Jesse had a thousand dollars in cash in a small fabric purse tied around her neck and tucked into her camisole under her shirt, under her sweater, under her jacket. She knew she shouldn't keep touching it, announcing to every thief where she had her valuables, but it was almost all the cash she had in the world and she had to keep reassuring herself it was there.
She walked to the convention center from the parking ramp and recognized that most of the people on the street this early in the morning must be going to or coming from the same housing auction. Nearly all men and nearly all dressed like contractors. They talked in groups and laughed and stole looks at Jesse as she hurried by. Jesse imagined all the cash that these people must be holding. Every person at the auction, pockets stuffed with cash. More money than she had ever had, carried in fat leather wallets.
The auction was crowded, and the men gathered at the list on the wall, comparing their notes with the properties still remaining. Jesse only had one house on her list, and she hoped it was enough. Of all the thousands of homes and properties up for auction, Jesse had painstakingly narrowed it down to this one. Not idea, certainly, but so much better than where she was.
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