"SHAZAM!" (2019) ReviewI had been very surprised by Warner Brothers Studios' announcement to produce an adaptation of the Fawcett Comics (later D.C. Comics) character known as Shazam aka Captain Marvel aka Billy Baston. My only memories of the character came from the Filmation television series from the mid-1970s. Not being a fan of this particular series, I regarded this announcement with a leery eye. The history of D.C. Comics' version of Captain Marvel is an odd and complicated one. Billy Baston aka Captain Marvel aka Shazam was created C.C. Peck and Bill Parker in 1939 and made its debut in Whiz Comics #2, published by Fawcett Comics. The character was an instant hit. Billy Baston was a 12 year-old boy who became a costumed adult with the powers of superhuman strength, speed, flight and other abilities; when he says the word "SHAZAM"! (an acronym for six "immortal elders" - Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury). By the middle of the 1940s, Shazam's popularity had surpassed Superman's. However, D.C. Comics also noticed that the costumed hero bore a strong similarity to Superman and filed a copyright infringement suit against Fawcett Comics in the early 1950s, ending the character's run for nineteen years. Then in 1972, D.C. Comics purchased the rights to Shazam from Fawcett. And in 1991, D.C. Comics required the rights of the entire family of characters associated with Shazam. Like I had said . . . complicated.The plot to this adaptation is a lot more simple. Basically, "SHAZAM!" is an origin story. Written by Henry Gayden and directed by David F. Sandberg, the film began in 1974 upstate New York with young Thaddeus Sivana arguing with his father and older brother during a car trip. Right before a dangerous car crash, Thaddeus is transported to the Rock of Eternity, a magical temple hidden in another dimension. He meets the ancient wizard Shazam, last of the Council of Wizards, who has spent centuries searching for a new champion who is "pure of heart" after the previous champion, driven by revenge, released the Seven Deadly Sins upon the world. Thaddeus is tempted by the Sins, entrapped in statues, and is deemed unworthy and returned to Earth by Shazam.Over forty years later in Philadelphia, foster child Billy Batson runs afoul of the law, while searching for his birth mother. He is placed in a group home with five other foster children, managed by Victor and Rosa Vasquez. Meanwhile, an embittered adult Sivana discovers a way to return to the Rock of Eternity, where he steals the Eye of Sin, becoming the Sins' vessel and besting the Wizard Shazam before returning to Earth. Later, he uses the Sins to murder his remaining family and the Sivana Industries' board of directors. Meanwhile, Billy saves Freddy (one of his fellow foster kids) from bullies and is chased into a subway. There, the wizard summons and chooses Billy as the new champion. By calling Shazam's name, Billy is transformed into an adult superhero endowed with the wizard's name and new powers. And the Wizard turns to dust, leaving behind his staff. While Freddy helps Billy utilize his new powers, Sivana searches for the new Shazam in order to steal the latter's powers.I do not know what to say about "SHAZAM!". It is probably the first D.C. Extended Universe (DCEU) film that I did not warm up to. I am not claiming that it is a terrible movie. I honestly do not believe it is. I thought Henry Gayden wrote a very straight forward narrative that introduced the character of Shazam, conveyed his struggles to control his powers, learn to be a hero and a faced a villain who wanted to steal his abilities. Very simple. Perhaps it was too simple. For me, the most interesting aspect of "SHAZAM!" was Billy Baston's struggles outside of the suit. Billy had to learn to put his past behind him and embrace his new foster family.The movie featured two very surprising plot twists in its narrative. One of those twists featured the other five kids at his foster home. Due to my unfamiliarity with Shazam, what happened in the hero's final battle against Sivana and the Sins at a local winter carnival took me completely by surprise. This first twist involved SHAZAM spell and Billy's foster sisters and brothers. But a previous plot twist not only surprised me, but in a way that truly satisfied. For a brief period, the movie featured a scene in which Billy not only discovered his birth mother, but also learned