I Ching is to the supernatural as Panda Express is to mall food courts: cultural appropriation for white folks convinced they're too enlightened for the standard fare, but not so far along to not toss around the word "Oriental" like it isn't a slur.

Latent racism aside, this "ancient Chinese form of divination" conjures insights from coins and yarrow stalks, a fancy term for "overpriced sticks." They're some of Zandra's best sellers at Sneak Peek. It's all in the packaging, covered in Mandarin writing that if anyone in Stevens Point would bother to translate would realize is nothing but insults. Stray twigs could get the job done just as well, but where's the fun in that?

Zandra figures Abby and Seth haven't heard of I Ching before. If they have, she'll just pronounce it in a different way. "Eye Chin" is the standard for Stevens Point's shamans of the Midwest. "E Sheen," on the other hand, well, now that's something completely different.

I Ching comes with a host of divination methods, but Zandra makes up her own to suit her plans for Abby and Seth. It won't take much.

"If Gene isn't onto us, he will be soon," Abby says. She loads the magazine back into the pistol and stares at Seth. "You thought of that better plan yet? Or do we do mine?"

Seth looks like he might vomit. He mumbles something about needing more time.

"Here's a plan. We need to clear our heads and re-focus or we're never going to figure this knot out. Lucky for you, this is one of my specialties," Zandra says. She collapses into a chair at the table.

"You're not going to pull some more of that Ouija board crap on us, are you?" Abby says.

Zandra shakes the matches out onto the table and brushes them into a circular pattern. It's not how an I Ching session is typically set up, but it doesn't matter. What does is the hope in Seth's desperate eyes. He's primed.

"Have you heard of I Ching before?" Zandra says. "It's a form of..."

"Oh, please, don't start with this," Abby says, cutting her off.

Seth swats at the air near Abby. "Stop it. Let her finish," he says.

Zandra clears her throat and continues. "It's a form of ancient Chinese fortune telling. Whether you believe in the supernatural powers of I Ching or not, it's a great tool for accessing your subconscious decision-making abilities. Your mind is always working on answers to problems. It's just a matter of finding a way to listen in. That's why so many people find answers in dreams. I Ching allows you to cut right to the chase. No sleep required."

"So it's not like the Ouija board? I didn't like that so much," Seth says.

"No. This is a mental tool. With enough practice you could, as I have, use I Ching to tap into the spirit world. But that's for another day," Zandra says.

Seth folds his hands and leans toward the circle of matchsticks. "Am I supposed to be seeing something in this?" he says, trying to appease Abby's skepticism.

"Of course not, moron. Do you think the ancient Chinese had kitchen matches?" Abby says.

Zandra plucks four matchsticks and holds them a few inches above the circle. "The materials change with time. It's the method that's important. Now watch closely," she says and drops the matches onto their mates below. Her eyes admire the pattern they make like a trophy.

"That's it?" Abby says.

Seth shushes her again.

Zandra remains focused on the four-match pattern. She lets her eyes blur until the matchsticks fuzz over into shapes and letters. It's more effective than she'd originally thought. Like reading the lyrics to a garbled song, all it takes to make sense of the shapes and letters is a suggestion.

"Why don't you go first, Seth?" Zandra says, coming out of her trance. "Pick up four matches and drop them onto the circle. Focus all your attention on the pattern they make. Let your eyes relax and blur over. Then tell me what you see."

Seth selects four matches and lets them tumble onto the circle. He struggles with getting focused.

"Take your time. Let the experience overtake you. Give in," Zandra says. She's quick to add, "Most people see alphabet letters."

"I see them," Seth says, trying to maintain his excitement within a frozen stare. "I can't believe this actually works."

Now even Abby seems interested. She holsters the pistol and leans for a better look at the matches.

Perfect.

Now to plant the suggestion. It's a page right out of her cold reading playbook, albeit a little warmer than usual.

"Would you like me to help make sense of them, child?" Zandra says.

Permission builds compliance.

"I guess so. They aren't making any sentences," Seth says.

Zandra closes her eyes and feigns concentration. She joins hands with Seth and Abby. It's only for dramatic effect. She won't need to feel for pulses this time.

"I'm sensing you're seeing the letter R. Is that correct?" Zandra says.

"An R, yes," Seth says.

"That letter, it's part of a name. Can you think of anyone with the letter R in their name? Someone from your past maybe?"

Seth fights the urge to glance over at Abby. If he had, he'd see her eyes locked with his.

"I...I'm not sure," Seth says. "How is this going to help us?"

"That's not for me to say. I'm only trying to reveal what you already know. The answers are inside you," Zandra says, her eyes still shut. "Now think, Seth. The letter R must have an intense personal connection to you somehow. Out of all the letters you could've seen, that one jumped out at you. That tells me you've been thinking hard about this person. Who is it, Seth?"

Almost there.

Abby shuffles in her seat. She's growing uncomfortable. Zandra presses Seth harder. Repeats her question about the name. Tosses out female names starting with R. She connects on the last one.

"Rachel," Seth says. "Yeah, Rachel."

"And who is Rachel?" Zandra says.

"His ex-girlfriend," Abby says, answering before Seth has the chance. She kicks her chair to the floor as she rises from the table.

There's no way Zandra knew that ahead of time, but she would've dug an ex-girlfriend's name out regardless. A handsome guy like Seth, there's bound to be more than a few possibilities. At least one would have an R in it.

If Rachel were Seth's mother, Zandra would've used her other trap door: dismissing the conclusion. Surely that R name was nothing more than a sign the matchstick reading is working. Try again with a different letter.

Zandra doesn't need to take it any further. The wedge she detected between Seth and Abby opens wide enough for her to step inside and take the lead. They'll show Zandra to Elle and Zandra will show them to the police. End of story. Case closed.

But not quite yet, as it turns out.

Seth yanks himself out of his trance on the matchsticks. Looks up at Abby. "I thought you said all this psychic stuff is bullshit. It's just a name. So what?" he says.

"The supernatural part is bullshit. But that doesn't mean the words coming out of your mouth aren't," Abby says. The pistol is back out. "You want out of this? Of me? And the life we planned together with that money? Then you go right ahead. Just say the word."

This is the bane of irrational people absorbed in their own selfishness. They're always one step away from implosion. All it takes is a little persuasion.

Still, Zandra sees herself in Abby's reaction, in that longing for something solid to hold onto. A life where desperate measures don't define her day-to-day existence. One worth pulling out a gun and fighting for.

It's not enough for Zandra to sympathize with Abby. She does nothing to halt the argument. The farther apart the couple becomes, the closer Zandra will be to finding Elle.

Abby shrieks something unintelligible at Seth. He takes the verbal pounding like a fencepost, sinking lower in his chair with each strike. His heart isn't in this anymore. If it wasn't obvious then, it is now.

"Do you want out? Yes or no?" Abby says. She raises the pistol even to Seth's eyes. "Tell me. Because if you want out, I can make it real easy for you."

Zandra shuffles to the other side of the cabin, avoiding the sights on Abby's pistol as much as she can. She glances out the lone window. It'd be great timing for Gene and the police to come back. Her original plan to divide and conquer is working a little too well.

Seth looks hopeless. "I want us to have a way out of this. I just don't know how. We're in so deep with this," he says. His head hangs low on his shoulders, almost like he's presenting his crown to the gun.

"Then I don't need you anymore," Abby says and pulls the trigger.