"I'm warning you, Melvin."

"You're warning me? What are you warning me about? You gonna kill me? You gonna take me for more money? Come on, Cora. The fact you went to so much trouble to find me proves just one thing. You can't leave me alone."

"Yeah, right, Melvin," Cora said sarcastically. "I was really hoping for a reconciliation. Of course, you're probably married, aren't you? You were always married to someone or another."

"Come on, Cora. Considering the amount of time we were married, don't you think the alimony's a little high?"

"Considering the amount of physical and mental cruelty, I'd say it's rather low."

"Physical?"

"You never pushed me around?"

"As I recall, you beat the h.e.l.l out of me."

"You think you didn't deserve it?"

"G.o.d, you're a spitfire."

Cora exhaled in frustration, actually stamped her foot. Her face was red.

A blond woman came out the front door of the antiques shop. She sized up the situation, slipped her arm through Melvin's, and spoke to him, though her eyes never left Cora's face. "So, sweetie. Who's your friend?"

CHAPTER.

14.

She was young. That was the first strike against her. She was with Melvin. That was the second. And she was looking at Cora the way one might regard particularly odoriferous pond sc.u.m.

Cora didn't wait for an explanation. "I'm sweetie's ex-wife. Ex as in not anymore, it's all over, get me out of here."

The blonde's baby blue eyes were not kind. "You're the leech who's bleeding him dry?"

"Gee, I didn't quite catch that. Would you care to repeat it for my attorney to process?"

The blonde made a face men probably thought was cute but which made Cora want to punch her lights out. She side-spied up at Melvin. "You were married to that?"

Melvin knew the remark wasn't going to sit well. He managed to place himself between the two women, not a particularly comfortable position, and glanced nervously from one to the other. "Ladies, my lawyer would be most unhappy to have this conversation take place in his absence."

Cora suggested activities with which Melvin's lawyer could occupy himself in his absence, many of which would have been illegal in most states.

The blonde looked at her in mock shock. "Kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Cora shook her head disparagingly. "I don't think you wanna talk mothers, dearie. You're out of your league."

"Fine. We'll keep this civilized," blondie said. "The fact is you're older than I thought. Melvin still shouldn't have to wait for you to die. It's your fault he doesn't have the money to treat me the way I deserve. It's your fault we're in a crummy room in a crummy motel, when we should be able to afford a luxury suite. It's your fault we're here in this hick town trying to raise the cash to take a cruise, instead of lying on the beach in some island in the Bahamas."

Melvin looked at her placatingly. "Bambi..."

Cora's eyebrows launched into orbit. "Bambi?" Her smile was enormous. "Is she really Bambi?" She quoted, " 'Man has entered the forest.' "

The blonde lowered her finger at Cora. "All right. I've had just about enough out of you."

"Have you really?" Cora c.o.c.ked her head. "What do you plan to do about it?"

"Are you kidding me? You think I can't take an old lady?"

"I'm sure you can." Cora reached in her drawstring purse, pulled out her gun. "Go ahead. Make my day."

Bambi's mouth fell open.

"d.a.m.n, that's not my cigarettes. I keep doing that." Cora looked back at the young blonde. "Now then, what were you saying?"

Bambi was falling all over herself backing up and hiding behind Melvin. "You're crazy. You're out of your mind."

"Oh yeah?" Cora grinned. "That doesn't speak very well of you. Taunting an armed, crazy woman." She shoved the gun back in her purse.

A police car pulled up, and Officer Dan Finley got out. He looked rather uncomfortable as he approached the group. "Ah, hi."

Cora looked at him. "Hi? That's your official police greeting? Hi?"

"Well, I'm not on official police business." He looked at Melvin. "Would this be Mr. Melvin Crabtree?"

"Yes, it would," Cora said helpfully. "And this is Bambi."

"You're adversarial parties in a lawsuit?"

"That's right," Melvin said. "I fail to see what business that is of the police."

"Absolutely none, you're quite right. However, it is my job as a policeman to keep the peace. And airing legal matters outside of court can sometimes lead to public recriminations which-"

"Good G.o.d, Dan. You sound like a walking thesaurus. What are you trying to say?"

