“I’ve been giving that a lot of thought,” Elizabeth said. “I might have to consult the Old Man, and Jake may have already gotten some ideas from him, but between the three of us, I think we can figure it out.”

“Do you have any ideas of your own, dear?” his mother asked her.

“Happily, I do.”

The look she gave him was apologetic because he couldn’t approve of her running a con, but he could hardly object, either. He’d known what she was when he married her, and he’d participated in every con she’d run since he’d met her, willingly and otherwise, so he had no moral standing to criticize. “What do you have in mind, darling?”

She blinked in surprise, probably because she’d expected him to argue, but she said, “Jake came up with a wonderful idea, the one he told me about that night at the salon, but now that he’s actually involved, I think we can do even more. I haven’t worked out the details yet, but I think Jake can use my role as a real medium to his advantage. The key is to make them believe I can really predict the future.”

“I wish you could predict the Woman Suffrage Amendment will pass,” his mother said.

“I would if it were guaranteed,” Elizabeth said wistfully.

“But how can you be sure something is guaranteed to happen?”

“Probably by making it happen,” Gideon guessed. “Am I right?”

“Have I told you how brilliant you are, darling?” Elizabeth asked with an adoring smile.

“Not nearly often enough.”

—

Oh, Mrs. Bates, you were right! You were exactly right!” Cybil exclaimed the moment Elizabeth and Gideon entered Madame Ophelia’s storefront on Tuesday evening. Everyone else from the previous séance was already there, waiting, and they all jumped to their feet as they shared Cybil’s excitement.

Elizabeth smiled uncertainly because she would have had no idea what she’d said to Cybil when the spirits were speaking through her. “Did you find it, then? What you were looking for?”

“My uncle’s will, yes. It was just as you said. I went to the fireplace in his bedroom and found a loose brick right where you said it would be. I never would have noticed it. It looked exactly like all the others, and nobody goes about pulling on the bricks in a fireplace to see if they’re loose, do they?”

“No, I don’t suppose they do,” she allowed.

Cybil continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I pulled out the brick and found a metal box. It was locked, of course, but I pried it open because I knew what would be inside. You’d already told me that! So I opened it and there was my uncle’s will.”

“I’m so glad,” Elizabeth said without much joy.