the truth behind their separation. I was very impressed by the ambiguous nature of this scene and how it helped develop Billy's character arc. I thought this scene was worthy of the ambiguity featured in the early DCEU movies and left me longing for them more than ever.The cast for "SHAZAM!" proved to be first-rate. The movie featured solid performances from the likes of Faithe Herman, Grace Fulton, Ian Chen, and Jovan Armand as Billy Baston's foster brothers and sisters. I could say the same for Cooper Andrews and Marta Milans, who portrayed Billy's parents. Djimon Hounsou gave a nice, dignified performance as the wizard Shazam, who granted Billy his powers. And it was nice to see John Glover, who gave a deliciously spiteful performance as Mr. Sivana, the estranged father of Dr. Thaddeus Sivana. But there were performances that I especially took notice. Caroline Palmer gave a subtle and skillful performance as Billy's biological mother, Marilyn. Jack Dylan Grazer was very entertaining as Billy's disabled foster brother, the nerdy and enthusiastic Frederick "Freddy" Freeman. Mark Strong's portrayal of the villainous Dr. Sivana really impressed me, for he managed to both sinister and emotionally pathetic. The movie's leading man, Zachary Levi, was also entertaining as the recently empowered Billy Baston in an adult body. But for me, the best performance came from Asher Angel, who I thought gave a very nuanced and complex performance as the adolescent Billy Baston, who is reluctant to accept his new foster family, due to his obsession with finding his mother.Despite these virtues, "SHAZAM!" proved to be something of a disappointment for me. Quite frankly, I thought it was a rather bland and conformist comic book hero movie. In a way, it reminded me of 2008's "IRON MAN", a movie that was saved from its mediocre or paint-by-the-numbers narrative by a volatile leading character. In the case of "SHAZAM!", it had a mediocre narrative and direction style saved by a leading character that was a boy in an empowered adult body. In fact, someone had dubbed the film as the DCEU's version of the 1988 movie, "BIG". Otherwise, I felt as if I was watching a comic book movie from the 1990s. I found it sad to watch a movie that had regressed a film genre by two decades. Actually, I found that not only sad, but disturbing. Despite Mark Strong's best efforts, the movie's main villain proved to be unsurprisingly one-dimensional. Dr. Sivana did not strike me as a memorable villain. Nor did his goal - namely the acquisition of more supernatural powers. He came off as a typical villain from the old 1998-2006 television series, "CHARMED". And as much as I admired Zachary Levi's performance, I also noticed that his portrayal of Billy Baston seemed to be at least half a decade younger than Asher Angel's portrayal. Levi's Billy struck me as less mature and more silly. Nor did it help that the one moment that allowed Billy to mature a bit more, happened when he was NOTthe empowered Shazam. It almost made Billy's acquisition of his new powers irrelevant to his character development. And for me, that is not a good thing for a comic book hero movie. I would comment on David F. Sandberg's direction, but frankly it seemed to lack any challenging or innovative qualities to me.Is "SHAZAM!" indicative of Warner Brothers' new direction for the DCEU franchise? I fear so. What a pity. It is not a bad film. The latter featured two interesting plot twists and a first-rate performance from one of its leading men, Asher Angel. But overall, I found both the plot and David F. Sandberg's direction rather bland. The film critics and many moviegoers seemed to love this. Needless to say, I do no share their feelings. And if this is the DCEU's new direction, it can keep it as far as I am concerned.
Below is a list of my favorite television productions (so far) that are set in the 1940s: FAVORITE TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS SET IN THE 1940s
1. "Homefront" (1991-1993) - Lynn Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick created this award-winning series about the residents of a small Ohio town in post-World War II. 
2. "Mob City" (2013) - Jon Bernthal starred in this six-part limited series that was inspired by John Buntin's book, "L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City". Co-starring Alexa Davalos and Milo Ventimiglia, the series was created by Frank Darabont.
