Chapter 14

“We sat in a circle and held hands like they do in the movies when something spiritual is about to happen. The part of me that didn’t believe, the hocus-pocus part, told me this exercise was harmless, like a scene from an old Charlie Chan flick on TV. Livie as the phony medium, and Henry’s asthmatic breathing pumping up the atmosphere. His condition seemed so much worse during a séance. You could hear the tiniest, thinnest, weightless things. That doesn’t make sense, but it’s how I’d describe it. The thought of an apparition suddenly appearing on wires and hovering over our ridiculous trio gave me the giggles.”

Emily closed her eyes and slouched back in the chair. Guy noted a switch in tense as if she were reliving the experience at that moment. “I feel Henry’s fingers signal his disapproval. Stop laughing. For Livie’s sake, always for Livie’s sake, but I can’t stop myself.”

Guy leaned in closer, totally caught up in her story.