“But she knew the accident was going to happen before it did,” his wife reminded him.

“Is that why you invited all of us back?” Tilly asked bitterly. “Is one of us going to die, too?”

Everyone else gasped, although Gideon figured they had all been wondering the same thing.

Elizabeth looked suitably horrified. “I certainly hope not.”

“I hope not, too,” Tilly’s mother said fervently.

“And why is he here?” Tilly asked, gesturing at Jake, who frowned.

“I’m taking someone’s place,” Jake said.

“Yes, he’s taking Miss Miles’s place,” Cindy’s mother said knowingly. “She got what she wanted from the spirits, and now she doesn’t need them anymore.”

“Is that why she isn’t here?” Tilly’s mother asked.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Cindy’s mother said. Why was she so angry? Probably because she hadn’t gotten what she wanted from the spirits yet.

“Madame Ophelia is ready for you now,” Persephone announced from the doorway.

Jake was the first one to enter, barging in with ungentlemanly haste, followed by Tilly and her mother and then Cindy’s parents. Elizabeth gave Gideon a resigned smile and followed them, leaving him to wait alone.

Elizabeth took the only remaining seat, across from Madame Ophelia. Jake had taken the chair next to Madame where Cybil usually sat.

“Tonight, I would like for you to address your questions to Mrs. Bates,” Madame Ophelia said.

No one protested, but Elizabeth could actually feel the wave of shock that washed over the group. All eyes had turned to her, and none of them were friendly. A full minute passed before anyone even reached for a paper and pencil. Jake was the first and then the others followed, although reluctantly. They were all probably afraid of receiving bad news from her, and she found herself wanting to remind them of the good news she’d given Cybil.

But she refrained. No sense setting unrealistic expectations.

The writing of questions seemed to take longer than usual, but finally, Persephone collected them and burned them and left. Since Elizabeth didn’t have the headset, she wondered how she was supposed to know what the questions were, but perhaps Madame Ophelia was testing her abilities again. At least she knew what Jake had asked. She had a pretty good idea what the others would ask, too, although she had no answers for them.

Everyone placed their hands on the table and Madame began to hum, even though Elizabeth assumed she wasn’t really trying to summon her spirit guide. Elizabeth waited, knowing the tension would be growing with every second. After what seemed too long and really was, Madame called out, “Is someone there? Speak to us, spirits.”

“Ahahahahah,” Elizabeth said in her spirit voice.

“Who are you, spirit?” Madame demanded. “Speak to us.”

“Mother,” Elizabeth’s spirit said.

Two women gasped.

“Andy?”

“Cindy?”

“Mother,” the spirit voice said, “it’s Andy.”