he would be able to sense it when he’s awake if you can’t?” Christ, the last thing Jude wanted to do was insult Cope’s gift, but there didn’t seem to be any help for it.
“I just don’t know. I’m starting to wonder if my using the machine was what set this entire thing into motion.” Cope wore an uneasy look on his face.
“That’s not true. I can see it written all over you. What aren’t you telling me?”
“When you brought the box out at the party and set it on the gift table, I got a funny feeling. It happened again later when I opened the package and touched the cold metal of the housing. I didn’t make much of it at the time, I just assumed I was feeling anxious about going back to work.”
Jude didn’t like the sound of this at all. “Okay, so you were feeling some low-level disturbance in the force?”
Cope found his first smile of the day. “You’re watching way too much Star Wars.”
“There’s no such thing as too much Star Wars. Maybe if you sat and watched it with me, you’d see why I find it so interesting.” Jude had been in love with Harrison Ford from the first second he’d seen him as Han Solo. He’d been even hotter as Indiana Jones, but he’d save that series for another day.
“We both know you have a Han Solo fetish.” Cope snorted.
“There’s nothing wrong with that. Join the dark side with me and you can have a Han Solo fetish too.” Jude waggled his eyebrows at his husband.
Cope’s face darkened. All traces of his earlier smile were gone. “Let’s see what the antique dealer has to tell us about the previous owner, and we’ll go from there. It’s really all we can do right now.”
Jude pulled the Thunderbird into a parking spot right near Madam Aurora’s shop. “We’re going to figure this out. I promise.” Jude pressed a kiss to Cope’s cheek.
“I know.” Cope agreed.
Play it Again, Sam was on the corner of Essex and Summer. In all the years Jude had lived in Salem, he’d never once noticed the shop until the day he’d come downtown to look for a present for his husband. The only old things Jude had ever been a fan of were classic cars. He didn’t understand the attraction in antiquing. There had been a ton of middle-aged women in the shop last week who felt the exact opposite. Maybe Jude would feel the same way in another twenty years.
Pressing one last kiss to the side of Cope’s face, Jude was out of the car and hurrying toward the passenger door. If the antique dealer wasn’t able to shed some light on the last owner of the typewriter, Jude had no idea what the next step would be.
This wasn’t like any other investigation he’d conducted on behalf of West Side Magick. He hoped visiting the antique store would be the first step in figuring out the mystery. If it wasn’t, God help them.
15
Copeland
Walking into the antique shop, Cope felt an immediate sense of being pulled under water. What sounded like a hundred voices started speaking in his ear the second the door shut behind them. He grabbed onto Jude to keep himself upright.
“Are you okay?” Jude grabbed Cope’s arm.
“At least I know my gift is working. A wall of voices hit me as we walked through the door.” He hadn’t mentioned it to Jude, but he’d been worried about his gift. Apparently, there was nothing to worry about now. The voices were so loud, he was starting to get a headache.
“Are all of the spirits you’re feeling attached to items here in the shop?” Jude’s eyes roamed over the inventory.
Salem was infamous for being haunted. The darkness all started with the witch trials in 1692 and continued right on through today. The city’s paranormal legacy was what kept West Side Magick in business. “I can’t be one hundred percent certain, but it feels that way. I might be able to get a better handle on it if all of them stopped talking at the same time.”
As much as Cope wanted to help these people, today was not an ordinary day. He had bigger fish to fry. “I promise you all I’ll be back to help you as soon as I figure out what’s happening with this typewriter that seems to be threatening my family. If any of you can help me with that situation, please come find me.”
All Cope could