Cherringham--Ghost of a Chance by Neil Richards

came Karl Eiss who gave Jack a sly wink before heading straight over to the video camera.
    Jack watched him as he flicked switches and swung the lens round to face the table.
    Finally — Basil Whistlethwaite himself, looking deathly serious and carrying a leather briefcase.
    “That’s everybody, Mr. Brennan,” said Suzie, who stood alone at the door to the main dining room.
    Then she leaned in and whispered: “Good luck!”
    “Thanks Suzie,” said Jack. “I’m going to close the door now. So if you could just do as we said — make sure the door stays shut — no matter what — and wait until I knock before you open it?”
    “Yeah, no worries. Will do!”
    He nodded at her, then shut the door firmly and turned to check the room one last time.
    The cast members were all in their places, sitting quietly.
    He waited, his hand on the light switch, while Basil opened his briefcase and took out a notebook and pen. He placed the items on the table in front of his seat.
    Then Jack watched him remove a folded board which he opened and carefully laid in the centre of the table.
    A Ouija Board!
    “Ms. Edwards,” said Basil, taking a step back from the table. “If you could light the candles please, I shall explain the board to our fellow truth-seekers.”
    Jack saw Sarah get up, and walk around the table. One by one, she lit the four candles, then returned to her seat.
    “I am your medium tonight,” said Basil. “If a spirit is willing to talk with us, I shall introduce him — or her. Then we shall all talk together, using the board. The glass will move to ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ and from letter to letter as appropriate to spell out our spirit’s words. Is that clear?”
    Jack watched the group closely. Paddy, Crispin, and Mandy grunted their answers — but all three looked edgy. Lawrence still looked excited. Sarah kept her eye on the others, alert.
    “Mr. Brennan, you may extinguish the lights,” said Basil, taking his seat.
    Jack flicked the switch.
    It took a second for his eyes to adjust. When they did and he looked across the room, he felt as if he’d been dropped into the nineteenth century.
    The table was a low dome of light in the blackness of the room. The four candles seemed to pull the group tight together, the light playing on their faces.
    On the four walls, their shadows loomed and swayed like monsters. At a stroke, the atmosphere had become sinister and threatening.
    To one side, Jack could still just see a tiny red light glowing on Eiss’s camera.
    He walked over to the table and sat in the vacant seat opposite Sarah.
    He caught her eye — a half smile forming on her face — then a deliberate solemn expression.
    He put on his most serious face and breathed deeply.
    The clock on the mantelpiece began to chime.
    The midnight hour …
    *
    “Ladies. Gentlemen. Please place your hands on the table,” said Basil after a pause.
    Jack did so — and watched the others comply, their eyes wide in the low light.
    “Now, please join hands to make a circle around the table.”
    Jack moved his hand in the flickering candlelight. On his left, his hand joined Mandy’s — elegant, manicured.
    He caught her roll her eyes at the gesture.
    On his right — the thin, veined hand of Lawrence Myrtle.
    Getting nice and ghostly, Jack thought.
    “We come together tonight in peace. To talk to any spirits who are troubled or who may wish to communicate with us,” said Basil to the wider room, his voice echoing back from the darkness.
    Jack could see in the half-light that Basil’s eyes were shut.
    “Sprits!” Basil said, suddenly raising his voice. “We mean no harm, and we understand that we are entirely within your power!”
    The room now — totally quiet. Jack could hear the low breathing of Lawrence at his side, a steady rasp. Opposite, between Crispin and Paddy, he saw Sarah’s eyes flitting around the table, taking everything in.
    Nothing’s going to get past her, thought Jack.
    Good.
    “And now …”