Mirror Obscure (Vista de Lirio book 2)

Paranormal women's fiction for lovers of sassy women, psychic shenanigans, and lifelong friends.

Dr. Vivian Wei is juggling multiple life changing events when her aging mother witnesses a violent death on the thirteenth tee. The only problem? There doesn’t seem to be a crime to go along with the witness.

As an empath, Vivian knows her mother is telling the truth, but feelings don’t prove a murder. Can Vivian and her friends prove a murderer is stalking the country club before he claims another victim?

MIRROR OBSCURE is the second book in the Vista de Lirio series, a new paranormal mystery series by Elizabeth Hunter, bestselling author of the Elemental Mysteries, the Glimmer Lake series, and The Irin Chronicles.

Chapter One
Her professional name had been Selene Beverly, discreet psychic to the stars and uncanny astrologer, but when she introduced herself to Vivian, she’d used her given name, Maud Peterson.
“Another deep breath in.” Maud’s soothing voice drifted over the cool morning air. “And out very slowly, letting any negativity—aaaaany friction or resistance—eeeeexit your body.” Another deep breath, in and out. “Release it to the universe.”
No need for professional names among peers according to Maud. Vivian was newly empathic. Her friend Julia, who was sitting directly in front of her, was a medium exchanging silent pointed looks with their friend Evy, the telepath of their small supernatural circle.
According to Maud, they all needed practice.
The more experienced touch-telepath happily agreed to join Morning Club two days a week to help Vivian and her friends with their “psychic workouts.” At least that’s what Maud called them. She was like a personal trainer if a personal trainer was more interested in your aura than your muscles and wore caftans for appointments.
“Another two breaths like that; then we’ll start our meditation.”
Vivian tried to focus on her breathing and not on the papaya-sized baby in her uterus who had decided to do backflips on her bladder that morning.
I don’t have to pee. I don’t have to pee. I don’t have to— “Shit.”
She’d whispered it, but when she opened her eyes, every gaze on the lawn that morning was directed toward her. Julia and Evy, Aunt Marie—the one who knew Maud in the first place—and half a dozen other Morning Club neighbors from Vista de Lirio, the weird and wonderful neighborhood that had become Vivian’s second home.
“Sorry.” Vivian awkwardly hoisted herself to her feet and pointed to her belly. “Need to pee again.”
Maud nodded and waved her hands. “As we listen to our bodies and give them what they need—eyes forward please—we focus on centering our spines and connecting with the earth beneath us, the life around us, and the power within us.”
Slowly everyone turned back, closed their eyes, and refocused their attention on Maud’s guided meditation. Morning Club was a Vista de Lirio institution. No pregnant lady was going to trip it up.
Sergio Oliveira, their host that morning, shuffled over in a black T-shirt, a pair of grey sweatpants, and house slippers. His shoulder-length hair was tousled, and thick black stubble marked his jaw.
“What do you need, honey?” He blinked his dark bedroom eyes and yawned a little. “I can’t ever sit still long enough for meditation. Can I get you some tea? No Bloody Marys or Mimosas for you these days, but I’ll make you a virgin Screwdriver if you want.” He squinted. “Maybe that’s just orange juice. I’ll get you an orange juice.”
Good Lord, he looked like a movie star. It was at least the hundredth time she’d thought it since Sergio had walked into her dental practice for a cleaning and she’d met the man who had started the string of unlikely events that had landed her where she was, newly psychic and pregnant at forty-two.
Okay, that was unfair. He was really only responsible for the psychic part.
“I’m fine.” She brushed her hand over his arm and felt the happy wave of emotion that was Sergio. “I just need to use the bathroom. Again.”
He yawned and waved at the house. “You know where it is. I’m going to make you some tea anyway.”
“Thanks.” Vivian walked to the bathroom in the sprawling 1930s mansion that Sergio shared with his husband, Dean; their two daughters; and Analu, their live-in nanny.
She sat down and did her business with great relief, then stood, wrestled her yoga pants over her ever-expanding belly, and tried to imagine life in three months.
Intellectually, Dr. Vivian Wei knew that her uterus would grow rapidly at this stage of pregnancy to keep up with the swiftly growing baby boy she was carrying. She knew that; she just couldn’t imagine it. She was already feeling unwieldy and off-balance. Her feet were bigger. Her black hair was getting thicker every day, and she felt like sleeping constantly. Thank God she was in excellent shape and healthy for forty-two because she could not imagine doing this if she wasn’t.
She washed her hands, walked out of the powder room and toward the sounds of life in the kitchen. Sergio was standing near the electric kettle with Dean, who was already dressed in a bright white shirt and linen jacket. Dean might be a commercial real estate broker, but it was August in Palm Springs. A suit and tie would be pure torture.
“Good morning, Vivian.” Dean walked over and brushed a kiss on her temple. “How are you feeling?”
