She backed away as if I'd suggested she desecrate a grave. "Oh, no. I couldn't. My dress-"
"Then it'll have to be me." I pulled off my sling-backs and handed them to the nearest guard. "Now which of you boys is going to boost me over that fence?"
SO I snuck into the neighbor's yard and swiped dirt from behind their pool house. By the time I got back, my feet were filthy, my hair had twigs caught in it and I was sure there was a dirt smear or two on my face. But I got my round of cheers-and my laughs- and some footage of a cute young guard washing my feet in the fountain.
"Okay," I said, putting my heels back on as I leaned against the obliging guard. "Time for the seance. Angelique? You're up."
TANSY LANE
THE MEDIUM HAS TWO PRIMARY TOOLS at her disposal, and neither has any-thing to do with summoning spirits. The tools are knowledge and statistical probability. Or, as they're often called, warm reading and cold reading.
Cold reading uses statistical probability to make random guesses about a person or an audience. For example, if I say I see the spirit of a man, someone you've lost, it's a given that you've lost a male friend or relative in your lifetime. If I say his name started with J-first name, but maybe a middle or nickname-there's a good chance you can find a dead male relative with that common initial. Then I'll throw out "details" supplied by your dead relative, talking fast, shaping my responses by reading your reaction, and soon you'll be convinced I am indeed speaking to your dearly departed second cousin Joey… who, by the way, misses you, but is happy and in a good place.
Then there's warm reading, which uses prior knowledge. Maybe you chatted to one of my staff on the way into the show-they're so helpful and friendly. Maybe they overheard you telling your companion about the person you wanted me to contact. Or maybe you wrote it on that questionnaire you sent in, the one that was supposed to be anonymous. However it happened, I know that you, in seat D45, are praying that your second cousin Joey comes by with a message. Well, he has, and he misses you, but he's happy and in a good place.