Seven Point Eight by Marie A. Harbon

Sakie’s ‘magic trick’. When she decided she’d had enough, she relaxed her hands and body and the needle returned to normal.
    After some thought, Paul said, “You must generate some kind of magnetic force.”
    “That is exactly what we believe she does,” Miss Tynedale stated.
    A compass responded to the magnetic north pole by pointing towards it. For that needle to spin as it did, it must have been exposed to an aberrant electromagnetic field. Paul wished he’d brought his equipment today to test her, right there and then. As he hadn’t, he vowed Sakie would be the first to have her EM field measured, if that was what Max wanted him to do.
    She peered at him and said, “Finish.” Her Staccato manner suggested she was a girl of few words.
    “Thank you Sakie,” said Paul, keeping it brief, assuming she knew little English.
    Miss Tynedale led him out of Room 7 and they crossed the landing to enter the room opposite. Inside, Paul saw four sets of round tables with chairs, two of them occupied by a man and a woman, albeit not at the same table.
    The woman had pleasant, friendly features and she was slightly overweight. Paul estimated her age as late twenties and she had long, dark, wavy hair. Her eyes were large and brown, with a friendly twinkle in them. The man on the other table looked quite athletic although a little severe. His shrewd eyes scrutinised Paul and he seemed quite determined, although not hostile at all. Aged around thirty, he had sandy coloured hair and wore a fine gold necklace. They both sat quietly at their respective tables, waiting for something.
    “This is Beth and Peter, who have both been with us several years now. Peter was born in Switzerland , but he lived in England previously.”
    A non-descript woman in a lab coat entered the room, carrying two envelopes. In turn, she opened them and handed the contents to Beth and Peter, who placed the received information on the table. The woman in the lab coat spoke.
    “Your subject today is a young woman, who has been missing for six months. Her mother has heard nothing and wishes to know if she’s passed on.”
    Simultaneously, they picked up their own copy of a photograph and Paul watched as they studied it. Beth closed her eyes and stroked the picture with her index finger, while Peter concentrated intensely.
    Beth responded first.
    “She’s telling me that the day she disappeared, she was walking by a secluded section of the river. A man approached her to ask for help finding his dog, then he proceeded to take her into the trees…oh…”
    She fell silent, so Peter continued the story.
    “She was raped and then strangled… her body is buried in a clearing near to where she disappeared. There is a natural dip in the trees… I can give more precise instructions on how to find her.”
    The woman in the lab coat produced a map, handed it to Peter and he placed his hands over it lightly. While he did so, Paul became aware of Beth studying him with fascination.
    “There’s a strong spirit who watches over you on a regular basis,” she told Paul.
    He didn’t know what to think. These tests and the abilities of the subjects didn’t appear to have any scientific basis, although nevertheless, they piqued his curiosity. Beth continued to focus on him.
    “The blitz…”
    Those two simple words opened his heart but before Beth could continue, Miss Tynedale led him away.
    “There’ll be another time and place for a personal reading,” she informed him. “We cannot prejudice the test. I take it you clearly understand the nature of Beth and Peter’s abilities?”
    Paul nodded, regretting the interruption. He genuinely wanted to hear Beth out.
    “Contact with the deceased, I would suggest.”
    She gave a nod of approval and gestured to Paul to follow her, while he gazed back at Beth, who tried to mouth something at him. He shrugged and figured there’d be another time and place for what Beth wished to impart.
    In another room, Paul