“Henry, Claudine, thank you for having me. It has been a true pleasure to spend the evening with all of you, to experience Montague House so full of life. And poltergeists. As the last pick of the night, there could only be one gift for me. In the true spirit of the game, I’m going to steal… from Claudine.”

I walked over and took the statue from her. Everyone went crazy.

“Ooooooh.”

“Daaaamn.”

“No way.”

Even Dave said, “That’s cold.”

Claudine looked startled, then glared at everyone. They immediately went quiet.

“Zara, why on earth would you want that statue?”

“Why wouldn’t I want it? Look at it. It’s so kitschy. I love stuff like this.”

And I did. But there was another reason. I kept looking at it. It had a mesmerizing quality, this strange gravitational pull on me. I wasn’t sure where the statue came from but it just looked like it had an interesting story. And also I loved the fact that, unlike the rest of the gifts, it hadn’t been brought to please Claudine. In fact, it was the opposite. Someone really wanted to piss her off. I appreciated how anarchic and rock-and-roll that was.

“Zara, please,” Claudine said. “Look around. There’s a room full of treasures.”

There was a weird desperation in her voice. She was sounding a little manic. “Go on, everyone, hold them up. Show Zara what her options are.” Everyone awkwardly held up their gifts. “How about the Portuguese tapestry? I was thinking it would look nice hanging upstairs in the master bathroom. The wall across from the claw-foot tub is made for it. The room is beautiful, but it could stand for a splash of art. Imagine it, the southern light bringing out the blues and the blue-greens? Louisa, please take Zara the tapestry.”

“No, Louisa,” I said. “Stay where you are. Claudine, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be buying this house. It’s gorgeous.” I turned to Henry. “A true work of art. But there’s no connection. I know when I know. The statue and I have a connection. And I’d like to take it home with me.”

“No,” she said. “I’m sorry, but no. That’s just not possible. You can either choose another gift or take the last one on the table.”

“But there are two gifts on the table,” Captain Tiggleman said.