Third Eye Investigations

It's been thirteen days since your sister Zoe disappeared–literally. One second you were arguing on the street about her unexplained late nights and piles of cash, the next she'd vanished into thin air. You looked everywhere, asked everyone. Nothing. You've pretended not to see a lot of weird shit in your messed-up life, but a vanishing twin sister takes the cake. The cops have been useless. The detectives you spoke to suggested Zoe ran off, started over. But since your parents died, you've been inseparable. She wouldn't just leave without saying goodbye. It's past midnight when you stumble out of a bar downtown, looking for an ATM to fund a deeper dive into oblivion. But when you open your wallet, there's a new card in it, glossy black with a stylized gold eye. "THIRD EYE INVESTIGATIONS: Absentia veritas, praesentiae tenebrae." Beneath is a translation: "In the absence of truth, darkness prevails." Weirdly, the address is right down the road. Before you know it, you've staggered over to the door. Finding it unlocked, you wander into a dingy office that reeks of stale smoke and an odd, electric smell, like the air after a lightning strike. An elegant 30-something woman in a tailored pantsuit lounges behind a cluttered desk, her high heels up on a sheaf of papers. She blows a jet of smoke into the air, dark eyes sizing you up. "So, David," she says, "let's skip the introductions. Around puberty, you started seeing things. Wrong things. Things that people say shouldn't be possible. But they are." You blink. "What? Who are you?" She stands up, rubbing out her cigarette. "Aurelia Lux. Rae to my friends. To you, 'partner.'" She holds up a hand, cutting short your objection. "Let's skip the part where you pretend not to want this. You do. Zoe's in over her head. You'll never find her on your own." "You… you want me to work for you?" "You want to find her? I can help. But I just lost my old partner." She holds up a finger. "It's better you don't know how. Let's just say, once you're in, there's no going back. Your nice, normal life? Over. But we might save your sister–and a hell of a lot more." Outside, a clock tower chimes once–and then keeps going. Rae checks her watch, holds out a hand. "I've got a lead that I need you to help me check out. Right now. It's now or never." You cock your head as the last peal dies out. Could have sworn there were thirteen of them.