Sweet Fortune

real?”
    “No,” Hatch said flatly. “It's a scam, pure and simple. What we saw today was a first-class boiler-room operation. One constructed with lots of fancy window dressing to impress the suckers.”
    “I was afraid of that. You know, in a way, I was almost hoping it was for real.”
    “Jessie, there are no easy fixes for the environmental problems we're facing. Just ask Elizabeth or David.”
    “I know. Just wishful thinking. You have to admit that all those computer screens full of climate projections and stuff looked awfully convincing. I talked to Landis when you went to the men's room.”
    “I'll bet he hinted he'd like a sizable donation.”
    “Well, yes. But more important, I tried to get him to tell me whether or not Bright claims psychic powers. He said some people could interpret the man's combination of intelligence and intuition that way, but he made it clear Bright makes no overt claims to having psychic abilities.”
    “Smart. Let the sucker think what he wants to think, and play to it. I'm not so sure he'd need to claim psychic gifts anyway. Not to attract the kind of young, hopeful people we saw working at the mansion. They're more than willing to be seduced by the quick-fix promises we heard on that video. And the promise of cashing in on the profits that will be made from all the magic machines supposedly being invented.”
    “Yes. Bright's pitch is terrific, isn't it? Save the world and make a fortune at the same time. Who could resist?”
    “There's a sucker born every minute, Jessie. Just keep in mind how hard it was for you to say no to your stockbroker friend.”
    “Let's leave Alison out of this. Just how dedicated do you think that staff of Bright's is?”
    “Some of them are certainly dedicated enough to offer to sleep with the prospective sucker in exchange for a sizable donation,” Hatch said.
    “ What ? She didn't.” Jessie was incensed. “Did she?”
    “Ummm.”
    “What kind of an answer is that? Did that little Sherry Smith try to seduce you or not? Just what were you doing down there in the men's room, anyhow?” Jessie started to demand further explanations, but the odd rippling sensation shot through her nerve endings again. She glanced over her shoulder.
    “What's wrong now?” Hatch asked.
    “I know this is going to sound crazy, but I don't think we're alone out here.”
    “We're almost at the inn,” he said soothingly. “Just another block.”
    “Have you ever had the feeling someone was following you?” She quickened her steps, straining to see the lights of the inn through the rain.
    “I'm a businessman, remember? Every time I look over my shoulder, someone's gaining on me. Goes with the territory.”
    “I'm not joking, Hatch. This is making me very nervous. There's somebody back there. I know it.”
    “Probably a local resident on his way home from the same restaurant.”
    Hatch sounded as calm as ever, but Jessie felt the new alertness in him. He obligingly quickened his step to match hers.
    A moment later they were safely back in the warm, inviting lobby of the small bed-and-breakfast inn where they had booked a room. Two guests who were playing checkers in front of the fire looked up and nodded as Jessie and Hatch went past on their way to the stairs.
    Jessie was relieved when she stepped into the bedroom and watched Hatch close and lock the door. She shook the rain off her jacket and hung it up in the tiny closet. “I think that visit to DEL must have made me more nervous than I realized. Better show me what you picked up on the tour.”
    “I've got it right here.” Hatch pulled a piece of paper out of his inside pocket.
    Jessie took it from him as he hung up his jacket and took off his tie. She unfolded it carefully and found herself staring down at one page of a large-size computer printout. It was covered with numbers. “Where did you get this?”
    “From the trashcan in the men's room. One of the things about computers is that they tend to produce a hell of a lot of paper. It's tough to control the garbage, even under the tightest security conditions. Someone's always accidentally tossing a few pages into the nearest trashcan.” Hatch sat down in the one chair in the room and stretched out his legs.
    Jessie sank down onto the bed, stunned. “You went through the trash in the men's room? That's why you asked directions to it? Good grief, Hatch. Whatever made you decide to do that?”
    “I wanted a sample of whatever those