Just then there was a knock on the door, and the three of us looked a question mark at one another as Cat went to answer it. When the door opened we could see Zoe � Schmitt standing in the hallway, and Millicent and I stood up quickly.
``Hello,'' Zoe said sheepishly.
�
``Zoe!'' Cat said excitedly. ``We thought Deirdre scared
� you off.''
``Oh, her? No way. I normally wouldn't give her the time of day. Do you know that I tested her before the seminar, BLIND SIGHTED 331 and her results were actually worse than chance? Really, the woman's a total scam.''
``So we've heard,'' Cat said, letting her in.
``How did you find us?'' Millicent asked.
``Well, I went to the front desk and inquired about whether or not you had checked out yet, and the clerk said no, and then he asked if I wanted to buy your room number for fifty dollars.''
``Fifty?'' Cat gasped. ``He charges me a hundred!''
``What?'' Zoe asked, looking at Cat.
�
``Nothing,'' I said quickly. ``Listen, Zoe, I'm glad you're
� here. We have a couple of additional questions we'd like to ask you, if you have a minute.'' What can I say? I'd made a promise to Millicent, and I was having a hard time looking at her sweet face and feeling okay about letting her down.
``Sure, and after that can you sit down with me and take a few more tests?''
``Uh, sure,'' I said, ``that'll be fine. So,'' I said, searching for a place to begin. Just then my intuition buzzed, and the image of the calico cat came into my mind's eye very crisp and clear, so I decided to lead with that. ``Let me ask you something personal. Do you by any chance own a calico cat?''
Zoe chuckled like I'd just asked her a joke and said,
� ``That's a weird question. Why would you ask?''
I chuckled myself and replied, ``Sometimes my intuition just homes in on something obscure, and every time I'm around you I see an image of a calico cat coming out of an old school building.''
``Wow!'' Zoe said, her eyes widening in surprise. ``Abby,
� that's pretty good!''
``So you do own a calico cat?'' I asked, getting excited.
``Uh, no, but I know what your intuition is referencing. The Institute for Metaphysical Studies is run by my boss, Kitty Lowenstein. She's actually the one who encouraged me to try for the Ballentine reward money. She thought it would do wonders for the school, and she's been so sup- portive through this whole process. Most people think I'm crazy to give all the money away to the school, but it's really important to me that our mission continue. I have so many students who benefit from our courses, and it would 332 Victoria Laurie be a shame if we had to shut our doors. The prize money would guarantee we could continue our mission for a long, long time.''
All of the sudden my intuition went haywire, and I knew Kitty was a piece of this puzzle. Trying to hide my anxious- ness, I asked, ``Oh? Wow, that's great. Listen, is your boss, Kitty, back in Kansas?''
``No, actually. She's here for the retreat too. She thought she could do some recruiting of potential students identified by my research. She has the room next to mine, in fact.''
I stole a glance at Cat, who was looking at me with eyes that were dancing with excitement. ``I would love to meet your boss!'' Cat said, and came forward to stand next to me. ``Listen, Abby, I know you said earlier you were pretty exhausted from all the goings-on at the hotel today, and I know how your antenna doesn't work as well when you're tired as when you're rested. Why don't you and Zoe get � together tomorrow morning, after you've had a chance to get a thorough night's sleep?''
Zoe's shoulders slumped in disappointment, and she
� looked at me with resignation. ``Would you rather get to- gether in the morning?'' she asked politely, even though I could tell she'd be crushed if I put her off again.
``Yes, Zoe, I think I would,'' I answered, lifting my arms
� above my head for a gigantic stretch and throwing in a big, fat yawn for effect.
``Oh, all right. I guess it is getting kind of late,'' Zoe said,
� lifting her watch up and noting the time. ``And I haven't had a chance to eat dinner yet.''
``Then it's settled,'' Cat said quickly, taking Zo by the shoulders and escorting her to the door. ``Abby will come down to your room promptly at nine A.M.--what room number did you say you were?''
``Number four fifty-seven,'' Zoe answered obediently,
� ``second to last door on the left.''
``Perfect,'' Cat said, and squeezed her arm even as she began to shut the door. ``We'll see you then.''
We waited fifteen anxious minutes after practically clos- ing the door in Zoe's face, and then filed quickly out the
� door. A few minutes later, and after a very short debate on which side of room number 457 to knock on, we took a chance and tapped briskly on number 459. The door was BLIND SIGHTED 333 opened a little bit later by a rotund woman with short black hair streaked with several odd patches of white all about her head. The pattern was so unusual and fit so perfectly with the calico cat analogy that for a moment I was caught off guard, ``Uh, hello . . .'' I stuttered, smiling uncomfortably.
``Can I help you?'' she asked.
It was then that I noticed she was wearing a bathrobe and quickly I apologized, ``I'm so sorry; I didn't realize I'd caught you at a bad time.''
``It's fine,'' she assured me. ``I was just getting
