Fleckstein erupted from his chair, spouting objections.

Melvin, however, was calm. He glanced over at the defense table with a bemused look on his face and grinned roguishly at Becky Baldwin with newfound interest.

CHAPTER.

27.

"Watch yourself," Cora warned. Court was in recess, and she and Becky were holed up in one of the conference rooms.

"What do you mean?"

"Melvin thinks you're hot."

"You're kidding."

"Not at all. I've seen that look before."

"Cora."

"He likes the way you're beating up his attorney. He thinks you've got s.p.u.n.k. You do. Don't let him flatter you."

"Don't worry about it."

"I worry about everything where Melvin's concerned. I can worry about me. I can worry about you. The nymphet's not in court, so he's running his game. He's always running his game. If he tries to speak to you, be careful."

"I'm immune to his charm."

"You think so. And then he says something disarming, and the next thing you know you're in Vegas."

Becky laughed. "That's not going to happen."

"I'm glad you think so. What about the witness? You gonna win the fight?"

"I should. If not, I got grounds for appeal."

"Appeal?"

"Yeah. You know. The court hearing where you pay me more money."

"Ha, ha."

"I wasn't joking. If I can knock out the banker's testimony, I got a shot at the other witnesses."

"What other witnesses?"

"Well, there's the teller who brought him the check. But she's not a very good witness."

"How do you know?"

"If she was, they'd have put her on first. Because she's the one who saw you. The one you gave the check to. The one who can identify you as the person presenting the check. The fact she didn't means she's shaky at best."

Cora grimaced. "You're doing it again."

"What?"

"Discrediting the witnesses. The point is I never married the guy."

"Yeah, but that's hard to prove. We gotta work with what we got."

There came a knock on the conference room door.

"We must be back in," Becky said.

She got up to go.

The door opened, and Melvin stepped in. "I hope I'm not disturbing you. Before court resumes, I thought we could have a little talk."

"I have nothing to say to you," Cora said.

"I know that. I meant with your lawyer."

Becky shook her head. "You're the opposing party. I can't talk to you directly. I should be talking to your lawyer."

Melvin smiled. "Yeah, but he won't do it. He's an old stick-in-the-mud."

"Actually, we had quite a nice talk over lunch."

"Reach an agreement? I bet he didn't even pick up the check. You wanna get anywhere, you talk right to me."

"Get anywhere? I didn't know there was anywhere to get."

"I thought you lawyers always talked settlement."

"You're offering to settle?"

"I don't know until we talk about it."

"We're not settling!" Cora said. "Becky, don't listen to him."

Fleckstein stuck his nose in the door and spotted his client. "Oh, there you are." His eyes widened when he saw whom Melvin was with. "What are you doing? Are you crazy? You can't talk to them. For all I know, they're having the conversation recorded. Are you having the conversation recorded? If you are, I'm charging you with bad faith and bringing it before the judge. Don't talk to them. There's no reason to talk to them. It's an open-and-shut case. We're going to win, they're going to lose. That's all she wrote. What the devil are you doing talking to them?"

Melvin's eyes twinkled. He pointed at Becky. "She mentioned a settlement."

Fleckstein's mouth fell open. "She what! How dare you! How dare you, young lady! Try to settle with my client behind my back. I suppose any settlement you reach would very conveniently neglect to mention attorney fees. I'm wise to your tricks." He turned on his client. "And you, get back in the courtroom and behave. My G.o.d, it's like running a kindergarten. I should get hazard pay."

Fleckstein herded his wayward client out the door.

Becky smiled at Cora. "See? Nothing to worry about."

"Yeah," Cora snorted. "I was here and you were saved by his attorney. Considering which, the fact you didn't wind up married to him is a rather minor achievement. Nonetheless, I'm very proud of you."

CHAPTER.

28.

Judge Hobbs looked as though he'd just drunk a quart of sour milk. "It appears Ms. Baldwin's objection has merit. I am very reluctantly striking the testimony of Mr. Randolph from the record. Since Mr. Randolph was responsible for identifying the check, it is also stricken from the record."

Melvin's attorney lunged to his feet.

"Sit down, Mr. Fleckstein. This is not the end of the world. Looking at your witness list, I see you have witnesses to cover the same ground. I suggest you do so. This testimony no longer exists."

Fleckstein consulted his notes. "Call Lilly Clemson."

As the witness took the stand, Cora recognized her as one of the women she'd seen in Cushman's Bake Shop. Lilly Clemson had auburn hair and wore a little too much lipstick. She stated her name and that she worked at the bank.

"Now then, Miss Clemson," Fleckstein said in a solicitous manner, "I'm going to ask you some questions about the check you showed to your employer."

"Are you going to point it out to her as well?" Becky Baldwin said. "Your Honor, this conference between attorney and witness is rather unusual. Could he confine himself to just asking questions?"

"I'm sure he meant no harm, Ms. Baldwin, but your point is well taken. Mr. Fleckstein, don't tell her what you're going to ask her, just ask."

"Yes, Your Honor. Miss Clemson, do you recall an incident when you had occasion to show a check to Mr. Randolph?"

"Yes, I do."

"Could you tell us about that?"

"Yes, I could. I received a check from Cora Felton. The Puzzle Lady. Her name's Cora Felton, but everyone knows her as the Puzzle Lady. She came in and presented a check."

"Was this unusual?"

"No. She has an account. She often brings in checks."

"Was she cashing the check?"

"No, it was for deposit."

"Did it have a deposit slip?"

"Yes, it did."

"To whose account was she depositing the check?"

"To her own. Cora Felton."

"You say she wasn't cashing the check?"

"No, just depositing it in her account."

"What did you do with the check?"

"I showed it to Mr. Randolph."

"Why?"

"Objection," Becky said. "Her thought process is not binding on the defendant."

"No, but it's relevant to her actions. If we could do without so many technical objections."

"Yes, Your Honor."

"Why did you show it to Mr. Randolph?"

"Because I was afraid there might be a problem with it."

"Now," Becky Baldwin said, "we're getting into an area where my objections might not be so technical. The witness has just suggested my client might have attempted to pa.s.s an irregular check. That is a conclusion on her part that I would object to most strongly."

"Your displeasure is noted," Judge Hobbs said. "But I'd like to hear the witness explain."

Mr. Fleckstein was smiling broadly. "And what led you to believe there might be a problem with the check?"

"It was deposited in Cora Felton's account, but it was not made out to Cora Felton."

"What name was it made out to?"

"Cora Felton Markowitz."

"And was it endorsed on the back?"

"Yes, it was."

"How was it endorsed?"

"Cora Felton Markowitz."

"You pointed this out to Mr. Randolph?"