| Scott turned on the soft light, then crossed to the doorway to shut off the other lights in the room before closing the padded doors. Jessica barely noticed Scott retrieving a flashlight to guide himself safely around the equipment to his station with the technicians. She did notice that James was lost in the darkness beyond their soft table-glow. The underlighting before her likely made Wanda a distinctly eerie silhouette to the audience.
To everyone at the table, she appeared like a ghost from a Universal horror film. They all must have Wanda began: “Tonight, we seek to penetrate the mysteries of the universe, to peer into the dark
Jessica considered that any unmasked murderer would certainly not feel much peace if he ended up liberated from life by the gallows. Could it even turn out that Gladys Carlyle had dunnit? What kind of show Scott would pull out of that?! Wanda finished identifying the participants at the table and what each contributed to opening a
Jess wondered if James was either getting antsy with all this hocus-pocus talk or wrestling down a guffaw at the portentousness of Madame Wanda’s intonation. A glance at the strained expressions of Jamie and Philip quashed Jessica’s smarty-pants attitude. The clamminess in Philip’s hand holding hers was a dead giveaway as to how much he had riding on this experiment. As much as Jessica hated the thought that Felicia’s materialization might legitimize her own dreadful dreams, she also hated the thought of Madame Wanda making monkeys out of everyone from Scott to Jamie. How in Sam Hill had they all gotten into this? It was like recognizing what a mistake you’d made the second after your car on the roller coaster rolled away from the gate.
Hmm, two misquotations from Shakespeare and one from Wordsworth. Literary gal, wasn’t she? Jessica gave herself a hard mental shake. What the heck! The lady’s words were powerfully lulling! Darned if she drags me along into La-La Land! Liz, her face creepy in the underglow, frowned at Jessica’s reaction. Neither Philip nor Jamie appeared to have noticed, their attention focused on Wanda. Their medium commenced calling Felicia to them, welcoming her, promising to give her voice, a Wanda spoke softly, but not too softly for the mike to pick up: “Yes, I see her. She’s speaking to me. Her words are soft, difficult to hear. The doubters block her. No, one doesn’t want to hear because that person knows the truth. No, you will not prevail. Felicia is strong. The forces of the universe are strong. I hear her! I hear her!” Jessica shook her head. That soft but intense delivery almost had her again! She quirked a skeptical smile at Liz, but her sister wasn’t looking at her. Instead, troubled, Elizabeth was riveted on something across the room. Maybe behind Guy or Maura . . . No, James! Concerned, Jess started to shift to follow her sister’s gaze, but Wanda nailed all their attention with a “Mamma,” Jamie breathed, her dark eyes enormous in a white face eerily illumined. Wanda pushed on, her eyes blank to this world. Or so she wants us to think, Jessica considered. But her hand did hurt from Wanda’s bear-trap grip. This woman must screw jar covers on for a side job! “He promised to love you, but not enough to let you go. He would never let you go. He made sure you could never go.”
“Yes, I see him. You’re showing him to me . . .”
Bravo! Jess mentally applauded, reassuring herself with skepticism, almost. “Oh, my Lord! Yes, I see him. He’s with us tonight. He’s—” Had there been a vague flash off in the corner by the audience just before a strangled mumble and a little squeak of pain and surprise escaped Wanda O’Malley? Almost simultaneously, Jessica felt Wanda abruptly squeeze her hand, before the medium fell forward on the table with an incongruous thump. Every light, every bit of power went dark; the house shuddered under the hand of the gale. Wow! Helen Hayes-quality performance! Ha! Felicia’s “psychic energy” too much for you, Wanda? Jess started to give her sister a conspiratorial smirk, but Liz was still staring into the audience. Absently, Jessica realized that James had anxiously called her name, and she’d called back she was fine. In the back of her consciousness, Jess could hear Scott cursing the control panel, the murmuring of the audience, Jamie whimpering into her hands, Gerry calling to Jamie, Philip questioning, “What is going on?” Freeing her hand, Jessica poked the silent woman and hissed, “Wanda.” Nothing. What if she’d had a heart attack or a stroke? That was when moonlight flooded the room. James and Gerry had completely pulled back the curtains. Jamie shrieked and Philip burst out, “Good God!” Elizabeth’s intake of breath was sharp as a cutlass slice at what she saw. Jessica looked down and
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Sharon Healy-Yang 