Chapter 8: A house and a mystery
'No, wait!' Penny begged. 'Please, sit, listen: I have an idea, one that will expose their ruse and embarrass Mrs Winchester, and I hope dissuade her from dealing with such folk again.' she promised, but knew Molly would need something much more personally satisfying... 'And you'll get to have a good laugh at her expense...'
Penny leaned closer to explain her plan. 'Now, very soon, this pair will be stopping by here to visit you. I'll be with them as an observer. For their ritual, they claim they need an item of Cole's, something that was close to him for a long time, such as a favourite hat, a tool, a ring, a pocket watch? One of the workers mentioned your husband had one. They'll ask you for such an item. I propose you let them have it.'
'But, here is the trick: you give it to me to keep safe. I shall go into town and purchase a duplicate, as close as possible to the original, and make modifications to complete the forgery. After all, Mrs Winchester knew your husband too well to accept any old item, it must be convincing. I shall swap the items, and when in the séance, I'll let them work their chicanery on the insignificant duplicate. Then, afterward, I shall produce the original and expose the fraud!' Penny ended with as much as triumph as if she'd just done it. And, in a way, she had. Jesus, please forgive me for deceiving this innocent woman.
She returned power over this to Molly. 'Do you think this would work? Do know of something suitable?'