A Shade in the Mirror by Tracey Lander-Garrett

Author:Tracey Lander-Garrett [Lander-Garrett, Tracey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781733454513
Publisher: Glass Carousel Press
Published: 2019-10-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

My first impression was just one word: wood. The room had dark-reddish brown wood (was it mahogany?) bookshelves on every wall all the way up to the ceiling, which had been painted a rich burgundy. A lacquered black desk, covered in scattered papers, dominated the left side of the room. The other side of the room featured a low red couch and a round arm chair upholstered with leopard print. The floor lamp stood behind the couch, its copper shade reminiscent of the wide end of a bugle.

The room smelled like dried rose petals—like the potpourri Julie kept a dish of in her bedroom.

“What’s that smell?” I asked.

“What smell?” Billy asked.

“Like dried roses,” I said.

“It’s the books,” Derek said from the dining room. “Old books smell like that. It’s the paper rotting.”

Zoe and Billy crowded in behind me. The red shag rug beneath our feet was thick, muffling the sound of their footsteps. I continued to take in the room, paying attention to the odd details. The shelves were filled with books and oddments: small statues, ornamental boxes, a bottle, a bell. Derek and Katie were still standing in the dining room.

Billy whistled a low whistle and said, “Pretty swank.”

The right wall next to the light switch had a few floor cabinets and an old-timey record player sitting on top. Was that a phonograph? A golden statue of an Egyptian woman with her arms held out, almost a foot high, stood next to it. Above that hung a framed oil painting of the sun hanging low over the ocean. I couldn’t tell if it was rising or setting. There was no way to tell without knowing which ocean it was.

There were no windows, but there was a single latticed door centered in the far-right wall, surrounded by bookshelves, and partially obscured from view by the couch.

Billy walked up to the desk, stepping around some papers that had fallen to the floor. A thud sound came from behind the desk, like something falling over, and Billy froze. “Um, what was that?” he asked.

My heart just about stopped in my chest. “You mean that wasn’t you?” I asked.

“No.” He stood completely still.

“Zoe, are there any—?”

“Not that I see,” she said.

All three of us stood very still, listening.

There was another thump and then Billy let out a screech as a small dark shape, low to the floor, bolted past him toward the couch.

Everyone began asking questions at once, with Derek ducking beneath the door frame to get into the room and Katie running toward the foyer, while Billy clutched his chest and Zoe and I began laughing.

“What’s wrong?” Derek was asking.

“Professor!” Katie was shouting.

“Is that a—?” Zoe began.

“A fucking cat? Are you shitting me?” Billy exclaimed.

“Quiet!” I yelled, and then when everyone shut up, I bent down to look under the couch. Two yellow eyes stared back at me and hissed. Well, the eyes didn’t hiss, but that was all I could really see.

“Psst,” I said. “Here, Kitty.” I rubbed my fingers together in the cat’s direction.

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