3. "Agent Carter" (2015-2016) - Hayley Atwell starred as Margaret "Peggy" Carter, an agent with the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) in the post-World War II Manhattan. Created by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the MCU series co-starred James D'Arcy and Enver Gjokaj.
4a. "Band of Brothers" (2001) - Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks produced this outstanding television miniseries about the history of a U.S. Army paratrooper company - "Easy Company" - during the war. Damian Lewis and Ron Livingston starred. (tie)
4b. "The Pacific" (2010) - Spielberg and Hanks struck gold again in this equally superb television miniseries about the experiences of three U.S. Marines - John Basilone, Robert Leckie and Eugene Sledge - in the war's Pacific Theater. James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello and Jon Seda starred. (tie)
5. "Manhattan" (2014-2015) - Sam Shaw created this series about the creation of the first two atomic bombs at Los Alamitos, New Mexico. The series starred John Benjamin Hickey.
6. "The Winds of War" (1983) - Dan Curtis produced and directed this television adaptation of Herman Wouk's 1971 novel. The seven-part miniseries starred Robert Mitchum, Ali McGraw and Jan-Michael Vincent.
7. "Pearl" (1978) - Stirling Silliphant wrote this three-part miniseries about a group of men and women who experienced the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Angie Dickinson, Robert Wagner, Lesley-Ann Warren and Dennis Weaver starred.
8. "The Jewel in the Crown" (1984) - The ITV aired this award winning television adaptation of Paul Scott's "Raj Quartet" novels (1965–75) about the end of the British Raj in India. The fourteen-part miniseries starred Art Malik, Geraldine James, Charles Dance and Tim Pigott-Smith.
9. "Foyle's War" (2002-2015) - Anthony Horowitz created this television crime drama about a British police detective during World War II. The series starred Michael Kitchen, Honeysuckle Weeks and Anthony Howell.
10. "RKO 281" (1999) - Liev Schreiber starred as Orson Welles in this 1999 television adaptation of 1996 documentary called "The Battle Over Citizen Kane". The television movie also starred John Malkovich, Roy Schneider, James Cromwell and Melanie Griffith.
"A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED" (2005) ReviewI have been a fan of novels written by Agatha Christie since the age of the thirteen. Mind you, I do not like all of her novels. But there are a handful that have been personal favorites of mine for years . . . and remain personal favorites even to this day. One of those is the 1950 novel, "A Murder Is Announced". Superficially, the plot to the 1950 novel seemed pretty simple. During Britain's post-World War II era, a handful of citizens from Chipping Cleghorn read a notice in their local newspaper announcing that a "murder is announced" and would take place at Little Paddocks, the home of a spinster named Letitia Blacklock. Many of Little Paddocks' inhabitants and local neighbors assume that this "murder" is actually a game in which a fake murder occurs and the party guests have to solve it. However, Miss Blacklock never placed the advertisement. Realizing that some people might pay a visit out of sheer curiousity, she makes arrangements for an impromptu party.Right on cue, several guests arrive. They include:*Colonel Archie Easterbrook, a retired Army officer
*Mrs. Sadie Swettenham, a local widow
*Lizzie Hinchcliffe, a local farmer
*Amy Murgatroyd, Miss Hinchcliffe's companion and lover
*Edmund Swettenham, Mrs. Swettenham's only sonAlso attending the party are other inhabitants of Little Paddock:*Dora Bunner, Miss Blacklock's old friend and companion
*Patrick Simmons, Miss Blacklock's cousin
*Julia Simmons, Patrick's sister and Miss Blacklock's cousin
*Phillipa Haymes, Miss Blacklock's tenant and a war widow
