Chapter 3

The security under which Merrill kept its new golf cart approached that of a secret weapon during wartime, and Scott Nelson was tired of having a security man leaning over his shoulder with every shot he took.

Scott's first request had been to photograph the machine out in the natural sunlight, which would have solved a number of his lighting problems. Larry Halliday had regretfully denied Scott permission to move the cart outside, explaining that the security problem was too much of a risk for them at this stage. The key to the new design was immediately recognizable on the instrument panel of the dash, Larry explained, and Scott had spent the entire morning experimenting with angles that would show the sleek new lines of the golf cart without exposing the dash instrumentation.

After running a series of what he called "trial shots," Scott quit and returned to his apartment house to run them through the tanks in order to see what he had.

The red lights came on for the color tank to indicate that the temperature of the chemicals had reached the required level and Scott began loading the three rolls of film he had shot.

"Hi!"

Scott turned to see fourteen-year-old Kathy Marsh standing in the doorway.

"Hi, Kathy," he returned, finishing the load of the film in the automatic machine.

"What are you doing?" the pretty young blonde asked as she walked into the room.

"An exercise in futility," Scott remarked with a sigh.

"What?" the young girl asked with a perplexed look on her pretty face.

Scott set the controls and turned to explain to Kathy that he had spent the morning photographing a new product from various angles. He told her that he had to be certain a particular part of the new product did not appear in the photographs.

"And that's damned near impossible!" he concluded. "It's like trying to shoot a nude girl with all of her pretty features hidden behind a tree. I know they'll be lousy."

"I don't see how you can tell without seeing them," Kathy remarked.

"In my business, Kathy," Scott said with a smile, "you get a sixth sense about things. You see a beautiful tree and you immediately know that you can't get a decent picture of it because the angle is all wrong. Or I can see a gorgeous girl and right away know that she won't photograph worth a damn."

"How?" the fourteen-year-old girl asked.

"I don't know," the forty-eight-year-old man replied with a chuckle. "It just becomes instinctive, I guess I can see an average looking girl and know instantly that she'll photograph like a million dollars. It's a quality. They call it photogenic. You, Kathy, will photograph like a million. You have that quality."

The buzzer sounded, indicating that the developing cycle was complete and Scott jumped up to flip the automatic print button on the expensive machine.

"Now we'll see what we got," he sighed.

"You see!" Kathy said. "You're not sure they'll all be bad!"

"Honey, I can still believe in miracles," Scott Nelson laughed.

"I'll just bet that you got some swell pictures," Kathy said doggedly.

"Well, we'll see now," Scott returned as he picked up the small prints that began coming out on the tray. They were still damp and he handled them on the edges as he hung them on a small line.

"Look at that crap!" Scott sighed. "Christ, it's even worse than I thought it would be!"

"But... but they look good to me," Kathy said as she brushed against him leaning in to inspect the photographs.

"Crap, Kathy, pure crap!" Scott said, going into detail to explain what was wrong with each photograph. "Of course, I can correct the exposure problems and jazz up the lighting, but that doesn't solve the basic problem."

"I don't understand what the problem is," Kathy remarked. "These pictures show the machine--whatever it is--very nicely."

"Granted," Scott sighed, "but they lack glamour. They have absolutely no sex appeal at all, and that, Kathy, is what advertising is all about and what my client expects from me."

"Why don't you have a naked girl sitting in it, then?" Kathy said with a girlish giggle. "That would give it sex appeal, wouldn't it?"

Scott was about to reply when an idea flashed across his mind.

"A girl! That's it!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Animate the damned thing with action!"

"A naked girl?" Kathy asked a little breathlessly.

"No, not naked, Kathy," Scott laughed. "But you've given me an idea. In fact, you may have solved the whole damned problem for me! I'll use a model, maybe two, and suggest action. Arranged just right, the model's body could cover the instrument panel-- particularly if the has a good set--a big bust, I mean. I can angle down so they're covering the dash. You know, Kathy, I think this might just work!" His voice was excited as he explored the possibilities.

"I'm glad," Kathy said, reacting to the way he placed his strong, masculine hand on her arm as he spoke.

"I really think you have solved it for me, Kathy."

"Have you... have you ever photographed... well, I mean, a naked girl?" the young child asked haltingly.

"Of course," Scott replied.

"Many?"

"Plenty," Scott lied in an offhand voice. He had professionally shot three nudes in his brief career, all models.

"Were they pretty?" the young girl asked eagerly.

"So-so," Scott responded.

"As pretty as me?" she demanded in a soft voice as if she dreaded the answer.

"No, Kathy," Scott laughed. "When I said that you're a beautiful girl, I meant it. With some training, you could make a top model."

"Would I be a good nude?" Kathy asked quickly, forcing herself to mouth the words before she lost her courage.

"I think so," Scott replied with a smile. "At least, if your body is as mature as it looks," he added. "Today it's almost impossible to tell how developed a girl is with all the devices they can use under their clothes."

"I... I don't... I don't wear anything under my clothes!" the fourteen-year-old girl blurted out with a blush. "And everybody says I'm a fully developed woman! Would you... would you take pictures of me... nude?"

Scott Nelson felt his balls tighten into knots as he stared at the young girl. Was she serious, he asked himself? Christ, the trouble they could get into if they were caught or if anybody ever found out! Yet the forty-eight-year-old man couldn't remember ever seeing a fourteen-year-old girl naked!

"Well?" she asked.

Scott Nelson hesitated. He knew that he was playing with dynamite! But what harm could come of taking a few shots of her in the nude? His balls ached to see her nubile young body!

"When?" Scott asked with a smile.

"Now," Kathy responded quickly, knowing that she would lose her nerve if they didn't do it right this minute.

"Well, okay," Scott laughed. He walked over and threw the bolt on the door so that nobody could walk in on them unannounced. "Kathy, we must never, never let anybody know about this. I'll take them and develop them and keep them down here. Nobody is to ever, ever find out. It's just between us. Okay?"

"Okay," Kathy agreed quickly.

"You take your clothes off and I'll set up some lights," Scott said.

The bright crimson color of the young girl's cheeks made him smile as he turned away to set up a couple of pan lights. She was so terribly young and innocent'