Amanda's Mirror: Origins.

A new morning began in the life of Sandra Lombard. 

As she was getting ready to go on her first day as a Detective in the Saint John's Police Department, she was thinking of all the changes her life might have from that day on. More hours, more work, more challenges, something she has been preparing for a long time.

Upon arrival, the expected welcome was cut short by a call to dispatch: A body had been found and she was immediately appointed to the case.

Great! The sooner I start the better! She thought to herself as she was getting into her car to go to the crime scene.

Ten minutes later, when she got to the destination, the faces of surprise and disbelief of the officers and crime-lab team members were astounding, like they saw something horrible: the body of a young man was lying there and he looked like he was crushed by heavy machinery. The thing is that the body was inside a house, in his room, in his bed.

What happened here?

Sandra started to talk to witnesses, first responders, and everybody who was in contact with the finding of the body, when a flash of light blinded her, however, she didn't have time to search for that light, a young man had died and under very suspicious circumstances and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

By the time she finished to question everyone on site, she felt tired and drained, however, from the other side of the street she noticed an old woman staring at her with a wicked smile and, without hesitation, she crossed the street to talk to that strange woman, her instinct told her that he maybe knew something about the dead body they had found.

-Hello mam, I'm Detective Lombard from Saint John's Police Department. Do you mind answering some questions, please?

-Sure, but I don't know how can I help dear, I didn't know him. 

-Let's start with your name and address, please.

-Well, I'm Ciara Morrigan, and I live in my shop just around the corner dear.

-That's a foreign name, is it? 

-Yes, it's a family name, a Celtic ancient name. 

-Umm, interesting. Why are you here and what do you know about the deceased?

-Well, I saw the commotion and heard people talking about that young man. It's a shame really, he was in my shop two days ago, she was interested in antiques, and took a beautiful mirror, a hand mirror, didn't you find it there?

-I can't discuss case details with you, mam. Please, don't leave town, I might have some more questions.

-Sure dear, I'll be waiting for you...

Back in the police headquarters, she kept having the feeling that this case wasn't going to be an easy one, there was too much going on and no leads except for the testimony of a creepy old woman. At 9 pm when she was about to call it a day, she got a call from the coroner's office to rush quickly to the morgue.

When she got there, Dr. Boughman was already waiting for her at the entrance.

-Brace yourself, Detective, you're in for a tough ride...

-What do you mean Doctor?

-Well, it's not difficult to guess the cause of death as it's visible that the victim sustained a heavy trauma from a heavy object or machinery, but I have to finish the exam to be sure exactly what it was. 

-If the autopsy is not finished, why did you call me here? And what did you mean by a tough ride?

-About five years ago I got a strange case, a woman was found dead in her apartment with signs of heavy trauma and sustained injuries like she was run over by a car. The thing is that witnesses saw her getting in her apartment but no one, not even the security cameras saw her leave until she got out on a stretcher. 

-Day's later, her boss, who was the one who alerted the police, also died leaving this premisses after picking up her belongings. Police found everything I gave him except an old mirror that was found with the woman. His cause of death was a fulminant heart attack but he had no signs of a heart condition he was in excellent health, but the most strange thing was his face, fear, pure fear in his eyes like he saw the devil himself before dying. 

-What are you saying? That this is related to my case? 

-What I'm saying is that maybe you should dig deep and not overlook the evidence that's in front of you...

He had a point, but she didn't like that he was telling her what to do, she was a well-trained professional and knew exactly what to do in this case. But something bugged her and decided to go back to headquarters and check out the cases that the good Doctor Boughman told her about.

The files of Amanda Shaefer and Peter Williams were cataloged as Cold Case, due to insufficient evidence. She looked at the autopsy reports, witness statements, toxicology reports, victims' backgrounds, everything. Nothing stood out except two things: a mirror was found with the first victim, and delivered to de second victim, however by the time he was found, the mirror wasn't with him. The other thing and the most important one was this: the face of an old woman was visible near Amanda's apartment the day she was found, and near the Coroner's Office the day Peter died. She knew that face, it was Ciara Morrigan.

Sandra immediately started to look through the statements of her case to see exactly what she said and found the link to the other cases, the mirror. She then called Doctor Boughman to see if the mirror arrived with the body.

-Yes, it's here. I recognized it as soon as it arrived. I cover it with cloth and placed it in a box. I don't like that thing, it gives me chills. 

-Has someone been there to claim it?

-Not yet, and don't worry, I won't release it. It might come in handy for the investigation. I know the procedures Detective, I'm not a rookie.

-I appreciate the help Doctor. I'll be there tomorrow.

She couldn't sleep that night, her mind was revolving around the woman and the mirror. Two things that linked the three cases and she didn't have a clue as to how or why were they related. Sandra decided that she would pay a visit to the old woman's shop, but first, she would pick up the mirror, something about it wasn't right.

The next morning, as promised, she went by the coroner's office and picked up the mirror. Boughman gave it to her covered in cloth and told her to be careful, very careful. She got in her car and took off the cloth, and lost herself in the reflection of the mirror until a loud bang took her out of the trance, her peers broke the side window of her car, it was 104º Fahrenheit and he could have died there. Hours later, in the hospital, she didn't know how to answer the questions about why she was looking inside her car non-respondent and only looking at a mirror.

