Eye of the Beholder

approaching car.
    "We'll need flashlights," she said, slinging the strap of her satchel over her shoulder.
    "In the glove compartment." Trask was out of the car, leaning into the backseat. "There should be two of them. Same ones we used at Liz Guthrie's house."
    Alexa fumbled with the latch of the glove compartment, and finally got it open. She retrieved the two small flashlights, closed the compartment, and then shut the door on the driver's side.
    Trask walked around the back of the vehicle to join her.
    "Mind putting this in your purse?" he asked very casually.
    She aimed the flashlight at the bulky black leather case he held out. "It looks heavy. Why do I have to lug it?"
    "Some of us red-blooded types haven't got with the New Man program yet. We still feel conspicuous carrying something that looks like a purse."
    "That's not a purse."
    "Of course it's not a purse. Why the hell would I have a purse?" He pushed the soft leather bag into her hands. "It's a laptop computer case."
    It took a second for the implications to strike. By the time she realized what it all meant, Trask was several steps ahead of her, moving toward the entrance to Dimensions.
    She dropped the case into her already overburdened satchel and jolted forward, pursuing Trask alongside the row of parked cars.
    "What the heck do you think you're going to do with a laptop?" she demanded breathlessly when she caught up with him.
    "I'm no hacker, but I am a businessman who uses a personal computer on a regular basis. I have a reasonably good working knowledge of routine business software applications."
    "So what?"
    "So if it turns out that Bell and Radstone keep their files on personal computers instead of hard copy, I want to be prepared."
    "Why not just take a couple of disks with you, stick them into Bell 's and Radstone's computers, assuming you find them, and copy the files you want?"
    "I won't have time to stand around their offices picking and choosing the files that look promising. But with the laptop I can copy everything from Bell 's and Radstone's hard drives onto my own and I can get it done fast."
    "What if the computers are password protected?"
    "I'll be out of luck, just as I will be if they've encrypted the critical files."
    Alexa hitched the satchel higher on her shoulder. "I can tell you've given this a little thought."
    "Believe it or not, that's one of the things we CEOs get paid to do. Think."
    "Wow. I always wanted a cushy job like that. But my high school guidance counselor said I would probably have to work for a living. When do you plan to perform your little act of B&E?"
    "I looked at that schedule you gave me. I'll go into the seminar complex during Bell 's talk and the fireworks display. I'm betting everyone will be outside to catch the big show at that time."
    She glanced at him. His face was unreadable in the shadows, but she sensed the controlled anticipation in him. "The real reason you want me to haul this laptop around in my purse is so no one will notice you carrying it and wonder why you brought a computer to a psychic fair."
    "A computer might raise a few eyebrows," he agreed. "Of course, I could always say that I use it to channel with, but I'm not sure anyone would buy that story."
    Alexa looked at the impressive stone and wrought iron gates that marked the glowingly lit entrance to the Institute. The night was balmy and warm, but she suddenly felt chilled to the bone.
    "Probably not," she said.

    The grounds of the Institute were crammed with tourists and local Avalon residents. Several rows of booths had been set up in the vast gardens that surrounded the sleek, modern buildings. The crowd that filled the winding garden paths that separated the stalls moved at a sludgelike pace.
    Balloons bobbed from strings attached to the wrists of children. The scents of aromatherapy candles mingled with the smell of tofu hot dogs and soy burgers. There was a general air of festivity that Alexa would have found contagious under other circumstances.
    She glanced at some of the signs as she and Trask forged their way through thick clumps of fairgoers. One read Pyramid Power. She looked at the counter beneath it and saw an array of small crystal pyramids for sale.
    Next to the pyramid booth was a gaily striped tent. The painted board in front invited fairgoers to step inside and get themselves tested to determine the level of their latent psychic abilities. Find out if you have the potential for telepathy or psychokinesis