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wasting my life working for minimum wage in a mall?”
    “No, but close.”
    “I’m a student.”
    “Where?”
    “Nowhere. I’m between schools.”
    “Where was the last school?”
    “North Texas State.”
    “Where’s the next one?”
    “Probably Southern Mississippi.”
    “What are you studying?”
    “Computers. You ask a lot of questions.”
    “But they’re easy ones, aren’t they?”
    “I suppose. Where do you work?”
    “I don’t. I just divorced a rich man. No kids. I’m twenty-eight, single, and would like to stay that way, but a date every now and then would be nice. Why don’t you give me a call?”
    “How rich?”
    She laughed at this, then checked her watch. “I need to go. My class starts in ten minutes.” She was on her feet, getting her bag but leaving her tray. “I’ll see you around.”
    She drove off in a small BMW.
    THE REST of the sick folks were hastily cleared from the panel, and by 3 P.M . the number was down to 159. Judge Harkin ordered a fifteen-minute recess, and when he returned to the bench he announced they were entering into a different phase of jury selection. He delivered a strong lecture on civic responsibility, and practically dared anyone to claim a nonmedical hardship. The first attempt was by a harried corporate executive who sat in the witnesschair and softly explained to the Judge, the two lawyers, and the court reporter that he worked eighty hours a week for a large company that was losing lots of money, and any time away from the office would be disastrous. The Judge instructed him to return to his seat and await further directions.
    The second attempt was by a middle-aged woman who operated an unlicensed day care center in her home. “I keep kids, Your Honor,” she whispered, fighting back tears. “It’s all I can do. I collect two hundred dollars a week, and I barely get by. If I have to serve on this jury, then I’ll have to hire a stranger to keep the kids. Their parents won’t like this, plus I can’t afford to hire anyone. I’ll go busted.”
    The prospective jurors watched with great interest as she walked down the aisle, past her row, and out of the courtroom. Her story must’ve been a good one. The harried corporate executive fumed.
    By five-thirty, eleven people had been excused, and sixteen others had been sent back to their seats after failing to sound sufficiently pitiful. The Judge instructed Gloria Lane to pass out another, lengthier questionnaire, and told the remaining jurors to have it answered by nine in the morning. He dismissed them, with firm warnings against discussing the case with strangers.
    Rankin Fitch was not in the courtroom when it adjourned Monday afternoon. He was in his office down the street. There was no record of any Nicholas Easter at North Texas State. The blonde had recorded their little chat at Burger King, and Fitch had listened to it twice. It had been his decision to send her in for a chance meeting. The meeting was risky, but it worked. She was now on a plane back toWashington. Her answering machine in Biloxi was on and would remain so until after the jury was selected. If Easter decided to call, something Fitch doubted, he wouldn’t be able to reach her.

Four
    I t asked questions like, Do you now smoke cigarettes? And if so, how many packs a day? And if so, how long have you smoked? And if so, do you want to stop? Have you ever smoked cigarettes as a habit? Has any member of your family, or someone you know well, suffered any disease or illness directly associated with smoking cigarettes? If so, who? (Space provided below. Please give person’s name, nature of disease or illness, and state whether or not the person was successfully treated.) Do you believe smoking causes (a) lung cancer; (b) heart disease; (c) high blood pressure; (d) none of the above; (e) all of the above?
    Page three held the weightier matters: State your opinion on the issue of tax dollars being used to fund medical care for