‘How can I help?’ Doris asked.
Jo took charge. ‘We’re looking for a friend, Michelle Blake, who we’ve lost touch with. We wondered if you could give us any clues as to where she might be.’
‘Have you brought anything with you that belongs to her?’ Doris asked.
We shook our heads.
‘A photo, perhaps?’
‘I’m sorry, no, we could have done if we’d realized we needed something like that.’
Doris sighed. ‘No matter. Come closer and give me your hands. As you do, I want you to close your eyes and imagine your friend so that I can get a sense of her.’
We moved to the chairs nearer her and first she took Jo’s hands in hers and then mine. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes. ‘The day is for the living, the night is for the dead,’ she whispered.
I felt a blast of ice-cold air to the left of me and the cat’s ears suddenly pricked up as if it had heard or felt something. It sat up, fur rising, and stared in the direction that the sensation of cold had come from. Its head turned, its eyes watching as if something was moving from the left of the room to the right. I couldn’t see anything. I glanced over at Jo. She raised an eyebrow.
‘The spirits tell me that your friend has gone over,’ said Doris.
‘Gone over where?’ Jo asked.
Doris closed her eyes. ‘I’m looking, could be over the sea, could be that she’s crossed the river we pass—’
‘You don’t mean she died, do you?’ Jo asked.
Doris closed her eyes again; she began to sway a little. ‘I must consult with the banshee—’
‘Banshee?’ I interrupted.
‘They are the spirits who herald the death of a dear one. I feel one near,’ said Doris, and began to moan softly.
Jo glanced over at me. She looked spooked and jerked her thumb at the door as if to say, let’s get out of here. Doris suddenly stopped and her body sagged.
‘When might this have happened?’ I asked.
Doris opened her eyes. ‘Time is not the same in the spirit world. Listen for the banshee.’
Jo stood up and headed for the door. ‘Right. Listen for the banshee. Will do.’
‘Do you wish to ask anything else?’ Doris asked.
‘Maybe another time,’ I said and glanced at Ajay who was still filming.
‘Can you edit this next bit out?’ Jo asked.
‘Sure,’ he said.
Jo turned back to Doris. ‘Will I have another relationship with a man?’ she asked. ‘Find love?’
Doris closed her eyes then began to moan softly again, as if in pain.’
‘OK,’ said Jo. ‘No problem. In fact, that’s how I feel when I ask myself the same question.’
I got up to join Jo at the door. ‘Er … thanks for your time. Most helpful.’
Doris didn’t answer. She stopped moaning and sat back in her chair and had fallen into what looked like a doze.
We heard a knock at the door and Stevie came back in. ‘Your next appointment is here, Doris.’
We took that as an opportunity to escape. As we did, Stevie held out a donation box. ‘How much is it?’ I asked.
‘Donations are voluntary,’ he said.
I stuffed a ten-pound note in the box and we left.
‘That was scary,’ I said.
‘And so cold in there. Do you think it’s an act or genuine?’
‘Don’t know, don’t care, maybe the cat’s in on the act, but let’s get out of here before the banshee gets us.’
*
The second session was above a health store in Kensington. A willowy woman in her thirties came out to greet us. She looked like Pocahontas, with long chestnut hair down to her waist; she was dressed in Hawaiian dress and had tattoos on her arms. She led us into a red room with soft lighting. Once we were seated, she introduced herself as Rain.
‘What an unusual name,’ said Jo.
‘It’s the one my spirit guide gave me,’ she said.
As we had with Doris, we explained that we were looking for Michelle.
Rain nodded. ‘We will try and make contact. I’d like you to sit and hold hands with me so we form a circle.’ There were no chairs, only cushions on the floor, so we sat down and did as instructed.
‘Now take three deep breaths,’ said Rain. She then began to chant, which evolved into a sound as if she was being strangled in pain. Thinking she was having a seizure of some kind, I opened one eye at the same time that Jo opened one of hers. Rain was still groaning and swaying. I could see that Jo was already struggling not to laugh, which set me off. I quickly closed my eyes again as Rain continued with her strange wailing. I risked opening an eye a few seconds later to see that Jo’s shoulders were still shaking in silent laughter, as were Ajay’s.
I coughed.
Rain suddenly stopped her wailing. ‘Stop!’ she said. ‘I have contact.’
‘With Mitch?’ I asked.
‘No, with my spirit guide Orion,’ said Rain.
‘What does Orion say?’ I asked.
‘He says …’ She began singing in a language I didn’t understand. Jo and I looked at each other in puzzlement. Rain stopped again. She stood up, went to the corner and picked up a bottle of liquid that she proceeded to sprinkle over us whilst continuing her strange incantation.
‘Er … should we join in the song?’ asked Jo.
‘Oh yes, please do if you know the words,’ said Rain.
‘But what about our friend Michelle?’
‘She is no longer known as Michelle,’ said Rain.
‘Ah,’ said Jo, ‘that would explain why we haven’t been able to find her. What is her name now?’
‘Phoenix. She changed her name to Phoenix.’
Jo glanced at me and shrugged.
