"Not news," Liz said. "Fruitcakes. Celebrities live in a rarefied atmosphere that makes them fascinating to study. As for gamblers, I used to treat chronic cases in Atlantic City. Poker and pool are two games men hate to lose. Try Go Fish or Ping-Pong-- they're much less damaging to the ego."

Ann sat at Liz's table. "What about intellectual games like chess or Scrabble?" she asked.

"They're macho in a different way," Liz said. "Men don't like losing those either, but they can accept losing to a man much easier than they can to a woman."

Lowell Coffey snickered. "Which is just what I'd expect a woman to say. You know, Senator Barbara Fox busted my chops harder last night than any man has ever done."

"Maybe she was just doing her job better than any man has ever done," Liz observed.

"No," said Coffey. "I couldn't use the kind of shorthand with her that I used with the men on the committee. Ask Martha, she was there."

Ann said, "Senator Fox has been a rabid isolationist since her daughter was murdered in France years ago."

"Look," Liz said, "all this isn't my opinion. Countless papers have been written on the subject."

"Countless papers have been written about UFOs," Coffey said, "and I still think it's all a sack of horsefeathers. People respond to people, not sexes."

Liz smiled sweetly. "Carol Laning, Lowell."

"Excuse me?" Coffey said.

"I'm not allowed to talk about it," Liz said, "but you are-- if you've got the cajones."

"You mean Prosecutor Laning? Fraser v. Maryland? Is that in my psych profile?"

Liz said nothing.

Coffey flushed. He turned the page, creased and recreased the fold, and looked at the newspaper. "You're barking up the wrong tree, Elizabeth. I crashed into her car by accident after the trial. It was my first case and I was distracted. Losing to a woman had nothing to do with it. "

"Of course not," Liz said.

"It's true," Coffey said as his pager beeped. He glanced at the number, then dropped the newspaper on the table and stood. "Sorry, kiddies, but you'll have to hear my closing argument some other time. I've got a world leader to call."

"Male or female?" Phil asked.

Coffey made a face as he left the room.

When he was gone, Ann said, "Don't you think you were a little rough on him, Liz?"

Liz finished with the National Enquirer, collected the Star and Globe, and stood. She looked down at the rosy-cheeked brunette. "A bit, Ann. But it's good for him. Despite the bluster, Lowell listens to what people say and some of it sinks in. Unlike some people."

"Thank you very much," Stoll said as he shut his computer and disconnected the computers. "Before you got here, Ann, Liz and I were 'debating' about whether her ineptitude with hardware was actually a physical limitation or a subconscious antimale bias."