Finders Keepers

presence. Please speak with us tonight.’

The group was silent, and Ken concentrated very hard. Maybe something would happen for Stevie tonight.

‘A spirit is approaching,’ the medium said. ‘I am getting a message.’

Ken held his breath. Oh please, he thought, let it be Stevie’s father.

After a moment she added, ‘It’s a man,’ and his heart leapt. Come on, Mr Fisher, Stevie needs you.

Then Cassandra said,‘He’s carrying red roses,’ and Dahlia let out a squeal.

‘It’s Vladimir!’ she cried out. ‘He always brought me red roses.’

Ken opened his eyes. ‘Who’s Vladimir?’

‘My lover, in Russia,’ Dahlia said. ‘Before the Revolution. Does he have a message for me?’

‘Yes,’ Cassandra said. ‘He wants you to know he waits for you in eternity.’

‘Oh, how lovely,’ Dahlia said happily. ‘I have such wonderful memories of my time with Vladimir. I’m so happy to know he still thinks of me.’

Ken couldn’t help rolling his eyes, and then he realized Margaret was looking straight at him. And she was smiling! He was so surprised, he couldn’t even smile back at her. He closed his eyes.

The medium had more words from Vladimir for Dahlia — mushy stuff that almost made Ken blush. Finally Vladimir made an exit, and Cassandra was available to hear from another spirit.

‘Margaret, your mother is here.’

‘Oh, yeah?’

‘She wants to know if you’ve been taking your vitamins.’

‘Uh, sure.’

‘She wants you to know she’s watching you, Margaret.’

‘OK.’

‘And thinking about you.’

‘Great,’ Margaret said.‘Tell her I’m thinking about her too.’

Ken opened his eyes again. There was no sign of a tear on Margaret’s face. He noticed that, above the veils, the medium’s eyes were open too. Ken didn’t blame her. This was a completely different Margaret from the one they’d seen the previous Friday.

‘Well,’ Cassandra said finally, ‘your mother is very pleased to see you’re feeling better. She wants to say goodbye now.’

‘Bye, Mom,’ Margaret said.

The medium noticed that Ken’s eyes were open, and she frowned. Obediently, he closed them.

‘Someone else is coming,’ Cassandra said. ‘I think it may be Cleopatra, Dahlia.’

Ken uttered a silent groan. Where was Stevie’s father? Didn’t the man realize how desperately Stevie needed to talk to him?

He made a decision. As soon as the seance was over he was going to have a private conversation with the medium. Despite Madame’s warning, he was going to tell her about his gift.

Because together, if they joined forces, they just might be able to help Stevie.

Hey, man, what’s up?

Jack, not now! I’m in the middle of a seance. I ’m trying to concentrate!

But did you talk to Lucy? Did you tell her not to go out with Simon?

Yeah, I told her.

Thanks, pal. Look, could you do something else for me? You’ve still got my iPod, right? I left it at your place a couple of days before I died, remember?

I think so. Why?

Could you give it to Lucy for me? And tell her it’s from me?

OK, OK. Jack, listen, I gotta go. I really want to concentrate on this seance.

Sure, man. See ya.

Ken opened his eyes for a minute, and realized that Cassandra’s eyes were open too. And she was looking straight at him. Maybe she’d sensed he hadn’t been paying attention. Obediently, he closed his eyes and thought about Stevie’s father.

But Cleopatra was the last dead person to speak to them that night.

CHAPTER EIGHT

AMANDA WAS RELIEVED WHEN the medium turned her attention to Dahlia. It wasn’t easy, pretending to talk to Margaret’s dead mother. Especially when she knew Margaret’s mother wasn’t dead at all.

What was Margaret up to anyway? She’d been in Margaret’s body for almost three days now, and she was no closer to an answer. But she wasn’t letting the question drive her crazy. She was having too much fun for that.

Bored with the conversation between Dahlia and Cleopatra, she closed her eyes and let her mind drift back, to remember and relive the very interesting weekend she’d just enjoyed …

Once she recovered from the shock of learning that Margaret wasn’t a drab, depressed woman with a dead mother, she explored the apartment to learn who she really was. Unfortunately, Margaret didn’t keep a diary — at least, Amanda couldn’t find one. There were photos — more of Margaret on the tropical beach, plus pictures of her at what looked like a party. She didn’t see any pictures of her alone with a guy, so she assumed Margaret didn’t have a current boyfriend. She was glad — it might be hard to fool a boyfriend into believing she was really Margaret. In fact, she decided it would be best to spend the next few days on her own, and try not to encounter any of Margaret’s close friends. After seeing the credit cards in the wallet, she knew she could have a very nice time all by herself.

After a good night’s sleep in Margaret’s comfy bed, Amanda woke feeling refreshed and ready to begin her new life as a twenty-five-year-old adult. Having watched a great many television series about young single women, she had some good ideas as to how she could spend the weekend.

From Margaret’s closet, she selected leggings, a tunic top and a pair of stilettos. It was the very first time she’d worn heels this high, and she felt positively glamorous. Once outside, she walked to the closest bus stop. She would have preferred to take a taxi, but she’d already made a dent in Margaret’s cash resources. There was a cash card in the wallet, but she didn’t know Margaret’s PIN code, so she would have to be careful with the money. It was a good thing she had the two credit cards.

A very good thing. Because her first stop was the Mall.

There were many shops she liked, but Unique Boutique was her favourite. It had the trendiest clothes in town, and a notice in the window assured her that Margaret’s credit cards would be accepted. She spent a few minutes just looking at the window displays, revelling in the knowledge she could have anything she wanted.

Did Margaret ever go to this store? she wondered. She doubted it — she hadn’t seen anything in her closet with the labels carried here. Unique Boutique was probably too expensive for Margaret. But that was what credit cards were for — to buy things you couldn’t afford, right?

It was funny — people thought Amanda’s family was rich and that she could have anything she wanted. This wasn’t exactly true. Maybe her parents were rich, but they didn’t spend all their money on her. And contrary to popular opinion, she wasn’t spoiled — at least, she didn’t consider herself spoiled. Her parents didn’t give her everything she wanted, like her own credit cards. She had to ask for stuff, and sometimes they said no. And she didn’t have many items from Unique Boutique.

But there was no one to say no to her today. She didn’t have to get anyone’s permission to buy anything. She could have it all.

Like that unbelievably cute slinky red party dress with the wide black belt … She could just hear her mother saying, ‘Amanda, you do not need another party dress.’ Amanda smiled happily and went into the store. She found the dress in her size, didn’t even look at the price tag, and headed to the dressing room.

There, she encountered an unusual problem. The dress didn’t fit. She couldn’t even do the zip up. What was