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like a matador’s cape, then dropped directly into Toots’s lap. “Oh my gosh!” she cried out.
    â€œIt’s okay. Stay calm,” Sophie said to Toots. “So you’re one of Toots’s many husbands? There have been so many. Is there any way you can distinguish yourself?”
    Toots wasn’t frightened enough not to be insulted by Sophie’s questions to this . . . spirit .
    Suddenly, the candle flames doubled in size, then extinguished themselves. Darkness filled the room, along with the scent of melted wax. Toots tossed the sheet off her lap as though it were on fire.
    â€œBe quiet!” Sophie cried. “We don’t know what we’re dealing with!” Prepared for the unexpected, Sophie whipped a Bic lighter out of her pocket. She relit the candle on the windowsill behind her.
    Sophie reached for the sheet, placing it back on the table in a pile. “Are you angry with Toots?”
    Again, the purple silk sheet sailed from the tabletop. Only this time it floated like a magic carpet around the dining room, zooming around the table, then dropping on the floor in front of Toots’s chair. Mavis placed her hand across her chest while Toots stared as though she were in a state of shock. Sophie genuflected.
    As suddenly as it started flying around the dining room, the sheet dropped to the floor, after which there was a bloodcurdling scream.

Chapter 4
    I da was sitting in the bathtub, soaking her aching bones. This séance stuff was too much for her to deal with. She’d been through so much since Thomas’s death, and the last thing she needed was a bunch of wild ghostly apparitions chasing her around the house. Maybe it was time for her to go back to New York, call it quits. Ida’s fingers were starting to prune, so it was time to get out of the hot water and get into bed. She might even consider taking one of those sleeping pills that so-called excuse for a doctor had prescribed for her. She flicked the drain button with her toe and stood up. She was reaching for the thick, fluffy bath towel when she looked at the mirror above the sink. It was completely fogged up, yet the words I was poisoned formed in wet drips on the mirror.
    Ida let out a bloodcurdling scream.
    Heavy footsteps bounded up the stairs, stopping when they reached her bedroom door. A loud banging ensued.
    â€œIda, what the hell is going on in there?” Toots asked, fearful for her friend, causing her heart to skip a beat. Mavis and Sophie were right behind her.
    â€œWhat’s wrong? Is she trying to scare the daylights out of us just to tick us off?” Sophie asked.
    Toots banged on the door again. “Ida, if you don’t answer me or come out of there, I’m going to call nine-one-one, and they’ll drag your ass out dressed or not.”
    They waited for the bedroom door to open, anything to let them know Ida was alive and well.
    Sophie raised her voice several octaves higher. “If you don’t open the door, I’m going to kick it down and drag your flabby ass out and tie you to that Hollywood sign in the hills. Then the world will know you wear padded bras because your tits are the size of fried eggs.” Sophie always went for the humor. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn’t. Without further ado, Sophie raised her foot high in the air and kicked the door, doing nothing more than injuring her foot on the solid oak. “Open this damned door now!”
    â€œOh, stop it! I have a key for all the bedrooms on top of the door frame.” Toots raced down the hall, where she ran her hand across the top of her door frame. A soft whimpering could be heard from behind the door to Ida’s room, which remained locked. Finding the key, she quickly returned and unlocked the door, then, seeing no one in the bedroom, rushed to the bathroom just as Ida, wrapped in a large bath sheet and looking like she had seen a ghost, opened the door.
    When Ida saw