*Mitzi Kosinski, Miss Blacklock's Central European servant and a former war refugeeNot long after the party begins, the lights inside Little Paddock immediately go out. Someone brandishing a flashlight announces a stickup and demands that everyone raise their hands. Seconds later, several gunshots ring out. When the lights are restored, Miss Blacklock and her guests discover the dead body of a young man on the floor. Detective-Inspector Dermot Craddock is assigned to solve the case. Before long, he finds himself being assisted by the story's leading lady, the elderly amateur sleuth, Miss Jane Marple. The latter was staying at the hotel where the dead victim, Rudi Scherz, worked at. And she eventually arrived at Chipping Cleghorn as a vistor of one of Miss Blacklock's guests. After a bit of investigation into Scherz's past as a hotel clerk and a petty thief, both Miss Marple and Inspector Craddock come to the conclusion that the killer had intended to kill Miss Blacklock and merely used Scherz to set up the crime and be used as a patsy. All right. Perhaps the plot of "A Murder Is Announced" was not that simple, especially since involved family conflicts, a great inheritance and greed. I do know there have been one stage and three television adaptations of the 1950 novel. One of the TV adaptations aired on NBC's "THE GOODYEAR TELEVISION PLAYHOUSE" back in 1956. The second TV adaptation aired on the BBC series, "MISS MARPLE" and starred Joan Hickson. And the third adaptation, Geraldine McEwan, aired on ITV's "AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MARPLE" back in 2005. This article is a review of the 2004 adaptation.I noticed that screenwriter Stewart Harcourt made a good deal of changes from Christie's novel. And yet . . . "A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED" did not suffer from these changes. Certain characters were deleted from this adaptation. Laura Easterbrook, wife of Colonel Archie Easterbrook did not appear in this story, making the latter a divorced man. This scenario also allowed Harcourt to create a romance between Easterbrook and the widowed Mrs. Sadie Swettenham. As for the latter's young son Edmund, his literary romance was nipped in the bud due to his opposition against his mother's romance with the alcoholic Colonel Easterbrook. That is correct. Colonel Easterbrook is an alcoholic in this story. Two other characters deleted were the Reverend Julian Harmon and his wife, Diana "Bunch" Harmon. This proved to be something of a problem, considering that in Christie's novel, Miss Marple stayed with the Harmons during her visit to Clipping Cleghorn. In this adaptation, Miss Marple stayed with farmer Miss Hinchcliffe and her companion, Amy Murgatroyd. Miss Murgatroyd, like the literary Mrs. Harmon, was her goddaughter. Also, Harcourt made it slightly more apparent than Christie did that Miss Hinchcliffe and Miss Murgatroyd were also lovers. Aside from these changes, Harcourt's adaptation of the 1950 novel was faithful. And yet . . . Harcourt's changes did not harm Christie's novel one bit. Perhaps the reason why his changes did not have a strong and negative impact was due to them being quite minor. Creating a slightly different romance along with deleting two minor characters simply did not have an impact on Christie's story. Thank God. "A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED" has always been one of my favorite novels written by the author. The idea of a movie or television screenwriter inflicting major changes upon its narrative would have been abhorrent to me.The main reason behind my admiration for "A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED" is its portrayal of post-World War II Britain and how it affected the actions of various characters in this story. In one paragraph of the 1950 novel, Miss Marple explained how the war had upset the staid and knowing world of various villages and towns throughout the country:"(Chipping Cleghorn is) very much like St. Mary Mead where I live. Fifteen years ago (before the war) one knew who everybody was . . . They were people whose fathers and mothers and grandfathers and grandmothers, or whose aunts and uncles, had lived there before them. If somebody new came to live there, they brought letters of introduction, or they’d been in the same regiment or served on the same ship as someone already there. If anybody new – really new – really a stranger – came, well, they stuck out . . . But it’s not like that any more. Every village and small country place is full of people who’ve just come and settled there without any ties to bring them. The big houses have been sold, and the cottages have been converted and changed. And people just come – and all you know about them is what they say of themselves."In "A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED", Miss Marple and Detective-Inspector Craddock discovered that Miss Blacklock had been a wealthy financier's secretary before the war. Following Randall Goedler's death, his widow inherited his money. However, Mrs. Goedler is dying. But since they had no children, Goedler left