“Good, just distracted.” She peered out the window at the group on the lawn. “I have never been very good at sitting meditation.”
“Same,” Sergio said. “I’ll join them in a half hour when tai chi gets going.”
“That sounds like a plan.” She tried to jump onto one of the half dozen barstools on the other side of the kitchen island before giving up and grabbing a chair in the breakfast nook. “At least the weather is nice.”
“For another two hours, and then it’s one hundred and eight today.” Dean grimaced. “How are you doing?”
“Becoming a better swimmer every day.” Vivian smiled. “And thanking the universe my grandparents’ development has a pool.” It wasn’t technically her grandparents’ development anymore; it was hers. She’d been living in Palm Springs full time for over a year now, but this was her first full summer. And her first summer pregnant.
What had she been thinking?
Oh right: time was of the essence.
Despite her single status, nothing about Vivian’s pregnancy was unplanned. Nothing about her life was unplanned except for the jolt of psychic energy seven months before that had unlocked latent empathic power and turned her world on its head.
She had always known she wanted to be a mother. And she’d always had a plan to become one if she hadn’t met the right partner by age forty. She had no qualms about scientific means of conception.
As far as Vivian was concerned, this mindset freed her from the pressure of finding “the right man” for a relationship and fatherhood. There was no deadline to settle for a subpar relationship when she knew that she could accomplish motherhood on her own. Now if she met someone, it would be for the right reasons, not because she was on a biological schedule.
Not that she was looking.
With a pregnancy nearing the last trimester, her parents’ sudden and possibly permanent move to Palm Springs, and the unexpected ability to sense emotions when she shook hands with strangers, Vivian knew that any kind of romance was out of the question for the year. Maybe the decade.
At least she had fellow new psychics Julia and Evy to keep her company with the paranormal aspect of her life. And Maud. She had Maud.
“Here’s your tea.” Sergio sat across from her and blinked heavily. “I should probably at least try to meditate, right?” Dean barked a laugh and Sergio turned to him. “At least I try. What do you do for your mental well-being?”
Dean didn’t even look up from the newspaper. “I kiss you and I golf.”
Sergio looked back at Vivian. “See, what am I supposed to say to that?”
“Nothing.” She patted his hand. “Come on. I’ll finish my tea and we should get out there. If I don’t keep practicing the tai chi, I’ll start tipping onto patients when I look at their molars.”
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“You are so much better at tai chi than I am.” Evy wiped the glow of sweat from her forehead. It wasn’t from exertion; it was because it was nearing ninety degrees already. “And you’re pregnant. I really need to exercise more.”
“Yes, you do.” Julia took a long drink of the Paloma Sergio had made for her and leaned back in the patio chair. “Ladies, should I start looking for my own place?”
Evy looked around the shaded patio, the crystal-blue pool, and the rolling lawn where other members of Morning Club were chatting and sitting with their drinks while the weather was still bearable. “And move away from heaven?”
Vivian smiled. “I have to admit, your setup here is pretty sweet.”
Julia was currently living in Dean and Sergio’s pool house and had been for nearly a year. She was family though, so they refused to let her pay rent. And since Julia was a very successful real estate agent with homes in both Laguna Beach and Malibu, she had plenty of capital if she wanted to buy a house in Palm Springs.
“You’re right. And half the time I’m house-sitting for Michael anyway,” she said. “That is the benefit of having a part-time boyfriend.”
Michael, Julia’s new man, was a director and traveled a lot, so he was barely at his new house in Palm Springs, but at least Julia was enjoying it.
“You might need to start house hunting for me,” Vivian said. “I’m starting to think my parents’ move might be permanent.”
“Oh, I knew it!” Julia smiled. “You need to move, Vivian. Living in Rancho Mirage is not for you. Why don’t your parents stay there and you find your own place? Here. In Vista de Lirio.”
“I thought your dad was helping at the practice?” Evy sipped her Bloody Mary. “Is it a little too much closeness?”
“It is, and he is. My dad is great, and my mom is so excited about the baby. They are definitely helping a lot, but I’m just used to having my own space.” She waved a hand. “I’m sure it’s just a transitional stage. I’ll be grateful they’re here when the baby comes. And I never have to cook anymore; that’s so nice.”
Plus she didn’t have the budget Julia did. Vivian did well, but if she wanted to move, she’d need to sell the house her grandparents had left her, which was a house her parents loved. Her father could golf every day, and her mother had a mahjong club at the Jewish temple full of smack-talking old women, most of whom were fellow retired MDs.
In short: her parents were happy, enjoying the warm weather, and looking forward to spoiling a new grandbaby.
They were never moving.
_____________________________________________________________