"The chief indicated," Dan said pointedly to Cora, "that I've been busy lately, and he would hate for me to get tied up by a domestic dispute escalating out of control." He put up his hands. "Not to imply that either party was apt to fly out of control. On the other hand, I have never met this gentleman, and the chief felt that in matrimonial issues-"

"For Christ's sake, Dan, give it a rest, or I'll side with Melvin. How about it, Mel? Think we could take this flatfoot?"

Cora's manner was jaunty as she uttered the phrase, but the moment it was out of her mouth, her face froze.

Melvin, who'd lined up beside her against the cop, was equally embarra.s.sed.

Bambi was floored. Her jaw slack, she gaped at the two, realizing for the first time what they had once seen in each other.

Cora recovered first. "Sure, Dan. Wouldn't wanna make any trouble for you."

She turned and walked back to her car. Her face was flushed, her breath was coming fast. A torrent of conflicting emotions washed over her. It was nothing, she told herself, just the heat of the moment. That and the fact she hadn't had a man in months, the pickings in Bakerhaven being slim. And quitting drinking had cut down on her social life. Alcohol had always made her more social, less inhibited. Not that she ever was inhibited, but still. It also tended to improve the complexion of whatever inferior specimen of manhood was attempting to chat her up. In the absence of which most men looked none too good.

Not that Melvin did.

d.a.m.n it to h.e.l.l!

Cora hopped in the car, slammed the door.

Before she could start the engine, Dan Finley stuck his head in the window. "Wanna follow me back to the station? Chief Harper wants to talk to you."

"I'll bet he does," Cora muttered.

CHAPTER.

15.

Chief Harper was in a benevolent, avuncular mood, particularly irritating since the man was younger than her. These days, Cora noted, almost everyone was younger than her. And that blond b.i.t.c.h of Melvin's. How old was she? Was she even out of school?

At any rate, Cora was ill disposed to listen to the chief's genial lecture.

"It's not that I don't understand," Harper said. "It's personal, it's upsetting, you're not yourself."

"I'm not myself?" Cora said icily.

"I'm trying to be nice."

"Yeah? Well, you're clearly no good at it."

"I'm trying to make allowances for your behavior."

"What's wrong with my behavior?"

"Nothing. I'm sure underneath you're your own sweet self. I'm referring to your tendency to regard the police department as your own personal investigative unit."

"Oh, come on, Chief. All this fuss over one lousy license plate number."

Harper frowned. "What license plate number?"

"You're not upset about a license plate number?"

"Why should I be upset about a license plate number?"

"No reason. So what are you upset about?"

"Never mind what I'm upset about. What's this about a license plate number?"

"Oh, for goodness' sake. What's Dan Finley been telling you?"

"Dan? What's Dan got to do with it?"

"Nothing, I'm sure. Chief, what the h.e.l.l did you drag me in here for?"

"Becky Baldwin was by. Wanted to know if we could pull your ex-husband's rap sheet."

"Melvin's got a rap sheet?"

"I have no idea if Melvin has a rap sheet. Because I didn't pull it. a.s.suming he has one. Which I wouldn't know, because I didn't look. That's because I'm the chief of police and not a private investigator in the hire of your attorney."

"Of course. You couldn't be expected to look for Melvin's rap sheet." Cora kicked herself for not having been the one to think of it. "But if you were going to pull it, how would you go about it?"

Harper took a breath. "Cora, I'm trying to indulge your loopy behavior because I understand you're under a lot of stress. But as far as your divorce hearing, I want nothing to do with it." He frowned. "Still, there's one thing bothers me."

"What's that?"

"Dan, hold down the front desk, will you? I'm going to have a little talk with Cora."

Chief Harper led Cora into his office and shut the door. He motioned her to a chair and sat behind his desk. "Now then. The banker who testified against you."

"Son of a b.i.t.c.h."

"Exactly. You seem pretty p.i.s.sed off at him."

"Well, wouldn't you be?"

"All he said was you cashed the check. You did cash the check, didn't you?"

"I refuse to answer on advice of counsel."

"There you are. It's no revelation you cashed the check. Everyone knows you cashed the check. Whether you want to admit it or not."

"So?"

"Why are you so mad at the guy?"

"I'm not mad at him." Cora grimaced. "Well, yes, I am. I check out his so-called robbery and the next thing I know he's in court testifying against me."

"Do you think there's a connection?"

"Do you?"

"How could there be?"