Mirrors Darkly Author Notes - Ch. 25-27

By Don Wellington

In Chapter 25, we wrap up the Tanzania story line with Agent Cecil Hogue and his misunderstanding about Darrin's death.   I reference the 1999 movie "The Sixth Sense" in how Hogue must have felt as he sees a "dead person" as alive.  One of my favorites from M. Night Shyamalan.

In Chapter 26, Stacy and Tina turn from the Tanzania trip fall out for Darrin and Rod over to Darrin's apparent "coldness" because he kills animals!  As a kid who grew up on a farm, it has always amazed me how city folk (including my own kids) are traumatized by the death of rats!  Granted, seeing your dad dispatch a rat with a shovel isn't an everyday occurrence.  I even apologized to the rat first, but that apparently made my kids even more upset.  Anyway, good scene in this chapter with Darrin and the rat (spoiler alert, Darrin doesn't use a shovel).

In Chapter 27, we see the scene being set for Agent Hogue to re-encounter "Dr. Rod Warner" after meeting him the first couple of times in Tanzania.  Agent Hogue's character is partly based on an FBI agent I knew in D.C. in the 1990s.  Like Agent Hogue, he was dispatched to investigate the embassy bombings in Africa in 1998.  These folks deserve our undying gratitude for putting their lives on the line every day to protect our country.