“What did you try?”
“I put in 4#lacy, because he gave me a ring with four tiny diamonds when we were dating.” Realization dawned on Lacy’s face. “But maybe this is the number he was talking about.”
“Since you’re not the one who got away, that part is wrong too.”
We were one step closer to the answer, one step closer to rebalancing the scales of justice.
“I think everything may be connected. Give me a couple more hours, and we’ll figure this out. I promise.” I looked into her eyes, willing her to trust me, willing myself to be right.
Lacy started to tear up as she kept my gaze. “And if we run out of time?”
“Then I’ll make a video of myself riding bareback in the nude and send them to all of your clients to distract them from two silly pictures and a video from before your brain was finished cooking. Deal?”
Lacy didn’t quite laugh but she did give me the edge of a smile. I would take it.
THIRTY
Lacy sent Anton to call his friend who knew someone who knew someone who was a hacker, which was a long shot but worth trying. Then, she joined me in the Finches’ family room, where Aunt DeeDee said we could scavenge for supplies for our fake séance. In a little over an hour we would meet Savilla on the main floor before venturing into the bowels of the estate to the Vampire Room.
Like most families, even the Finches had a bin filled with soft blankets and a closet full of games they may have never played.
“What does someone even take to a séance?” I asked as Lacy, Aunt DeeDee, and I started looking through cupboards.
Aunt DeeDee pulled out her phone and entered my question into a new AI chat she’d downloaded a couple of months ago. She’d named it Alistair, and often referred to the software as if it was less of a search engine and more of a smart boyfriend.
She read from the screen. “Alistair says we need low lighting…”
I spotted a scented candle and a giant decorative one and put them in a box. From the other side of the room Lacy grabbed several votives.
“Next is… incense and/or herbs.”
“Any ideas?” I asked.
“I’ll get some oregano and basil from the kitchen.”
“I don’t think that’s what Alistair means,” Lacy said, sounding uncertain.
“It’s fine.” Aunt DeeDee was unbothered. “We also need an item that belonged to the person we want to contact.”
“We’ll see if Presley can contribute that,” I said.
“Oh my.” Aunt DeeDee continued to read Alistair’s list. “This says we should have a Ouija board or tarot cards.” She looked at both of us. “The Finches wouldn’t have anything like that, would they?”
I glanced at the neat rows of games and spotted playing cards. “What about UNO?”
Lacy lifted an eyebrow as I tossed them in the box.
It took another half hour to find everything else on the list and then some. Instead of crystals, we decided to take a moment at the beginning of the ordeal to remind everyone that The Rose was—or used to be—full of sparkly rocks. For an altar, we grabbed the squatty potty that Aunt DeeDee remembered was in her bathroom.
“Here’s a shawl,” Aunt DeeDee said, placing her cozy fleece wraparound on top of the blankets we’d also added to the box. “It wasn’t on the list, but I’ve always imagined that someone leading a séance must be wearing a shawl.”
That sounded accurate for our ragtag attempt at a quasi-spiritual experience.
Lacy patted the stuffed box. “I think we’ve done well for throwing it together so fast.”
“And Savilla is inviting Presley, Joe, Valerie and Will Hurt, and the film crew, so we should have a good-sized crowd.”
“And Doris,” Aunt DeeDee added. “Miss 1962 herself.”
