Blackvine Manor Mystery by Wendy Meadows Page A

spirits contact you.”
    “No, it pretty much happens at random. More around here than anyplace else.”
    She shakes her silver bangles at George. “Like this one. Always inviting spirits to communicate but never protecting himself. You will get hurt, Georgie; soon if you are not careful. I see it.”
    “I meditate?” Alexis volunteers, thinking of the chapter she reads from her mother’s book.
    “Not enough. First you must summon your own energy. Then you open up the space for communication. Lastly, you always, always, clear the space and close up the energy.” Alice rolls up her sleeves.
    “First I breathe, building my own energy; a different force than you use for running errands or walking a flight of stairs. It is from deeper inside and stronger. Then I listen to the room, some people cast circles but I concentrate on one room at a time. I clap my hands to send my energy out to each wall, making it my own space. When I am finished I walk around the room, touching each wall to take my energy back. Then I wrap my scarf around and around. It is easiest to meld mental protection with physical actions.”
    Alexis quickly scribbles notes in the index margins of her mother’s book, knowing she will have to practice herself later. When she is done Alice stands up, ready to communicate with the spirits of Blackvine Manor.
    Alice takes deep breaths, exhaling slowly, before turning to the first wall. She claps and holds her palms out to the wall, letting the echoing thought of the sound fill the space. When she has clapped in each direction she settles down cross-legged on the floor and listens.
    “I do not see the way you see. I close my mind and through the dark come flashes, like my inner eye opens on other scenes. You see with your eyes open.”
    “And I can sometimes hear things ghosts say,” Alexis tells her.
    “I say spirits because there are different types and, to me, ghosts are just one type.” She closes her eyes and breathes in. “In fact, that is the answer you are seeking. There was a wraith.”
    “What is a wraith?” George can’t help but ask.
    Alice opens her eyes and tells him, “A wraith is a spirit of one recently departed or one about to die. You’ve seen one before?”
    Alexis turns to George. “I remember my mother talking to someone I couldn’t see right before she left. It could have been Delia right before she died. After that night my mother started spending time here before she disappeared.”
    “Delia. She has spoken to you,” Alice assumes aloud.
    “Yes, but as a ghost, right? She had been dead for a long time before leading me to her body.”
    Alice closes her eyes, still nodding. “And someone else is here. He is strong. He has already used your curiosity against you.”
    George snorts. “He almost used her to steal a fist full of rings.”
    “And this is why you must practice. No one cares if all you do is say ‘abracadabra’ and spin in a circle. As long as your intention is to build up your energy, contain it, and then reclaim it, you will protect yourself from unwanted spiritual contact.”
    Shaking her finger at both of them, Alice walks around the studio apartment touching each wall before wrapping her long silk scarf around and around her neck.
    “Thank you so much, Ms. Manetti.” Alexis shakes her hand again.
    “You are very interesting, different abilities than mine. We should talk more. After you practice.” Alice kisses her on the cheek.
    “Thank you, Alice. I’ll see you on Wednesday?” George inquires.
    “Yes, at the Roberts’. Another séance. Though I am serious, if you do not take steps to protect yourself you will get hurt too.”
    Alice throws on her red leather coat before turning one last time to Alexis. “He keeps showing me a willow tree. He wants you to meet him at the willow. Protect yourself first. Practice!”

Chapter Twenty
    “ Y OU’RE A TERRIBLE DETECTIVE .”
    “HOW’S that? I have the office.” Maxwell motions to the sparse