Page 66 of A Seer and Present Danger

“I didn’t. You didn’t tell me what the thing with teddy bears and Kenny was all about.”

“Meddlers like us know how to keep secrets,” I said.

He smiled. I liked the lines that winged out from the edges of his eyes.

“I don’t actually know what he stole this time. But it’s possible…” He looked in the middle distance, his fingers on the table tapping one by one, four even snicks. He nodded.

“Pandora’s box? I think he stole Pandora’s box.”

The sounds in the diner did that thing where they all faded away and the rushing in my ears became far too loud.

“You think he had it here?” I stage-whispered.

“Or a line on it. He had knowledge of where it was and how to get it.”

“Did he tell you that?”

“No, I never had direct contact with him.”

“But you knew he was going to be here that night?”

“I can see some of the future, Piper. Glimpses. And the future showed me you would be here. It showed me I would be here. So, I came here. Hugo was a surprise. So is his business partner, Kenny. And their deaths.”

“Do you know where Pandora’s box is?”

“I don’t. It’s not the sort of thing that should be traded on the open market, which is what I assumed Hugo wanted to do.”

“I thought you said you didn’t have contact with him.”

“Direct contact. He sent an email. Wanted me to assess an item he had ‘inherited.’”

“The box.”

He nodded.

“You get a lot of calls for assessing magical antiques?”

His smile was swift and genuine. “I do actually. Magical items are the basis of my antique business. I’m surprised Aggie didn’t tell you that.”

“Aggie knows about magic?”

“Yes. She didn’t tell you that either?”

No, she hadn’t. But why would she? I hadn’t told her about my abilities.

In the world just one step outside Ordinary—and heck even for the normals in Ordinary—talking about magic as a real and tangible force wasn’t something that came up in casual conversation.

“Tell me more about Kenny,” he said.

“Kenny’s dead.”

“Do you know the cause of death?”

I shook my head. This was really above my pay grade. I’d thought I could talk him into confessing he’d killed Hugo and Kenny, and all I’d done was find out that he was just as much in the dark as I was.

And that he could pause futures with that hand trick.

I slid out of the booth. “I think you’ll need to talk to the police.”