The group clapped.
After a reiki chair was rolled out, Finn grinned and addressed the audience. “Just for my enlightenment, how many of you are reiki masters?”
Only four people raised their hands.
“Then since this conference is only for professionals, I assume the rest of you have an interest in learning to be reiki practitioners.”
More than half of the people raised their hands.
“A good number. Are the rest of you here for another type of practice but want information on reiki, too?”
The rest raised their hands.
“Who would like to be my subject?”
Several volunteers. He picked a woman.
When she was in the chair provided, he said, “What I’m going to do is move along your imbalances without even touching you.”
He began the treatment.
* * *
“All right, Elise, this is the climax of the movie. You sure you don’t want your double to stand in?”
“All I have to do is jump off a boat, John. How hard can that be? Besides, you know I practiced doing it.”
“The boat wasn’t going as fast then but it will be today. This is the first time we’ll film it.”
Elise got irritated. “Damn it, John, listen to me. You know these scenes are better with the lead in the show, not the double.”
He mumbled under his breath. Hell, she wasn’t mad at him, but at Finn for going to a conference after only recuperating for a week. And after lovemaking that knocked her socks off. She sighed. “Sorry, John. I don’t know what’s gotten in to me.”
“Don’t worry about it. We all have bad days.”
The golf cart arrived; she rode it back to the starting point and got in the boat. The camera crew was already in the canal on a separate one.
She let her hair flow behind her when the boat started up. The loud noise of the motor would be filtered out and the lines dubbed in. They went fast, faster, fastest. When she got the signal from John, she stepped up on the ledge and before she went over the side, she said, “This is for you, Eric Madison. Just for you.”
She jumped. Oh. The water was cold when she went under. The last thing she heard was John yelling, “Cut.”
Having gone down a ways Elise started to kick her way to surface, but something caught on her foot. She struggled to getit free. Gulped in some water. By the time she maneuvered out of the weeds, she was breathless. But she crawled her way to the surface.
She heard a splash and saw Max surface. “Elise, are you hurt?”
“No.” She swam to the side of the canal with him. “Why are you in the water?”
“You didn’t come right up. I thought something was wrong.”
John stood behind a grip who assisted her out. Somebody handed her a towel. Max needed a hand, too. “Something went wrong,” Elise blurted out. “I got caught in some seaweed.”
Max said, “There isn’t any seaweed in canals, only in salt water.”
“Something’s down there.”
John’s brow stayed furrowed. “Maybe some algae collected. Mark, send a diver to investigate this spot.” Professional divers had been hired as advisers so were already on set.
“How was the scene?” Elise asked sponging water from her hair with the towel.
