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o’clock.” The first lady hesitated. “What about your friends?”
    â€œThey’re part of the package.”
    â€œI see. They will be discreet?”
    â€œI would trust them with my life,” Sophie stated confidently.
    The first lady stood, indicating their time together was over. “I can’t thank you enough, Sophie. I hope you can help me.”
    â€œI will do my very best.”
    Sophie stepped into the hallway, where several members of the governor’s staff waited. A tall man in his late thirties escorted her back to her room. On any other occasion, Sophie would have joked around, but this was neither the time nor the place. When he reached her room, he stepped aside while she unlocked the door.
    â€œGood night, ma’am.”
    â€œNighty, night,” Sophie said quietly.
    And what a night it had been. She couldn’t wait until morning.
    Â 
    On their way to the old mansion, the first lady gave them a brief history of the thirty-room structure.
    â€œA wealthy hardware merchant by the name of Albert Gallatin had the home built in 1877. It wasn’t until 1903 that the state of California purchased the house to use as the official governor’s mansion. It’s quite charming. We still have many of the furnishings from some of the former governors.” On the short commute, she filled them in on details that were irrelevant, but Sophie knew she was talking so much because she was nervous.
    â€œI think it sounds like a wonderful home. Why doesn’t the governor live here now?” Mavis asked, her cheerful voice a welcome respite.
    â€œWhen Reagan left office, the state built a new residence in Carmichael—not far from Sacramento. When Governor Brown took office, he refused to live there, and the house was sold by the state in 1982. The mansion is now considered a United States Historic Site, and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. We’re content to commute.”
    â€œMy home in South Carolina is on the National Register, too,” Toots said. “I love old houses.”
    Sophie wanted to add that if it weren’t for that old beachside dump in Malibu Toots had purchased, none of them would be riding in a limousine to a former mansion, but she refrained.
    Without too much fanfare, they made their way inside the musty old mansion, where they were led to a small room on the third floor. The drapes were drawn, and, as Sophie had requested, a round wooden table with five chairs sat in the center of the room.
    â€œIt will take me a few minutes to arrange my things, so if you want to wait outside ...” She hated telling this powerful woman to wait, but she didn’t want her observing the setup ritual.
    From her carry-on baggage, Sophie removed the old purple silk sheet that had been left at the beach house by the former pop star and seemed to be a symbol of good luck. Whatever it was, Sophie wasn’t going to mess with it. She’d never covered a séance table with anything else and saw no reason to make any changes in her way of conducting a séance.
    She removed seven candles from a box. She knew the first lady would ask her why seven candles. There was no particular reason other than seven had always been Sophie’s lucky number. She placed six candles around the room and one on the table in front of the chair from which she would lead the séance. She also had a supply of rocks glasses that she felt were good-luck items and centered one in the middle of the table, where everyone could reach it easily.
    She placed a legal pad and several pencils to her right, close to where the first lady would be seated. Sophie did not want changes in anything. It would scare the ghosts away, or so she feared.
    Toots, Ida, and Mavis positioned their chairs in their usual order. Toots sat directly to Sophie’s left, then Ida and Mavis, who would be seated on the other side of the first lady. This works out