Hes always been secretive about his work, I reminded him. And not unreasonably. A lot of what we do for clients on computer security is commercially sensitive.
Theres secretive and theres mentally ill. Did you know you even need a password to get out of his screen savers?
Now you are exaggerating, I said.
You think so? You try it the next time he goes to the loo. Touch a key when one of the screen savers is running and youll be asked for a password. You didnt know? Donovans eyebrows rose in surprise. He opened the car door and unfolded his long body into the street. Then he bent down and said anxiously, Check it out. Im not making it up. Whatever hes up to, he doesnt want anybody else to know. And it is your hardware hes doing it on.
Itll be OK, I said, trying to reassure myself as much as Donovan. Gizmo wouldnt take risks with my business. Which was true enough, I thought as I drove home. Except that what Gizmo thought was fair game didnt necessarily coincide with the laws view. And if he didnt think it was wrong, why would he imagine it might be risky?
The response to the Chronicles story sharply polarized the Northerners cast in a way I hadnt seen before. Up to that point, Id been beginning to wonder whether I could possibly be right about
What happened to that lot? I asked as soon as Gloria closed the dressing room door behind us.
Rita Hardwick, who shared the room and played rough and ready tart with a heart Thelma Torrance, paused in stitching the tapestry she passed the slack time with. Got the cold shoulder, did she? she said with grim good humor.
Yeah, I said, not caring about showing my puzzlement. Yesterday, everybodys everybodys pal and today, its like weve got a communicable disease.
It happens when you get a big show in the papers, Gloria said, putting her coat on a hanger and subsiding into a chair. Its basically jealousy. The people below you in the pecking order resent the fact that youre important enough to make the front page of the Chronicle and have the story followed up by all the tabloids the next day.
Id already seen the evidence of Glorias importance to the tabloids. When Id arrived to collect her that morning, wed had to run the gauntlet of reporters and photographers clustered round the high gates that kept Gloria safe from their invasive tendencies.
Id already seen the evidence of Glorias importance to the tabloids. When Id arrived to collect her that morning, wed had to run the gauntlet of reporters and photographers clustered round the high gates that kept Gloria safe from their invasive tendencies.
Aye, said Rita. And the ones above you in the pecking order reckon you need cutting down to size before you start snapping too close at their heels. Not that theres many above you these days, Glo.
Stuff like this shows you who your real friends are, Gloria added.
Aye, and weve all got precious few round here, Rita said, thrusting her needle ferociously into the material. Theres plenty would stab you in the back soon as look at you if they thought they could get away with it.
If a bit of newspaper coverage was all it took to create a poisonous atmosphere like the one wed just walked through, I hated to
Gloria shook her head. Rita disagreed. Theres been a lot of stories about the abortion issue, Glo. Brenda and Debbie have been all over the tabloids.
But thats Brenda, not me. The punters dont know the difference, but the people who work here do.
It doesnt make any odds to some of that lot, Rita said. Eaten up with jealousy, they are. She glanced at her watch. Bloody hell, is that the time? Ive got an appointment with Dorothea in five minutes. She shoved her sewing into a tapestry bag.
Youre all right. I didnt see the van when we parked up. Gloria gave me a considering look. You wanted a word with Dorothea, didnt you, chuck?
Rita stared. By heck, Kate, Id not have put you down as a lass who wanted her horoscope reading.
I bristled. The only stars I want to ask Dorothea Dawson about are the ones that work for Northerners.
Rita giggled. If that crystal ball could talk
Aye, but going to Dorotheas like going to the doctor. You can say owt you like and know itll go no further, Gloria said. Rita, chuck, do you mind if I just pop in ahead of you for a quick word with Dorothea, to see when she can fit Kate in?
Be my guest. Ill walk across with you.
The three of us left the studio building and crossed the car park. Over at the far end, near the administration block, I noticed a camper van that hadnt been there when wed arrived shortly before. It was painted midnight-blue, but as we drew closer, I could see there was a Milky Way of golden stars arcing across the cab door and the vans side. The door into the living section of the van had a zodiac painted on it in silver, the glyphs of the signs picked out in gold. Even I could recognize the maiden that symbolized my Virgo star sign. I also identified the familiar three-legged symbol of Mercedes Benz. I didnt need my background information from
Rita knocked and a familiar husky voice told us to come in. I expected a full blast of the histrionic mystic, complete with joss sticks and Indian cotton, but when it came to her personal environment, Dorothea clearly preferred the opulent to the occult. Leather, velvet, shag-pile carpet and wood paneling lined the luxurious interior. In the galley, I could see a microwave and a fridge. On a pull-out shelf sat a laptop and a portable color printer, an ensemble that must have cost the thick end of three grand. Instead of a bloody awful tape of rainforest noises backed by Pan pipes and whales singing, the background music sounded like one of those not available in the shops collections of Romantic Classics. The only concession to the mystic world of the zodiac was the dining table, surrounded on three sides by a bench seat. It was covered in a dark-blue chenille cloth and on it sat a massive crystal ball. If it had had a set of finger holes, we could have gone ten-pin bowling.
