BOSTON — On the sixth floor of the Paddock Building downtown, a line of people milled restlessly along the hushed hallway.

They paced in front of a wooden door, which looked more like the entrance to a broom closet than the law offices surrounding it. The curious leaned inside, hoping to catch a whisper of someone else's fate.

Kathy, a 48-year-old occupational health and safety specialist, gripped the edge of a table covered with flickering candles and rows of jewel-toned tarot cards.

"What do you see?" Kathy asked.

"It ain't good, honey," said Alex Palermo, 42, psychic and owner of the Original Tremont Tearoom.

Palermo hunkered his 6-foot-3 frame over the table. His brown eyes rolled back, eyelids fluttering. Seconds passed.

There was the Ten of Swords — the word "ruin" scrawled alongside disembodied eyes. The Five of Pentacles — a lone figure trying to balance massive globes in the air. The Four of Cups — a swirling vortex of blue and purple, sucking in everything within reach.

He girded himself to tell yet another client bad news.

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