his money to Miss Blacklock in the event of his wife's death. The will also stipulated that if Miss Blacklock should die before Mrs. Goedler, then the children of Goedler's estranged sister - Pip and Emma. Due to the upheaval nature of British society during the post-war years, neither Miss Marple or Inspector Craddock know who Pip or Emma are. Or for that matter, their mother, Sonia. Either two or all three might be residing at Chipping Cleghorn, waiting for Belle Goedler's death and ensuring that Miss Blacklock will die before it happens. "A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED" is one of those rare Christie stories in which the story's time period has such a major impact upon it. And despite the changes regarding some of the adaptation's characters, Harcourt never changed the core of the teleplay's narrative.Do I have any complaints about "A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED"? If I must be honest . . . not really. Well . . . perhaps a few minor ones. A part of me wish that Harcourt had expanded a bit more on Miss Marple's conversation with Dora Bunner, Miss Blacklock's companion and old friend, at a local tea cafe. A part of me felt as if enough had been said. I also wish that Harcourt had utilized the role of Miss Blacklock's maid, Mitzi, just as Christie had did in the novel. I found the literary version of Mitzi's role in the murderer's exposure very dramatic. It seemed that the drama of that moment had been cut by Harcourt's screenplay. In fact, I would add that that the teleplay's last ten to fifteen minutes struck me as a bit rushed. A part of me wish that this adaptation had been a little longer than 94 minutes.Another aspect that made "A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED" work for me were the performances featured in the production. The teleplay marked Geraldine McEwan's fourth outing as Miss Jane Marple and she did an excellent job in conveying the character's intelligence and subtle sense of humor. However, I was especially impressed by the actress in a scene that featured Miss Marple's discovery of a third murder victim. There were four other performances that I regard as first-rate. The first came from Zoë Wanamaker, who gave a superb performance as Letitia Blacklock. Wanamaker did an excellent job of conveying her character from a competent retired secretary to a beleaguered woman who becomes increasingly paranoid over the threat of being killed for a great fortune. The second excellent performance came from Robert Pugh, who was excellent as Archie Easterbrook, the alcoholic former Army officer battling his demons, romantic desire and loneliness. Cheri Lunghi also gave a superb performance as Colonel Easterbrook's object of desire, the lonely widow Sadie Swettenham. One of my favorite characters from Christie's Miss Marple novel was the police investigator, Dermot Craddock. Just about every actor who has portrayed Craddock has done an excellent job. And that includes Alexander Armstrong, who portrayed the police detective in "A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED". I was surprised to learn that Armstrong is basically known as a comedian and singer in Great Britain, especially since he gave such a strong performance as the no-nonsense Detective-Inspector Craddock.However, the television movie also featured excellent performances from the rest of the cast. They include performances from the likes of Keeley Hawes, Frances Barber, Claire Skinner, Elaine Page, Matthew Goode, Sienna Guillory, Christian Coulson, Virginia McKenna, Catherine Tate and Richard Dixon. And if you are patient, you just might catch Lesley Nicol of "DOWNTON ABBEY" in a small role. I can honestly say that I did not come across one performance that I would consider questionable or merely solid. Overall, I did not merely enjoyed "A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED". I loved it. Yes, I thought its running time could have stretched a bit past 94 minutes. But I thought screenwriter Stewart Harcourt and director John Strickland did an excellent job of adapting one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels of all time. And both were ably supported by a first-rate cast led by the always talented Geraldine McEwan.
"REQUIEM FOR MAGIC"RATING: PG-13 - Violence
SUMMARY: The Halliwells, along with other friends, deal with the aftermath of Cole and Olivia Turner's deaths. AU Season Six. Set after "Double Emnity".
FEEDBACK: - Be my guest. But please, be kind.
