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“There’s no question of what we saw and heard,” averred Dare. “Oh, well, heard, at least.”

“You saw something?” Case raised an eyebrow.

“No, not really.” Dare backed off it. “I’m afraid I misspoke.”

“Oh, well, screw it. Doc, I want to get out of here,” said Freeboard. “Like tomorrow. First thing. If it means I have to swim back, I’m outta here. Really!”

“Yes, ditto, as Joe Pendleton would say,” agreed Dare.

Case looked puzzled. “Joe Pendleton?”

“The boxer in Here Comes Mr. Jordan” Dare told him.

“Ditto ditto,” said Freeboard. “I want out.”

“Yes, of course,” replied Case. He seemed thoughtful, staring down at the floor as in an absent gesture he gently stroked and tugged at his lips. He shook his head. “In the meantime, we seem to have a mystery on our hands. But I think that perhaps we can solve it.”

“How’s that?” demanded Dare.

Case gestured toward the second-floor hallway.

“There’s a camera been running up there through the séance, and another at the end of the hall. If there was anything there, it would appear on the film or on the sound track, in which case we’ll have learned what we set out to find and Mr. Dare can write a mesmerizing article about it. On the other hand, if nothing turns up on the film—no hammering sounds, no ghosts …” Case shrugged and let it trail off. Then he turned to look at Freeboard.

“Would that ease your mind?” he asked.

Freeboard set her jaw firmly. “It’s there.”

* * *

“Note the time code at the bottom right corner of the screen,” said Case. He pointed to the spot with his finger. “As you see it reads eleven thirty-three P.M.”

He was standing by the library television set and on the screen was a view of the empty Great Room. Trawley, Dare and Freeboard watched from a sofa close to the warmth of the fireplace flames. “As you can see,” continued Case, “there’s nothing there. Nothing visible. No sound of any kind. No poundings. Neither camera turned up anything at all.”

Dare looked flummoxed.

“Oh, well, the microphones must have malfunctioned.”

“No, they didn’t,” said Case. “Not this one, at least. Here, watch.”

Within moments Case and Trawley appeared on the monitor screen as they entered the Great Room from a hall. Their footsteps, their quiet conversation, were fully and crisply audible.

Freeboard stared at the screen and shook her head.

“That’s just plain crazy,” she murmured. “It’s nuts.”

“But no poundings and no ghosts,” reminded Case.

“But I tell you we heard it!” Dare fumed. “There’s no question, it was absolutely there!” His cheeks had reddened.

“Yes, it’s certainly a puzzle,” Case agreed. “No doubt of that.” Working buttons on the video camera he’d connected to the television monitor, he was rapidly rewinding the tape. “But now here’s an even deeper one,” he told them. He was shaking his head. “I just don’t understand it,” he said. “Not at all.” Then at last he said, “There. There’s the spot. Now look at this. It’s from when we did the séance.” Case touched a little button and the tape ran forward. Once again the Great Room was projected on the screen. Near its center was the game table, with the Ouija board resting atop it.

The time code read 10:30 P.M.

Freeboard gaped. “Hey, where are we? What’s going on?”

The planchette atop the Ouija board was in motion, desultorily gliding from letter to letter. But no one was seated at the table. There was no one to be seen in the room, in fact, except, for a moment, a large collie dog who appeared at the entrance to a hallway and then hastily scurried away and out of view. Dare stared at the screen, his face blanching, and Trawley was mutely shaking her head. “The date’s wrong,” the psychic murmured. She was staring at the date just below the time code. “It says 1998.”

“We’re not on the film,” said Freeboard dully.

She was staring at the screen, uncomprehending and lost.

Dare leaped to his feet. “Oh, well, for godssakes, this is ludicrous! Really! It’s mad! It’s clearly some sort of absurd mistake!” He looked