"That's not lunch, Gabriel," Patrick said as they took seats. "It's not even solid food."
"It's a mocha, which provides an efficient way to replenish my blood sugar while I talk."
"Have you ever had a mocha?"
"No, but Olivia is fond of them." Gabriel took a sip.
"Yeah..." Patrick said as Gabriel struggled not to make a face. "A little sweet? Learning to like mochas isn't going to help you get back with Liv. If you want my advice--"
"Preferably not." Gabriel paused. "No, sorry. I meant absolutely not."
"Your sense of humor--"
"--is nonexistent. Twelve minutes."
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"We haven't started talking."
"You haven't stopped." Gabriel gulped the mocha over his stomach's protests. Then he set down the cup. "I wish to know more about fae compulsion."
"So I'm paying you to ask me questions?"
"That's how it works. Questions allow me to refine my investigation. Mr. Lambert claims--"
"Lambert saw a ghost, not a fae."
"Does that mean you can confirm the existence of ghosts?"
"Sure."
"That hardly sounds confident."
"Theoretically, ghosts could exist. I've heard they do. Just never seen one. Liv did, though, right?"
"If you are referring to James, yes, she saw him. Or a vision of him. Or, because she can see visions, she may have been able to see his spirit when others would not. None of that is proof of ghosts. We do, however, have proof of fae."
"It's a ghost, Gabriel. It disappeared. Fae don't disappear."
"Spriggans? Cw^n Annwn?"
"Spriggans can appear to vanish by melding with their surroundings. Camouflage. That only works at a distance. The girl was right in front of Lambert. Cw^n Annwn can trick the eye to, again, appear to vanish. But this was a woman. Terribly sexist, our Wild Hunt. The only woman who rides with them is Mallt-y-Nos. Matilda. Which is Liv."
"My point was not that this woman is either spriggan or Huntsman, but that you are incorrect in saying no fae can appear to vanish."
"She isn't fae," Patrick said. "She's a ghost. If you read that research I compiled--"
"Not necessary. I draw my own conclusions based on facts. In this case, I have an eyewitness account."
"As a defense attorney, you should know eye witnesses are notoriously unreliable."
"Only when their testimony does not support my case. In which case, I simply provide experts who will argue the opposite. If you insist on disregarding this particular witness, though, then perhaps the woman didn't vanish into thin air after all, which seems to be your primary proof that she's a ghost."
"Huh?" Patrick shook his head. "No wonder you're good at your job. I have no idea what you just said."
"Excellent, then you won't mind humoring me when I say she could be fae, and therefore I need to know more about compulsion. Hypothetically, can a fae plant a subconscious command?"
"A command to do something? We compel you to not do things, primarily not to question. Like when you were a boy--I'd talk to you in Cainsville, but when you returned as a young man, you didn't realize I was the same guy you'd spoken to as a child. It's compulsion working in tandem with basic human psychology. It would make no logical sense for me to be the same guy. You decided I must be a relative, which explained the resemblance."