DISCLAIMER: Cole Turner, The Charmed Ones, Chris Halliwell, and Darryl Morris belong to Constance Burge, Brad Kern and Spelling Productions. Olivia McNeill Turner, the McNeills, Andre and Cecile Morell, Artemus and Scott Yi are thankfully, my creations.-------------------------------------------------- "REQUIEM FOR MAGIC"Part IPiper Halliwell reached for the cold water faucet and turned it on. The bathroom sink's pipes rattled for a few seconds before water gushed out. Piper heaved an exasperated sigh. Damn sink! The damn thing has been acting up since the . . .The Charmed One's thoughts came to a screeching halt. For some reason, she could not bring herself to finish that last thought. To do so would remind her of the gloomy cloud that hung over the household. It would remind Piper of her younger sisters' grief, along with her own sense of loss and deepening fear.After washing her hands, Piper left the bathroom. She passed by Phoebe's bedroom and heard deep sobbing. Another sigh left Piper's mouth. Poor Phoebe. Five days had passed since the double tragedy. She still found it difficult to believe that Cole and Olivia Turner were dead. Both brutally murdered on the same day.While out on a police call, Olivia Turner had ended up with a bullet in her chest and another in her stomach. Instead of dying instantly, poor Olivia slowly bled to death inside an ambulance conveying her to the nearest hospital. Piper shuddered at thought of what the red-haired witch must have endured. She would like to believe that her older sister, Prue, had not suffered as much following Shax's attack, nearly three years ago. However, Cole's death frightened Piper. Someone – possibly the same person who had murdered Olivia – managed to strip away Cole's powers and stab him in the heart. And now that person possessed Cole's powers.Piper made her way downstairs to the manor's first floor. She had a bottle of milk warming on the kitchen's stove for Wyatt. The moment she entered the kitchen, blue lights appeared in front of the refrigerator. They eventually materialized into the form of her former husband."Leo," she greeted in a less-than-enthusiastic voice. "I guess you've heard about . . ."The blond-haired Elder nodded. "Yeah. Um . . . Chris had informed the Council. I . . ." He broke off and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs with a heavy sigh. "How are you dealing with . . .?""Cole and Olivia's deaths?" Piper finished bluntly. "Not very well. It's been a shock for me. And to be honest, I rather miss both of them." She had spoken the truth. She could honestly say that she missed the couple. Despite the shaky beginnings of her relationship with Olivia, Piper had grown to appreciate the redhead's vibrant personality and caustic wit. And she must be honest that she and her sisters have learned a lot more about magic in the past year-and-a-half than they had during those years before becoming reacquainted with the McNeills. And ever since Cole had saved Wyatt at least twice – from a group of inept demons and from the very dangerous Daley Baker – Piper found herself warming to her former brother-in-law. They had even managed to start swapping recipes.Leo nodded. "What about Phoebe and Paige?"Piper turned off the stove. "Phoebe has been on a crying jag for the past four days. And Paige has been staying away from the house as much as she can, even though I keep telling her that it might be dangerous." Shaking her head, she added, "I'm scared, Leo. Someone either very powerful or very smart managed to take Cole's powers and kill him. What if she decides to come after us?""She?" Leo said with a frown.Piper explained that on the very day of the Turners' deaths, Phoebe had a premonition of a woman's hand stabbing Cole. "And that's exactly how he had died . . . stabbed through the heart."The Elder heaved a sigh. Piper noticed his melancholic expression. Which did not make her feel any better. "I don't know if this . . . woman will, Piper. Maybe you and Wyatt should join me in the Whitelighters' Realm. Stay at our Magic School with Phoebe and Paige. Maybe even the McNeills can join us."The Whitelighters' Realm? Piper wondered if those months as an Elder had eroded Leo's sense of reality. "Leo, what makes you think that the Elders can protect us? Someone has Cole's powers. That means that she can go . . . up there without any problems. Cole was able to, when those darklighters were killing your former bosses. Or have you forgotten?""Piper . . ." Leo broke