“Not to mention the rumors in the paranormal artifacts market,” Harlan added. “I’m a big believer in that kind of data.”

“My mother managed to capture a hologram of her killer,” Olivia said. “It’s on the camera. I’ll show you.”

She concentrated. The image of the monster caught in the act of reaching for her mother flashed into existence. Harmony flinched and drew a sharp breath. She stared at the hologram.

“That is . . . amazing,” she whispered.

“My mother left a message embedded in the hologram,” Olivia said. “Dead man walking in a dying garden.”

Harmony regarded the hologram for a long moment and then shook her head.

“I don’t recognize him,” she said. “I’ll make some notes, but I don’t see anything obvious that I can use. No jewelry. Nothing unusual about his attire.”

“What about the recorder?” Harlan asked. “It’s on the ground near one of his boots. Looks like he dropped it.”

Harmony crouched to take a closer look. “Now, that is interesting. It didn’t shatter.”

“I think it’s made out of some hard crystal,” Harlan said. “One of the four men who chased us up the mountain last night used a similar recorder to try to summon Olivia.”

Harmony straightened and studied Olivia. “What happens when the recorder is played?”

“I can feel a compulsion to follow the music,” Olivia said. “But I’m able to resist it now that I recognize it.”

Harmony nodded. “That makes sense. You’re a powerful talent. Do you have any more information?”

“Just that Ash, the kid Harlan grabbed last night, calls himself a student. His mentor is the Piper, who lives on the island with no name. He doesn’t seem to know how to get to the island.”

“Do you think the Piper is the man in the hologram?” Harmony said sharply.

“That is a real possibility,” Harlan said.

Olivia stopped focusing on the hologram. It winked out of existence. She felt a sense of relief when it vanished. Harmony relaxed, too.

“Unnerving, to put it mildly,” she said. “Any other images on the camera besides the trailer community and your mother’s killer?”

“There’s one showing a view of an island taken from a boat and the one I took of the Speed Date Killer who tried to murder me,” Olivia said.

“I know what happened when Brian Gatewood tracked you down and tried to murder you in your garage. When I heard about his seizure I knew you must have used some sort of paranormal energy in self-defense.” Harmony’s expression sharpened. “You were able to use the camera as a weapon?”

“I almost killed Gatewood with it,” Olivia said quietly. “When I focused the crystal in the lens at him, he suffered some sort of seizure. He was unconscious for a time. When he recovered he was eager to confess.”

“Fascinating.”