"Excuse me," Andy addressed an older woman he recognized as Prue's boss, although he didn't think he'd ever gotten her name.
"Inspector," she said. "here to consult with Prue again?"
"No, actually I'm looking for Alexander Harris, he's a new consultant who's a self taught expert on the occult." He quickly improvised.
"Hmm, I was unaware of that. He's moving inventory for an auction. I'll take you to him."
"I appreciate that, ma'am. Thank you."
"Clair, please. This way, Inspector." She led Andy down to one of the larger auction rooms and he saw Xander setting a painting on a stand. Then pausing to study it for a moment, before shrugging and moving towards another one.
"There he is." Clair said. "Will this take long, Inspector? We are setting up for an auction that's scheduled in two days."
"It shouldn't, no. I just need to ask him some questions and see if he can do some research for us."
"Very well. The guard will escort you out when you've completed your business. Please, don't be offended, we're responsible for millions of dollars in inventory after all." She spoke coolly. Yeah, there was a reason Prue thought this woman was a bitch and it wasn't just because she'd forced Prue to host a dinner at her house with a threat to her new job hanging over her head. Andy simply nodded and headed towards Xander.
"Inspector." Xander said, without looking up. "So what can I help you with?"
"How'd you know?"
"Excellent hearing, I wouldn't call myself an expert on anything except Twinkies. I had a date once with a girl I managed to impress by stuffing an entire one in my mouth, she promptly did the same. Of course that was before she tried to mummify me with a kiss."
"You're not joking, are you?"
"No, unfortunately. It wasn't like she has a choice, she was sacrificed and imprisoned alive as an offering to a god and then accidentally freed. She didn't want to be locked up again, but because of what had been done to her, couldn't sustain her life without draining someone else's."
"What happened to her?"
"She couldn't quite make herself do it. She mummified in front of me and crumbled into dust. She never asked for any of it and if I could have saved her, I would have. So, in an obvious change of subject, what can I help you with, Inspector?"
"Andy and you can tell me about ghosts, because we may have a case that came in today that involves one."
"How so?" Xander asked, curious.
"A guy was murdered with a knife, stabbed 13 times in a pattern and the knife left at the scene. Regular dusting didn't reveal a print, but fluorescent light did, which shouldn't be possible because while fluorescence can make something on skin visible, it can't on metal."
"Under normal circumstances, you're probably right, but ghosts operate under a different set of rules. They're capable of possessing someone else's body and working through them, but they're also capable of a version of telekinesis that allows them to move things. Some are trapped in a sort of time loop, repeating actions over and over again, trying to figure out a way out. There are ways of banishing them, we dealt with a pair about a year or so ago. We couldn't finish the banishing ritual because one of them was enraged and he managed to drive us out. He was eventually able to find the closure he needed to move on. They can do a hell of a lot, including manifesting solid objects. Mostly, you need to figure out what this ghost's objective is, why did it kill this person? Because it might not stop at one, then you find it and you banish it. I can call a friend and have him text Cordy with the details on something that might work, but a lot of it depends on just how much control it has over it's abilities."
"You sound like an expert." Andy assured him. "I'll see what I can find out about the victim and how they might be connected to the ghost. Then we worry about banishing it."
"I'll call Wes and get him to send it, Cordy can gather any ingredients we need. Anything else I can help you with?"
"Something weird about the painting you were looking at when I came in? It seemed to bother you."
"It shows a half naked woman being murdered, I have no idea why anyone thinks that qualifies as art, let alone art valued at over twenty thousand dollars."
Andy blinked. "Neither do I, that's disturbing."
"You see my point." Xander agreed.
"Well, thanks for the info and I'll talk to you later." Andy headed for the guard, who escorted him out, trying to get his mind back on the case and wondering once again, just how much weird he was going to be dealing with now that he knew Magic was real.