Sweet Fortune

expensive suits.
    Hatch knew full well Vincent had planned to work through lunch. Benedict always had lunch sent in unless he was doing business over the meal, in which case he usually took his guests to his club. Hatch knew the basic schedule because he followed a similar one.
    But today they were both sitting here eating pizza and listening to Jessie talk about a farfetched plan to rescue some idiot who'd gotten involved in a cult. As if Jessie knew anything about cults.
    Jessie and Elizabeth appeared oblivious of the fact that they were not garnering any male support for the crazy scheme. Hatch watched both females down vast quantities of pizza while nattering on excitedly about just how Jessie should start her investigation.
    “The library would be a good place to begin,” Elizabeth said seriously. “You can check the newspaper indexes to see if there are any articles on Dawn's Early Light or its leader.”
    “Good idea,” Jessie mumbled around a bite of pizza. She looked at her father. “I don't suppose you've ever heard anything about it, have you?”
    “Hell, no,” Vincent muttered. “Sounds like a bunch of damned tree-huggers. Stay out of this, Jessie. You've got absolutely no idea what you're doing.”
    “I'm just going to ask a few questions and see what I can turn up.”
    “You're supposed to be an assistant fortune-teller,” Hatch pointed out coldly. “Not some sort of unlicensed private investigator. Stick to learning how to read tea leaves and crystal balls. You've got no business researching cults, much less trying to discredit their leaders. People who lead cults don't take kindly to other people trying to prove they're frauds. You could be opening up a real can of worms here.”
    Jessie traded a meaningful glance with her sister. “You get the feeling we're doing lunch with a couple of real corporate wet blankets, Elizabeth?”
    Elizabeth grinned. “You said their main problem was that they didn't know how to have fun.”
    “How right I was.” Jessie waved a slice of pizza at Hatch and her father. “You two better be careful or Elizabeth and I are going to walk off in a huff and stick you with the bill.”
    “We'll talk about this later,” Hatch said evenly as he saw Vincent's mouth tighten.
    “Sorry, didn't mean to bore you,” Jessie drawled. “By all means, let's change the subject.”
    Vincent glanced at Hatch. “This is the wildest thing she's come up with yet.”
    “I think it sounds like fun,” Elizabeth said loyally.
    Hatch eyed Elizabeth thoughtfully. The girl was a little shy but certifiably brilliant. Hatch did not doubt that someday she was going to cure rare diseases or journey into remote tropical jungles in search of exotic plants. In the meantime it was obvious Jessie was struggling to make certain the younger girl built a relationship with her father.
    Hatch had figured out weeks ago just what Jessie's role in the complex Benedict family was. She was the go-between who held everything together, the one who linked Vincent to the clan and the rest of the clan to Vincent. It was clear that her real job in life was holding the Benedict family together. Anything else that might come along in terms of employment was going to be strictly part-time. He wondered why none of the family, including her own father, realized that.
    “Don't forget you're supposed to pick Elizabeth up at ten o'clock on Saturday to take her to the science fair,” Jessie reminded Vincent.
    “I won't forget. Got it on my calendar.” Vincent gave his younger daughter a knowing look. “You going to win first prize again this year?”
    “Maybe.” Elizabeth spoke with shy confidence. Then she frowned. “Unless they give it to Eric Jerkface.”
    Hatch frowned curiously. “Who's Eric Jerkface?”
    “The science teacher's favorite. He looks like he came right off of some television show featuring cute kids, and he knows how to kiss up to the teachers. You know what I mean?”
    “Of course Hatch knows what you mean.” Jessie smiled blandly at Hatch over her sister's head. “He's very familiar with that kind of corporate mentality, aren't you, Hatch?”
    “Very.” Hatch shot her a withering glance and turned back to Elizabeth. “What's Jerkface's project?”
    “He's doing something on extraterrestrial life.”
    Jessie was incensed. “Nobody even knows if there is any extraterrestrial life. How can he do a project on the subject?”
    “Eric Jerkface talked the teacher into it,”