It was the perfect place to start her new marketing program. Valentine Consultations, Psychic Investigations .
“Say you'll help me,” Mrs. Attwood pleaded.
“You do realize that even when their leaders are exposed, people don't always lose faith in them, don't you?” Jessie felt obliged to point out. “People who need to follow a leader will make all sorts of excuses for that leader so that they can keep on following him. It's possible we could prove this Bright is a fraud but not be able to convince Susan of it. Do you understand, Mrs. Attwood?”
“Yes, yes, I understand. But I have to try. I have to get my Susan out of the clutches of DEL.”
“All right,” Jessie said, making her decision on a crest of rising enthusiasm. “Valentine Consultations will take the case.”
Mrs. Attwood blinked in the face of Jessie's new gung-ho attitude. “Thank you.” She opened her purse. “I've brought some things along. A picture of Susan. Her last letter. There isn't much. If you can think of anything else you might need, let me know.”
Her first real case . Jessie picked up the photo of a shyly smiling young woman who appeared to be about twenty years old. She wore glasses and her hair was tied back in a ponytail. There was something rather innocent and naive about Susan Attwood's face. She looked as though she had grown up in a small farm town, not a city.
“I will certainly keep you informed, Mrs. Attwood. And don't worry, I'll get started on this right away. In fact, I'm going to consult with Mrs. Valentine immediately.”
“Where is Mrs. Valentine?” Martha Attwood peered through the open doorway of the inner office.
“She took a nasty fall the night before last and she's still recovering.”
“Oh, dear. Will she be able to work on my, uh, case?”
“Don't you worry about a thing, Mrs. Attwood. I'm Mrs. Valentine's assistant and I'm in charge around here now.”
Mrs. Attwood cleared her throat, looking vaguely alarmed. “You're sure?”
“Absolutely positive. Relax, Mrs. Attwood. I was born for this kind of thing. It's in my blood. I just know it.”
Irene Valentine looked even more worried than Mrs. Attwood had appeared. She lay back on the white pillows and listened to the entire tale, shaking her head slowly back and forth.
“I don't know, Jessie. I don't like the feel of this.”
Jessie stared at her in astonished delight. “The feel of it? You've got your psychic abilities back, then, Mrs. V?”
“No, no, I mean I just don't like the plain old ordinary human feel of it. It doesn't take any psychic ability to sense a little trouble on the horizon, my dear. Just common sense. And my common sense tells me this cult business is way out of our league.”
“But, Mrs. V, just think what a case like this could do for the image of Valentine Consultations.”
“This isn't the sort of thing we normally handle, Jessie, dear. You've been with me long enough to know that. We deal with people who are under a lot of stress. Or people who are confused about things. We soothe their fears of the future and give them self-confidence. We're therapists of a sort, not private detectives.”
“But this is an ideal chance to expand our business,” Jessie said, unwilling to give up. “Please, Mrs. V. I told the client we'd take the case. I can work on it while you're recovering. It's not like I'm going to try to fool the client. Mrs. Attwood herself said she really doesn't expect to hire someone with genuine psychic ability. She just wants someone who can prove this Bright character is a fraud. That should be easy enough to do.”
“Don't count on it. Con men are extremely clever.” Mrs. Valentine narrowed her eyes. “You really want to take on this case, don't you?”
“It's a great opportunity for me to prove myself to you, Mrs. V. Let me at least do a little research on the cult and this guy Bright. If it looks too big for us to handle, I'll tell Mrs. Attwood she'll have to go to someone else.
“Say you'll help me,” Mrs. Attwood pleaded.
“You do realize that even when their leaders are exposed, people don't always lose faith in them, don't you?” Jessie felt obliged to point out. “People who need to follow a leader will make all sorts of excuses for that leader so that they can keep on following him. It's possible we could prove this Bright is a fraud but not be able to convince Susan of it. Do you understand, Mrs. Attwood?”
“Yes, yes, I understand. But I have to try. I have to get my Susan out of the clutches of DEL.”
“All right,” Jessie said, making her decision on a crest of rising enthusiasm. “Valentine Consultations will take the case.”
Mrs. Attwood blinked in the face of Jessie's new gung-ho attitude. “Thank you.” She opened her purse. “I've brought some things along. A picture of Susan. Her last letter. There isn't much. If you can think of anything else you might need, let me know.”
Her first real case . Jessie picked up the photo of a shyly smiling young woman who appeared to be about twenty years old. She wore glasses and her hair was tied back in a ponytail. There was something rather innocent and naive about Susan Attwood's face. She looked as though she had grown up in a small farm town, not a city.
“I will certainly keep you informed, Mrs. Attwood. And don't worry, I'll get started on this right away. In fact, I'm going to consult with Mrs. Valentine immediately.”
“Where is Mrs. Valentine?” Martha Attwood peered through the open doorway of the inner office.
“She took a nasty fall the night before last and she's still recovering.”
“Oh, dear. Will she be able to work on my, uh, case?”
“Don't you worry about a thing, Mrs. Attwood. I'm Mrs. Valentine's assistant and I'm in charge around here now.”
Mrs. Attwood cleared her throat, looking vaguely alarmed. “You're sure?”
“Absolutely positive. Relax, Mrs. Attwood. I was born for this kind of thing. It's in my blood. I just know it.”
Irene Valentine looked even more worried than Mrs. Attwood had appeared. She lay back on the white pillows and listened to the entire tale, shaking her head slowly back and forth.
“I don't know, Jessie. I don't like the feel of this.”
Jessie stared at her in astonished delight. “The feel of it? You've got your psychic abilities back, then, Mrs. V?”
“No, no, I mean I just don't like the plain old ordinary human feel of it. It doesn't take any psychic ability to sense a little trouble on the horizon, my dear. Just common sense. And my common sense tells me this cult business is way out of our league.”
“But, Mrs. V, just think what a case like this could do for the image of Valentine Consultations.”
“This isn't the sort of thing we normally handle, Jessie, dear. You've been with me long enough to know that. We deal with people who are under a lot of stress. Or people who are confused about things. We soothe their fears of the future and give them self-confidence. We're therapists of a sort, not private detectives.”
“But this is an ideal chance to expand our business,” Jessie said, unwilling to give up. “Please, Mrs. V. I told the client we'd take the case. I can work on it while you're recovering. It's not like I'm going to try to fool the client. Mrs. Attwood herself said she really doesn't expect to hire someone with genuine psychic ability. She just wants someone who can prove this Bright character is a fraud. That should be easy enough to do.”
“Don't count on it. Con men are extremely clever.” Mrs. Valentine narrowed her eyes. “You really want to take on this case, don't you?”
“It's a great opportunity for me to prove myself to you, Mrs. V. Let me at least do a little research on the cult and this guy Bright. If it looks too big for us to handle, I'll tell Mrs. Attwood she'll have to go to someone else.
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