of with a shake of his head."What?"Leo heaved another sigh. "Nothing. I . . . When will the funeral be held?"Piper removed the bottle from the saucepan. "Tomorrow, around eleven in the morning. It'll be a double funeral." She stared at Leo. "Are you going?"Uncertainty clouded Leo's blue eyes. "I . . . I don't know. Olivia's family might not . . . you know . . . welcome . . .""Do you want to go, Leo?"A long pause followed before the Elder answered, "A part of me does. Another part of me doesn't want to face . . ." He paused, as his mouth twitched uncontrollably. Then he took a deep breath. ". . . face the McNeills. I . . . I wish I had apologized to Olivia and Cole . . . for that whole mess with Paul Margolin. Only Olivia is dead and it's too . . ." The Elder broke off with a sob.Pity welled within Piper as she watched her ex-husband weep for his dead friend and former charge. She also felt like crying. Instead, she encircled her arms around Leo's neck to offer him comfort. Several minutes passed before Leo glanced up. Piper frowned. "What is it?""They're calling me," Leo replied. "The other Elders."Great! Piper refrained from heaving an exasperated sigh. "Right," she said in a slightly bitter tone. "Only I thought you wouldn't have to worry about being summoned, once you became an Elder. I see that some things never change.""Piper."The Charmed One disengaged her arms from around Leo's neck. "You might as well go."Leo stood up with a frown stamped on his face. "About Wyatt . . .""What about him? Are you still suggesting that we go . . . up there? Who's going to protect us from whoever has Cole's powers, Leo? You? The other Elders?"Unable to say, the Elder merely shook his head and orbed out of the kitchen. Feeling a surge of anger and frustration, Piper grabbed Wyatt's bottle. She had been right. Some things never change.---------------------------- A very somber Bruce McNeill descended the curved staircase inside the McNeills' manor. He had just left his parents' bedroom, where he found his mother pouring over the family's many photo albums. Naturally, Mom's attention seemed to be focused upon those photographs of Olivia.His father, on the other hand, happened to be at the McNeill Corporation's office building – dealing with work that Bruce suspected might not be so urgent. But ever since Olivia and Cole's deaths, Jack McNeill had been spending a great deal of time away from home.Grandmother Elise seemed bent upon spending most of her time inside her room. This did not surprise Bruce. She had done the same when his Grandfather Kenneth's death had left her a widow, over three years ago. With his brother Harry clinging to Paige Matthews and his wife Barbara bursting into tears every other hour, it fell to Bruce to deal with the aftermath of his sister and brother-in-law's deaths.A sigh left the oldest McNeill sibling's mouth as he reached the staircase's bottom. He still could not believe that Olivia and Cole were gone. Murdered by some mysterious person . . . or being. Bruce had been wracking his brain to figure out the killer's identity. But this has been difficult, since the very two people who might have some information on the Turners' deaths – namely Phoebe Halliwell and Darryl Morris – had followed Grandmother Elise's example by secluding themselves.Bruce opened his mouth to call for the McNeills' manservant. Then he remembered sending Davies to pick up the visitors from New Orleans. He still recalled Cecile Morell's reaction to the news of the tragedy. The Vodoun priestess had cried out in pain, forcing her husband to continue the conversation. And even Andre, who had been one of Cole's closest friends during the past decade, barely seemed able to talk.Nearly everyone seemed to be falling apart. And Bruce had been so busy trying to keep everything together that he barely seemed to have the time to mourn his sister. Right now, he needed to continue making arrangements for the funeral, the burial and the wake. He had already scheduled the funeral for the day after tomorrow. Bruce wondered if Paige could ask Piper to help him prepare food for the wake. The doorbell rang. Bruce halted in his tracks. Then he turned on his heels and strode toward the front door. Seconds later, he found himself ushering Scott Yi into the house.The handsome and thin-face Scott happened to be one of Olivia's colleagues with the San Francisco Police. He was also a Taoist disciple and a very talented sorcerer. "Scott," Bruce quietly greeted. He noticed