“I can tell the meditation class is working.” Joan Wei, MD, was serving dinner and filling in Vivian and her dad about her day. “Your color is good.”
“This looks delicious, Mom.”
Her mother was the first generation of her Chinese family born in the US, so she’d learned to cook all the traditional dishes Vivian’s dad loved but also the varied dishes she’d grown up eating in Chicago. Italian, Mexican, and even Slavic dishes like the stuffed cabbage rolls she’d made that evening.
“I hope it’s good. It’s Marty’s recipe and I liked it, but it needed some spice.” She spooned a large helping of rice next to the cabbage rolls. “Hopefully it won’t give you heartburn. It’s just a little heat.”
Vivian’s mouth was burning with the first bite, but the flavor was delicious. “It’s great.” She nodded. “Perfect, Mom.” Tums, here I come.
“There are more in the pan, so eat.” Despite the heat, it was a delicious meal. “Dad, how was your round of golf this morning? I hardly saw you at the office.”
“It was good, but I’m not gambling with that Simon fellow again.” Allan shook his head. “He’s been golfing a lot longer than me; he wins every time.”
“You lost to a ninety-year-old?” Joan asked.
“I told you.” Allan nodded firmly. “Experience.”
Vivian looked at her parents with a little bit of exasperation and a lot of love. They’d raised her and her sister to be successful adults but also raised them with so much love it threatened to make Vivian weepy.
Everything made her weepy lately.
Dammit, she was crying.
Joan’s eyes went wide. “Vivian, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing!” She smiled. “I was just thinking that this baby is so lucky to have such amazing grandparents.” She reached out her hands. “Thank you for being here, Mom. Dad, I’m so glad you two are happy here.”
They both reached out to grab her hand, and she felt their love and their worry. Pride and concern from her father, but her mother’s emotions were so muddled Vivian wondered if they were too close to her own.
She wiped her eyes and smiled again. “Let’s eat before it gets cold.”
“You know, after dinner, we could watch the Desert Classic,” Allan said. “I heard they were going to replay it on the Golf Channel.”
Great. Awesome. Vivian stuffed the rest of the cabbage roll in her mouth. Just what she wanted to do on a Friday night, watch reruns on the Golf Channel.
_____________________________________________________________

Vivian was sound asleep when a movement on her bed jolted her awake.
“Vivian?” Her mother was sitting on the edge of her bed.
“Mom, what are you doing up here?” She’d moved to the upstairs guest room when her parents moved in because her mother’s knees bothered her on the stairs. Why had her mother climbed to the second floor? “Is Dad okay?”
“He’s fine.” She opened her mouth, then closed it.
Vivian sat up and rubbed her eyes. She glanced at the clock and noticed the time. “Mom, what is going on? It’s one in the morning; are you okay?”
“No.” Her voice came in a whisper.
Vivian really looked at her mother. Her face was pale, and she looked… scared? She leaned forward and grabbed her mother’s hand.
Terror. Sheer terror.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” Joan started. “I… I have some tea that my mother used and I brought it from home, so I went to make it, and when I was waiting for it to steep, I looked out the window in the kitchen. You know the thirteenth tee is just over the fence line, and you can see the golfers when they’re teeing up.”
“Okay. Was there someone—?”
“He swung the golf club, and I didn’t realize what was happening at first, but there was a light from somewhere and then I saw the club and then the man fell down.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “He hit him so many times, Vivian. There was blood and…” She looked up. “I think he’s dead. Someone murdered that man.”