Post by auntym on Feb 21, 2015 13:13:09 GMT -6
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/12/bob-nygaard-private-investigator-psychic-fraud
PSYCHIC CRIME FIGHTER
by Arwa Mahdawi
Thursday 12 February
Tarot cards: the trappings of a typical psychic. Photograph: Joe Pepler/Rex/Joe Pepler
It wasn’t something she would normally have done.
Then again, nothing in Megan’s life was normal that year. There had been a bad breakup that triggered a deep depression. Her doctor had prescribed pills, her mother had prescribed time away from New York, and she had tried both. Now, several months later, she was back on the Upper East Side, walking down Second Avenue to meet a friend for dinner. She wasn’t exactly cured, but she was getting there. And then she stepped off the curb, crossed over to 77th Street and walked straight into a woman named Velvet.
Harbingers of disaster are supposed to look ominous, but the most ghoulish thing about Velvet was her bad dye job; other than that she looked utterly unremarkable.
“There’s something wrong with you,” said Velvet, extending a hand, stopping Megan in her tracks. “I see darkness surrounding you.” She repeated variants of this as she tried to usher Megan into a psychic’s office nearby. “A dark aura” ... “Something wrong” ... “We can help.” Megan made excuses but accepted a flyer from Velvet, and told her she might be back.
Megan had never seen a psychic before. She was a thirtysomething professional with a master’s degree. She didn’t believe in that kind of stuff! But all through dinner the flyer sat ticking at the bottom of her bag like a bomb about to go off. “How could she tell there was a problem?” Megan thought, picking at pasta. The question niggled at the back of her mind and wouldn’t go away.
A few days later, curiosity got the better of her. Megan fished the flyer out of her handbag and went to the address specified. There, Velvet ushered her in to meet the head honcho of the establishment: Betty Vlado.
And so began a series of unfortunate and very expensive events that turned into private investigator Bob Nygaard’s sixth supernatural scam case: the Incident of the Fraudulent Meteorite.
CONTINUE READING: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/12/bob-nygaard-private-investigator-psychic-fraud
PSYCHIC CRIME FIGHTER
by Arwa Mahdawi
Thursday 12 February
Tarot cards: the trappings of a typical psychic. Photograph: Joe Pepler/Rex/Joe Pepler
It wasn’t something she would normally have done.
Then again, nothing in Megan’s life was normal that year. There had been a bad breakup that triggered a deep depression. Her doctor had prescribed pills, her mother had prescribed time away from New York, and she had tried both. Now, several months later, she was back on the Upper East Side, walking down Second Avenue to meet a friend for dinner. She wasn’t exactly cured, but she was getting there. And then she stepped off the curb, crossed over to 77th Street and walked straight into a woman named Velvet.
Harbingers of disaster are supposed to look ominous, but the most ghoulish thing about Velvet was her bad dye job; other than that she looked utterly unremarkable.
“There’s something wrong with you,” said Velvet, extending a hand, stopping Megan in her tracks. “I see darkness surrounding you.” She repeated variants of this as she tried to usher Megan into a psychic’s office nearby. “A dark aura” ... “Something wrong” ... “We can help.” Megan made excuses but accepted a flyer from Velvet, and told her she might be back.
Megan had never seen a psychic before. She was a thirtysomething professional with a master’s degree. She didn’t believe in that kind of stuff! But all through dinner the flyer sat ticking at the bottom of her bag like a bomb about to go off. “How could she tell there was a problem?” Megan thought, picking at pasta. The question niggled at the back of her mind and wouldn’t go away.
A few days later, curiosity got the better of her. Megan fished the flyer out of her handbag and went to the address specified. There, Velvet ushered her in to meet the head honcho of the establishment: Betty Vlado.
And so began a series of unfortunate and very expensive events that turned into private investigator Bob Nygaard’s sixth supernatural scam case: the Incident of the Fraudulent Meteorite.
CONTINUE READING: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/12/bob-nygaard-private-investigator-psychic-fraud