She thought about all that she saw, her successful career, money, fame, family, all that she ever wanted. Then she came to realize what the mirror does: it shows you a glimpse of your future, or at least what you expect of it, till the very end, when you die, except that you die for real.

That's it! Now all I have to do is to find that woman to link her to the case and done, case close.

She left the hospital against orders and drove directly to the old woman's shop. Upon arrival, a cold feeling went up and down her spine, and danger, she felt danger. Carefully entered the shop and called for the woman.

-Mrs. Murrigan! Mrs. Murrigan is Detective Lombard from Saint John's Police Department. 

-I was wondering how long would it be before you showed up at my door. I have to say, you're quick and strong. Not all people who take the mirror live to tell the tale, and even less, figure out what it does. Congratulations dear!

-So you knew from the beginning that it was evil?

-Evil? No, not evil. Don't you know that mirrors show what hides beneath the surface of a human being, their soul to be exact? So you can't say that it's evil when all it does is show the truth. 

-Well, maybe the mirror isn't evil, but why if you knew its workings didn't warn Amanda, Peter, or Pierce?

-Amanda was desperate for a reason to live so I gave it to her and believe me, she lived more in the time she held that mirror than ever before. 

Pierce wanted some excitement and quick cash, so I let him have it, he thought that I didn't see him stealing the mirror and then he got what he deserved. 

Peter, well, he was collateral damage. Like you, he resisted the power of the mirror, and I wanted it back, so I had to take it by force, so there, you can't blame the mirror. 

-Who the hell are you? Why are you doing this?

- I come from an Irish family directly linked to deities. Let me be more clear, I'm a descendant of the Goddess of death and destiny, Morrigan, hence my last name. She used this mirror to predict the fortune or shall I say, the misfortune of her enemies, and the price of her predictions were the souls of those who consult with her, that way, the mirror takes back the energy spent from the predictions, keeping it's magic intact. Now, it's my source of life, for I'm directly linked to it, as my ancestor was. 

-You are saying that the souls of Amanda, Peter, Pierce, and others, are trapped in that mirror? 

-Yes, yours would be too if you hadn't woke up from your "trance". How did it felt by the way? Seeing all that success and glory? You still can have that you know? Just give me back the mirror and I'll make your future great...

Sandra remembered all that she saw in there, all that she had dreamed for, all that she had worked for, and now someone was offering the chance to make it happen, and before she knew it, she was stretching her hand to Morrigan, she was handing out the mirror.

But then the faces of Amanda, the tear that was branded on her cheek after her death, the face of Peter and the fear of seeing dead incarnate, Pierce, his body crushed at the prime of his life, and suddenly, before Murrigan could reach, Sandra dropped the mirror and broke in hundreds of pieces.

Morrigan screamed in pain, anger, and agony and, as the souls of all the victims were released, Morrigan faded and turned into dust. Later on, Sandra left the shop, all of it was over, the murderer was gone, and the victims finally could rest in peace.

Epilogue:

Chief Lombard was sitting in her new office at the Saint John's Police Department. After 10 years of hard work, she was finally getting the job she always wanted but couldn't help to remember how she got there, how it all started. But now, a new life began, and hopefully, it would begin differently than the last time. 

When the phone rang, she remember that first phone call and her first day as Detective.

Don't be silly, that's all over. She thought to herself.

And it was. Her secretary announced that she had a visitor. A woman who claimed to have information about a crime and only would talk to her. 

Startled and curious, she said to her secretary to send the woman in. She turned her back to the door the prepare to greet the visitor and to receive her first case as Chief of Police. Then a familiar voice sounded, and her world shattered.

-Hello dear. I see you got what you wanted. Now I come to take what is mine.

Sandra turned and faced the woman, only to see Morrigan standing there, smiling at her, and holding, the mirror. 

Hello Hello!

I'm finaly able to share with you the last part of my short story.

Well, I don't know how to call it now because it started like a short story and is finishing as a 3 part short saga if you will.

This one gave me a lot of work but I'm happy with the result giving that I'm not a professional writer or anything, but anyways, I'd like to thank of all you who inspired me to do this, to push myself into finishing what I started months ago.

Of course, to keep things cristal clear, I did a Plagiarism Test in two sets because I don't have a Pro Account and this is almost two thousand words!

Check it out 👇👇

Here's part I and II

My first adventure as a Writer

Amanda's Mirror: The Aftermath

Disclaimer

Morrigan did exist.

She was indeed a Goddess in Celtic Mithology, an it is said she had the gift of prophecy. However, the link to the mirror and the trapped souls, etc, came straight from my head.

I'll leave the link though, for you to check the true story of Morrigan

https://mythopedia.com/celtic-mythology/gods/morrigan/

As always, check at my wonderful sponsors and their awesome content!

See you next time!

✨✨Blessings✨✨

@rebeysa85

Friday, October 29th, 2021.