just do me one favour, OK? Don’t tell her today. Think about it.’
‘I’m not going to change my mind, Jenna.’
‘Just wait till the next seance,’ she pleaded. ‘It’s not like anything can happen now. OK? Please?’
‘What difference is one day going to make?’
‘I don’t know! I just feel like – like it will make a difference.’
That sounded pretty lame to Ken, but he’d never heard Jenna sound so frantic. If it really meant that much to her . . .
He went back into the apartment, where Cassandra and Margaret were talking.
‘Um, I have to go.’
‘I thought you wanted to talk to me privately,’ Cassandra said.
‘It can wait till tomorrow,’ Ken said.
C HAPTER T EN
T HE WOMAN WHO HAD been calling herself Cassandra pulled off her veil and cursed as the door closed behind Ken.
‘I think we’re all right,’ she told Amanda. ‘I kept my mind completely blank all the time that girl was in the room.’
Amanda reminded herself that she wasn’t Amanda. ‘Why?’
‘She can read minds,’ Serena said. ‘But I blocked her from getting into mine.’
‘You can do that?’
‘I learned how when I studied hypnosis,’ Serena Hancock informed her. ‘You concentrate on a little phrase called a mantra. Some people do this for meditating, to clear the mind. It can work when you’re around mindreaders too. When I was student-teacher in her class I was able to hide my thoughts from her.’ She started towards the kitchen. ‘I’m going to fix myself a Martini. Do you want one?’
Amanda shuddered. ‘No, thanks.’ She followed Serena into the kitchen. ‘You can’t really make contact with spirits, can you?’
Serena stared at her. ‘Are you being funny? Of course not! You know that.’
Margaret would know that, Amanda thought. ‘Oh, sure, but I was just wondering. Maybe, after doing this for a while, you might have developed the gift.’
Serena began mixing her drink. ‘It doesn’t work like that. You’ve either got it or you haven’t. It’s too bad though. If I could connect with dead people, I wouldn’t need Ken. I hope he’s not going to be a problem. I think he really wants to help Stevie. He seems like the caring type.’
‘Yeah, Ken’s like that,’ Amanda said. Once again Serena looked at her oddly, and Amanda tried to recover. ‘I mean, that’s how he’s been acting here.’ Mentally, she scolded herself. She had to remember who Serena thought she was. It wasn’t easy. She was still reeling from the revelations of the evening before.
‘Don’t you want anything to drink?’ Serena asked.
‘Just water,’ Amanda said. ‘I . . . um . . . I’m on a diet. Excuse me, I’m going to wash my hands.’
It was just an excuse to be alone in the bathroom for a few minutes. She put the lid down on the toilet and sat there.
She had to admit, Serena had designed a very clever scheme. Fortunately, when Amanda had learned who Serena was the night before, the shock had left her speechless and she was able to learn a lot about the plan by just listening to Serena talk about it.
She gathered that Margaret and Serena were friends from back in the days when they’d studied to become teachers at the same university. Teachers didn’t make much money, and Serena wanted a lot more than she earned. And it appeared that Serena was still obsessed with getting her hands on a winning lottery ticket.
From what Amanda had figured out, Serena had learned about Stevie’s plight from another friend, Jane, who taught at a different school. Stevie was in Jane’s class, and he’d confided in his teacher. Jane was so moved and saddened by the story, she’d mentioned it in passing in a conversation with Serena. And Serena – without telling Jane, of course – came up with a plan.
Having done some of her student teaching at Meadowbrook in the gifted class, she’d learned about their special gifts. She knew what Ken could do, and she thought he’d be able to get in touch with
‘I’m not going to change my mind, Jenna.’
‘Just wait till the next seance,’ she pleaded. ‘It’s not like anything can happen now. OK? Please?’
‘What difference is one day going to make?’
‘I don’t know! I just feel like – like it will make a difference.’
That sounded pretty lame to Ken, but he’d never heard Jenna sound so frantic. If it really meant that much to her . . .
He went back into the apartment, where Cassandra and Margaret were talking.
‘Um, I have to go.’
‘I thought you wanted to talk to me privately,’ Cassandra said.
‘It can wait till tomorrow,’ Ken said.
C HAPTER T EN
T HE WOMAN WHO HAD been calling herself Cassandra pulled off her veil and cursed as the door closed behind Ken.
‘I think we’re all right,’ she told Amanda. ‘I kept my mind completely blank all the time that girl was in the room.’
Amanda reminded herself that she wasn’t Amanda. ‘Why?’
‘She can read minds,’ Serena said. ‘But I blocked her from getting into mine.’
‘You can do that?’
‘I learned how when I studied hypnosis,’ Serena Hancock informed her. ‘You concentrate on a little phrase called a mantra. Some people do this for meditating, to clear the mind. It can work when you’re around mindreaders too. When I was student-teacher in her class I was able to hide my thoughts from her.’ She started towards the kitchen. ‘I’m going to fix myself a Martini. Do you want one?’
Amanda shuddered. ‘No, thanks.’ She followed Serena into the kitchen. ‘You can’t really make contact with spirits, can you?’
Serena stared at her. ‘Are you being funny? Of course not! You know that.’
Margaret would know that, Amanda thought. ‘Oh, sure, but I was just wondering. Maybe, after doing this for a while, you might have developed the gift.’
Serena began mixing her drink. ‘It doesn’t work like that. You’ve either got it or you haven’t. It’s too bad though. If I could connect with dead people, I wouldn’t need Ken. I hope he’s not going to be a problem. I think he really wants to help Stevie. He seems like the caring type.’
‘Yeah, Ken’s like that,’ Amanda said. Once again Serena looked at her oddly, and Amanda tried to recover. ‘I mean, that’s how he’s been acting here.’ Mentally, she scolded herself. She had to remember who Serena thought she was. It wasn’t easy. She was still reeling from the revelations of the evening before.
‘Don’t you want anything to drink?’ Serena asked.
‘Just water,’ Amanda said. ‘I . . . um . . . I’m on a diet. Excuse me, I’m going to wash my hands.’
It was just an excuse to be alone in the bathroom for a few minutes. She put the lid down on the toilet and sat there.
She had to admit, Serena had designed a very clever scheme. Fortunately, when Amanda had learned who Serena was the night before, the shock had left her speechless and she was able to learn a lot about the plan by just listening to Serena talk about it.
She gathered that Margaret and Serena were friends from back in the days when they’d studied to become teachers at the same university. Teachers didn’t make much money, and Serena wanted a lot more than she earned. And it appeared that Serena was still obsessed with getting her hands on a winning lottery ticket.
From what Amanda had figured out, Serena had learned about Stevie’s plight from another friend, Jane, who taught at a different school. Stevie was in Jane’s class, and he’d confided in his teacher. Jane was so moved and saddened by the story, she’d mentioned it in passing in a conversation with Serena. And Serena – without telling Jane, of course – came up with a plan.
Having done some of her student teaching at Meadowbrook in the gifted class, she’d learned about their special gifts. She knew what Ken could do, and she thought he’d be able to get in touch with
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