Bess shivered. "I don't know," she replied.
George, at her other side, made a scoffing sound. "Honey, it's classic."
Nancy patted Bess's back. "She's involved," Nancy said quietly.
Bess frowned slightly. "But she seems so nice."
"She probably is," Nancy replied. "But people are anxious and this is a good way to make some quick money."
"There's no chance...?"
Nancy understood why Bess wanted to believe the medium; her predictions about Bess's life—meeting a charming, gorgeous guy who would sweep her off her feet and marry her within the next few years—had plugged right into all of Bess's childhood fantasies and her deeply romantic nature. But the medium made similar predictions to all three of them, with minor variations. For Nancy, she saw someone tall, dark, and handsome, a man already in Nancy's life, whom Nancy would soon discover was everything to her.
According to the medium, George would find someone new, athletic, brooding, but good-hearted. Once they had walked out, George had mused aloud about the medium expanding into passing out dating-service cards for a good referral fee, speculating about all the women paralyzed by their myriad choices rushing back for a reading to determine which one was best.
It was all classic, and in her heart even Bess knew that. The medium had excused herself before their reading to look them up, to give herself some too-uncanny insight. It was easy to find information about George participating in various races and physical competitions. Some of Bess's all too brief romances had been in the public eye, thanks to Nancy's cases.
And Nancy... well. Nancy's relationship with Ned was just as public. The medium's prediction had just reflected that.
Though Nancy was thoroughly familiar with all the tricks purported "psychics" used, Nancy was pretty sure she could believe that prediction, anyway. She already knew that Ned was everything to her, but that "everything" didn't always mean the same thing. He was at Emerson now, wrapping up his classes before finals and summer break, and she found herself missing him desperately.
After lunch, the three of them stopped at the library so Nancy could look at the previous issues of the local newspaper, while Bess browsed the fashion magazines and George pretended she wasn't checking out the Western romances. To get to the bottom of this, Nancy would need to find someone who... well, she probably couldn't get anyone to pose as a good mark; she would need someone who legitimately was a good mark for the scheme, and since the medium already knew about Ned and he likely wouldn't cut it...
Well. Nancy had hoped to have the case wrapped up before he was out on break, anyway. That had just been an idle fantasy.
A trip to the local police office helped Nancy flesh out her notes. While some people would be too embarrassed to admit they had fallen for something so ridiculous on its face, three people Nancy didn't know about had come forward to complain: not about the medium, but about a company that had "coincidentally" contacted them soon after a visit to the medium. They had identified themselves as excellent prospects based on the medium's evaluations of them, Nancy was convinced, and had been marked as gullible, eager to believe in the supernatural.
She just needed an in, a good way to find out not just the name of the company, which kept changing, but the people behind it. That was the only way to put them out of business and stop them from swindling more people.
The local police identified a few repeat offenders who were always up for a new get-rich-quick scheme, but anyone who had drawn the attention of the police already didn't seem like a great suspect. The people behind this were smart, and Nancy could imagine it working in multiple places at once. She snickered to herself. Like some sort of crime franchise.
Her mind was still swirling with the possibilities after dinner, while she was still considering who to contact to pose as a good mark. Bess and George were busy helping make a list of potential candidates when the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey gorgeous."
Nancy melted a little, catching herself on the arm of the nearby couch. "Hi handsome."
"How's the case going?"
"Pretty well, I think. We're debating the next step. I wish you could be here for it."
"Me too. Figured out who the bad guy is?"
"Not yet. But I have faith we'll figure it out."
"I know you will."
Nancy smiled. "Always so optimistic."
"I have to be optimistic about something, because all this studying is..." Ned let out an explosive breath.
"Sounds like you need a break."
"A break, some pizza... my gorgeous girlfriend. I'll have to settle for two."
"How about a break with your girlfriend? Mind talking over the case with me?"
"I'd love to. Anything to avoid memorizing more formulas for a while."
Nancy talked over the leads she'd come up with so far, and Ned pointed out a few angles she hadn't considered. She jotted them down with a quiet, appreciative chuckle.
"So if you're able to solve the case in the next few days... I couldn't talk you into making a little trip up to Emerson, could I?"
Nancy laughed. "And distract you from your final exams? You'd never forgive me."
"I'd never forgive you for not helping out. You're incredible at flash cards. And getting me to take a break so I can help you find whoever stole the cash box from the bake sale fundraiser."
Nancy laughed again. "Maybe there won't be a bake sale."
"We make ridiculous money with bake sales this time of year. Everyone's stocking up on sugar and caffeine to cram for exams. I don't even know how many Rice Krispie treats I've eaten in the last hour."
"My poor baby. You really do need me there to make sure you eat a vegetable every now and then, huh."
"Pizza sauce is a vegetable," he said, mock-defensively.
Nancy smiled. "Well, while we're very sure that the medium is faking, she did make one prediction that I think happens to be true."
"Oh? Please say it was lottery numbers."
"Boy, I wish." Nancy smiled again, though she could feel her heart beating a little harder. "She said there was a tall, dark, handsome man in my life who would become everything to me."
"Everything, huh," Ned repeated softly.
"She didn't know that you already are."
"Oh, really," he murmured, and his voice was so deep that it sent a shiver down her spine. "I want to hear everything, now. Did she talk about a diamond ring, maybe a church...?"
"She didn't have to," Nancy said. "She's not genuine. You know, stopped watch..."
"True. But she was very right. She just forgot to add that you're everything to that tall, dark, handsome man, too."
"Oh." Nancy laughed softly in delight. "A man who... apparently has something on his mind."
"I have a lot on my mind. I thought I missed you when I called, but I... wow, it's unbearable now. So thanks for that, fake psychic."
"And thanks for talking things through with me. With any luck we'll have this wrapped up soon."
"At least, no matter what, summer starts soon. I'll have to check a crystal ball and make some of my own predictions."
"Mmm," Nancy hummed. "I see you, me, the Muskoka River. A pizza box between us. Fireflies and moonlight."
"Perfect," Ned declared. "Who needs a psychic, with visions like that?"
"Not us," Nancy laughed. "Study hard, Nickerson. We can't have you going to summer school."
"Definitely not," Ned said, his tone horrified. "We have a lot of time to catch up on. And I don't intend to waste a second of it."
She smiled. "Love you."
"Love you too, baby. Always."