
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"Olivia!" Darryl cried out his partner's name over again. "Olivia!"
Dammit! Where in the hell was she? His red-haired partner had stepped away to find any further clues to Lee Ramos and Jon Linderman's killer. Only she had stepped away a minute or two longer than he expected.
Darryl turned the corner into another alley. He came upon a startling sight. Sprawled against a large garbage dumpster was a dead man. A derelict. From what he could see, the man had been shot in the chest and the forehead. Had Olivia shot the man? If so . . . why? And where did she disappear to?
Then Darryl spotted something else – splotches of blood several feet away from the dead body. He also discovered four shell casings. Darryl stared at the body. If the tramp had been shot twice, who had received the other two shots?
Fear rose within the detective's chest. Instinct told him that something had gone wrong. Something that pertained to Olivia. He removed his cell phone from his jacket. Just as he was about to dial a number, a second figure appeared in the alley. "Darryl? Have you found her?" Scott Yi approached him.
"No," Darryl tersely replied. "Just a dead tramp."
The younger man, who also happened to be a practicing sorcerer, stared at the corpse. "When in the hell did this happen?"
"Very recently, I suspect," Darryl answered in a hard voice. "And Olivia is still missing."
Scott frowned. "You don't think she had shot him, do you?"
"Maybe. But look at this." Darryl pointed at the blood patches. "I don't think those belong to our corpse. And there are four shell casings in this spot between the dead tramp and the blood spots. Four shots."
Shaking his head, Scott pointed out, "But it looks as if your corpse had been shot twice. Who received the other two bullets? Olivia? And why didn't we hear the shots?"
Darryl sighed. "I don't know. Maybe we'll find out when we find Olivia."
END OF CHAPTER 9
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