Glass Eye: Confessions of a Fake Psychic Detective

Chapter 25

Kendra leads Zandra to what she calls a "stationary room." Zandra isn't sure what that means until she's inside. It's cramped and windowless, with a desk in the middle for writing letters. There's just enough room for three wooden chairs around the desk.

Kendra calls for her personal assistant, Abby, to clear the cotton paper and ivory pens on the desk. Abby seems a little aloof in her introduction to Zandra. Says she's a cousin of Kendra's. Looks to be on the tail end of college-aged.

"Stay," Kendra says when Abby is done cleaning up. She tugs at her cousin's sleeve.

Abby doesn't put up a fight. Sits down and joins hands with Kendra.

Zandra removes a small, black candle from her pocket and spears it onto a collapsible stand. She leaves it unlit in the middle of the table and hits the light switch. Time to prime her audience. Shouldn't be too difficult. They're ready and willing.

"Have either of you participated in a séance before?" Zandra says.

"Never," Kendra says in the darkness. "Is that bad?"

"Not at all. Before we begin, I need to ask some basic questions. This will help me call up the right spirit guide," Zandra says. "The spirit guide will assume total control of my body and voice. You can ask the guide questions. After a period of time, I'll regain control and the séance will end. Do you understand?"

"Yes," they say in unison.

In the darkness, Zandra gently removes a tiny bell from the deep pocket of her purple gown. It's a custom design, with a spike for a handle. She reaches under the table and plants it into the wood. A fishing line tied to the spike runs back into her pocket. All she needs to do is wiggle her hip to ring the bell.

"Good. Now focus on the flame," Zandra says and puts a lighted match to the candle's wick. The dim glow illuminates each of their faces. Zandra trains her squinted eyes onto Kendra. "Tell me about the day Elle went missing."

Kendra recounts that fateful day's events. Gene bought Elle a new bike to take to Soma Falls Park down the street. They wanted to build Elle's independence, something Gene read about in a parenting book.

All those kids later and he's still reading parenting books.

Kendra made iced tea for the three of them. They drank it, took pictures and waved Elle good-bye. She was supposed to go as far as the Soma Falls waterfall inside the park, then turn around and come back.

Getting a visual on Kendra's truthfulness is almost impossible, so Zandra deploys a different tactic. She asks Kendra to retell the story backward. Liars typically don't do well with consistency. Kendra passes the test without a hitch, although she breaks to sob uncontrollably at the end. Her crying radiates out to the candle. The light nearly flickers out.

"What about Gene? Earlier I sensed dark spirits attached to him," Zandra says after things calm down. She joins hands with Kendra and Abby to complete the circle. Slips her fingers into place to catch their pulses.

"What do you mean?" Kendra says.

"Had he been acting strangely before Elle went missing?" Zandra says. It's a little direct, but it pays off.

"Actually, yes. He spent a lot of time with this guy. They talked about hunting and stuff," Kendra says, her pulse steady.

"Was his name Seth?" Zandra says.

Kendra's face contorts into surprise in the candlelight. "How did you...?"

Abby lets out a quiet gasp.

"I'm a psychic, child," Zandra says. Hides a smile. They're good and primed. "What was unusual about Gene talking to Seth?"

"Gene's isn't into hunting. At least, not since I've known him. We met a couple years ago at a fundraiser," Kendra says.

Gene lived most of his life before Kendra was even born, but that's beside the point. Zandra probes a little deeper. It'll be her last question. Could raise suspicions otherwise.

"Other than talking about hunting, was anything else about Gene and Seth unusual?" Zandra says.

"Seth would come here late at night. They tried not to talk in front of me. I caught them in one of the garages one night. That's how I know what they were talking about," Kendra says. Pulse still steady. "I didn't like Seth. He seemed weird. Like super-obsessed with hunting."

Like everything else, Kendra's revelations could be something or nothing. Zandra's starting to put a loose theory together either way. She wonders if it's enough for Charlie to get a search warrant. Probably not.

Then again, Zandra isn't the police. No warrants required, although any evidence she gathers could be thrown out in court if it's not collected properly. Going back to Seth's cabin and breaking in to hunt for evidence wouldn't fall in that category.

So why did the police set Zandra loose on this case in the first place? It's not like anything she does will stand up in court. Is a judge supposed to take the word of a psychic? Of course not. Maybe there's another reason they brought her in on the case.

Zandra shelves the thoughts for now. There's a séance to perform.

"Do you feel that? Like a static in the air?" Zandra says. "You've called something in, Kendra. Intense emotional energy can attract spirits like nothing else."

Kendra and Abby shake their heads. They might be suggestible, but they're still honest.

"What should I be feeling?" Kendra says.

Zandra closes her eyes and hums. It comes from deep in her throat, masking the sound of her hip moving into place under the table.

"If a spirit is here, give us a sign," Zandra says after her humming stops.

She lets a taut pause of anticipation fill the room. After a few seconds, Zandra rings the bell.

Kendra and Abby unleash matching screams. They try to shake their hands free from the circle.

"Please, we must stay together or it won't work," Zandra says and squeezes hard.

When her audience resumes breathing, Zandra closes her eyes and slumps her head into her chest. Her shoulders convulse in unnatural shivers. With violent eyelids, she raises her head to face Kendra. Her mouth parts and pushes out a groan that starts in her intestines and ends in the capillaries of her eyeballs.

"I am William," Zandra says in as masculine a voice as she can muster.

"William" is her go-to séance spirit. It's one of the most common male names in history for English-speaking parts of the world. She can shoehorn it into almost any situation. And imitating a male removes comparisons between her voice and the "spirit's." Works every time.

Trembling, Kendra asks "William" a question. "W-William, do you know about my b-baby? My Elle?" she says.

Zandra snorts and shakes, like she's arm-wrestling with the spirit somewhere deep in her guts.

"No," Zandra says. It's the best answer she can think of without committing to anything.

"Is Elle with you in the spirit world?" Kendra says.

Better think fast.

"I don't know Elle," Zandra says.

"So she's not in the spirit world with you?" Kendra says. She's gaining confidence. "Yes or no, William. Is Elle dead?"

That's not a question Zandra wants to answer. She cranks up the spasms, even foams a little spittle loose from her mouth. Her hands struggle against Kendra's and Abby's until they break their grasp. The two scream, giving Zandra a chance to sneak in two fingers to pinch out the candle's flame.

With the circle broken and the room dark, Zandra slumps over onto the table. Kendra and Abby continue their lung-bursting screaming as Zandra cleans up the bell under the table.

That's when the door opens and fills the room with light. It's Gene, and he doesn't look happy.