Nice to see you all, ladies, Dorothea Dawson said as we piled through the door. She was smaller than I expected from TV. But then, they all were. Her hair was pure silver, cut in a chin-length bob that hid the fact that her jaw was too heavy for her small features. Her skin was criss-crossed with the fine wrinkles of an apple thats been left lying around too long. Either she was older than she sounded or shed loved the sun too much when she was younger. And you must be Kate Brannigan, she said, acknowledging me with a nod, assessing me with eyes like amethyst chips.
Saw me in your crystal ball, did you? I asked more pleasantly than I wanted to. Ive never liked charlatans.
No, I saw you in the Manchester Evening Chronicle, she said with wry amusement. I found myself liking her in spite of all my prejudices against people who prey on the gullible. You want to talk to me about my last session with Gloria?
Good guess, I said.
And I want you to cast her horoscope, Gloria butted in, as usual incapable of holding her tongue.
Dorothea cocked her head, a knowing smile on her lips. Virgo, with an air sign rising, at a guess. Probably Gemini, with such a smart mouth.
I tried not to look as surprised as I felt. A one-in-twelve chance of getting my sun sign right multiplied up to a one-in-a-gross chance of hitting the sun sign and the ascendant. Not that I believed any of that rubbish; I only knew my rising sign because Id spent half an hour the night before on the computer with some astrological chart-casting shareware Id pulled down from the Internet. But however shed reached her conclusion, Dorothea was right. I couldnt say, I lied, determined to show her my skepticism. Gloria can give you my details.
I have a very full diary today, Dorothea said, sounding far more like a businesswoman than she had any right to. She looked businesslike too, in a high-necked Edwardian-style white blouse under a soft black wool crepe jacket. A silver and amethyst brooch the size of a credit card was pinned to the jacket, like an abstract representation of her hair and eyes. She flicked open a desk diary on the seat beside her while Gloria produced a piece of paper with a flourish. Thats Kates time, date and place of birth.
Dorothea put it on the seat beside her without a glance. I couldnt possibly take you through your chart and answer your questions, Kate.
Its the answers to my questions Im interested in.
Dorothea raised one eyebrow. I used to do that, but I grew out of it. Pity. You should always seize opportunity when it presents itself. Who knows when youll get a second chance to find out what really makes you tick? She sounded amused.
Ill manage somehow, I said.
Im sure you will, and thats without reading your chart. Gloria, youre my final appointment today. How would it be if I saw Kate then? Or are you in a hurry to get home?
Thats fine, Dor, Gloria said. Well get out your road now and let Rita get her moneys worth. See you at half past five.
She shooed me out ahead of her into the car park. Wed better get a move on, she said. Im due in make-up and Im not frocked up yet.
Gloria, is Dorothea normally fully booked? I asked, trailing in her wake.
Oh aye. If youre not one of her regulars, you can wait a month or more for her to fit you in unless youre prepared to go to her consulting room.
All half-hour appointments?
Thats right. From nine till half past five, Gloria confirmed.
Just as a matter of interest, how much does Dorothea charge?
Thats right. From nine till half past five, Gloria confirmed.
Just as a matter of interest, how much does Dorothea charge?
For half an hour, she charges twice what you do for an hour, chuck.
It was one of those bits of information that stops you dead in your tracks. Im not cheap. Well, only where Richards concerned, but even he hasnt worked that out yet. Four times my hourly rate was serious money. Sometimes I wonder if Im in the right business.
The day passed. Wardrobe, make-up, rehearsal, film. No diverting phone calls, no murderous attacks on the client. No chance either of finding out who had written the poison-pen letters or the identity of the mole that Ross Grant wanted me to drag kicking and screaming into the daylight; thanks to the Chronicle, nobody was talking to me. I supposed the cast members had fallen out of love with me because for today I was more famous than them. The crew were just too busy and besides, the novelty of having a real live private eye about the place had worn off.