the box in the younger man's arms. "Are those Olivia's belongings from the station?""Yeah," Scott answered. "From inside her desk. But there is one drawer that I wasn't able to open. Even with magic. Had Olivia placed some kind of hex on it?"Bruce sighed. "She must have had something valuable inside that drawer. I'll ask Mom or Dad about a counter-spell." He paused. "How's Uncle Wei holding up?" Bruce spoke of Scott's local Taoist priest and sorcery mentor, Chan Wei Ku. Not only was the priest the McNeills siblings and Scott's kung fu master, but one of Jack McNeill's oldest friends.Scott shrugged. "I don't know. He pretends that he's handling well, but I don't think so."Nodding, Bruce replied, "I understand. Uncle Wei and Olivia were very close." He released a gust of breath. "Um . . . how is the case going, by the way? You know, Olivia and Cole's . . .""Looks like it'll turn out to be an unsolved case, as far as the Department is concerned," Scott replied. "Which is the truth, anyway. And if we ever find out who had killed them, the case will have to remain unsolved. Darryl is pitching the idea that their deaths might be linked to the Holly McMillan case. You know, Cole may have found something that the killer wants hushed up. That sort of thing. So far, the Department isn't buying. Not if it would make Mrs. McMillan seem innocent."Bruce frowned at the police inspector. "What about you?""I'd say that our old friends from the Magan Corporation might be responsible. Wasn't a spy from the Gimle Order killed a day before Olivia and Cole?""Yeah, Cirhan," Bruce muttered. "Both Livy and Cole had visions of him being murdered by some woman."Scott added, "And they both ended up dead. Strange."Bruce shivered. "Yeah, very . . ." He paused. Scott had a point. It did seemed odd that both Olivia and Cole would end up dead after Cirhan. Bruce also recalled that Marbus – Cole's uncle – had said something about Olivia searching Cirhan's apartment for material on the Magan Corporation. "I wonder . . ." he began."You wonder what?"Bruce revealed Olivia's favor to the police inspector. "You did help Harry and Paige search the penthouse for anything odd that the police might find . . . right?""Yeah," Scott replied. "But if Olivia had found anything on the Magan Corporation, don't you think it would be inside that locked drawer at the station?""But what if her killer didn't know?" The two men contemplated Bruce's question in silence. Then the witch shook his head. "Never mind. That seems pretty thin. The killer would have had to known that Olivia was at Cirhan's apartment in the first place." He added, "At least you managed to get some of the more questionable items out of the penthouse. Right?"Scott nodded. "Don't worry. Paige had teleported everything – Olivia's Book of Shadows, Cole's little book of spells and God knows what other magical tools and items to here. Even their books and herbs. And Harry had seemed most insistent that Paige teleport the desk. You know, the eighteenth century desk. What's so special about it, anyway?"Mild relief flooded Bruce's chest. "Olivia kept a lot valuable objects inside it. Magical objects that included her special Book of Shadows with more powerful spells and the Aingeal staff.""She could fit a staff inside . . .?"Bruce explained that the Aingeal staff could magically alter in size. "Thankfully, the desk is locked. Whoever killed Cole . . ."Scott's next words chilled Bruce to the bone. "The desk wasn't locked. I was examining its contents before Paige had it teleported. I saw a good number of knick-knacks inside . . . including that book you had described. What does the staff looked like?"In a hoarse voice, Bruce replied, "It's made of a white oak with carvings of Celtic symbols around it. There's a carving of a dragon's head on top . . ." He broke off at the sight of Scott's confused expression. "You did see it, right?"A long pause followed before Scott answered, "No.""Oh my God!" Bruce rushed toward the staircase. "If the desk . . ." He left the sentence unfinished as he rushed upstairs. Scott followed.The two men headed for a room that contained the valueable items from the Turners' penthouse. One of the items happened to be the eighteenth century cylinder desk that Olivia had purchased in Paris, several years ago. Bruce hesitated before he pushed up the cylinder top. After a thorough search, he discovered to his horror that one item seemed to be missing – namely the very powerful Aingeal staff.END OF PART I
