Judge Hobbs sucked in his breath. Debated whether a reprimand was in order. "Proceed," he said tersely.

"And what did you do?"

"Melvin registered at the Oakwood Motel. I registered in another unit from which I could observe his actions."

"What did he do?"

"He went to the bank, talked to the people who were going to be witnesses."

"The banker and the teller? Roger Randolph and Lilly Clemson?"

"That's right."

"The witnesses who were killed."

"Yes."

"He spoke to them at the bank?"

"That's right."

"When was this?"

"Last week. He came up Wednesday morning to check out the witnesses."

"That's when he saw them in the bank?"

"Yes."

"Is that the only place he saw them."

"No."

"Really? Where else?"

"He took Lilly Clemson out to dinner."

"When?"

"Later that night."

"Where did they go?"

"To the Country Kitchen."

"Did he meet her there?"

"No. He picked her up at her place."

"And drove her home after dinner?"

"Yes."

"Did he go inside?"

"No. But they sat in the car for a while. Probably trying to talk her into inviting him up."

"That's speculative, and will go out," Judge Hobbs said. "I realize there's no objection from the plaintiff, but please try to keep the questioning within legal bounds."

"Yes, Your Honor." Becky turned back to the witness. "Did he ever go inside?"

"Miss Baldwin."

"It's not speculation, Your Honor. I'm asking if she knows for a fact."

"Yes, he did."

"How do you know?"

"I saw him."

"You followed him to her apartment and watched him go inside?"

"That's right."

"When was that?"

"The night she got killed."

CHAPTER.

53.

By the time Judge Hobbs got done pounding the courtroom to order, all dreams of playing golf had vanished in the mist. "Excuse me, but did you just say you saw the plaintiff go into the decedent's apartment on the night of the murder?"

"That's right."

"Mr. Fleckstein, stand up! Counselor, I offered you a continuance on the grounds that your client's arrest on suspicion of murder might have a negative influence on the outcome of this hearing. It never occurred to me this hearing might have a negative influence on the outcome of your murder case. It now appears that it does. If it should turn out that in any way, you have conspired to poison the jury pool and prove that your client cannot get a fair trial, I would consider that to be tantamount to the type of questionable ethics that might be of interest to the bar a.s.sociation. This woman is the wife of the defendant. Under ordinary circ.u.mstances, she would not be allowed to testify against him at the trial. If by allowing her to testify here and 'inadvertently' let slip damaging evidence against him in his murder case, you hope to get such evidence excluded at his trial, and hope to exclude any other evidence the prosecution might hope to introduce as fruit of the poisonous tree, it would be a very serious matter."

"That was not my intention, Your Honor."

"Well, I'd sure like to know what your intention was. Because I can't think of one that could possibly be construed as legal."

"Yes, Your Honor. I should point out, Your Honor, that at the moment the witness's statement stands uncontested. I have the right to cross-examine."

"Not yet, you don't," Becky said. "I haven't finished my direct examination."

Judge Hobbs glowered. "Approach the bench."

Cora got up and started to follow Becky.

"Not you," Judge Hobbs said. "The attorneys."

Cora tugged at Becky's sleeve. "Could I make a statement?"

"My client would like to make a statement, Your Honor."

"Well, I don't wish to hear from her."

"Very well, Your Honor. But I should point out, we seem to have arrived at a legal impa.s.se. Perhaps the suggestion of a layperson might help."

"Very well. But be brief."

Cora got to her feet. She leaned back to Becky and whispered, "Call me a layperson again and I'll bop you one. You see that smirk on Melvin's face?"

Cora stepped forward, addressed the judge. "Your Honor, much as I'd like to win this suit-and believe me, I would-I don't want to do it by convicting my ex-husband of a murder he didn't commit. I a.s.sure you we don't plan to introduce any evidence that would do that."

"Your bland a.s.surance is laughable in light of the testimony of the witness."

"That's because you haven't heard all of the testimony. I know what she's going to say, and it isn't going to hurt Melvin at all. At least in terms of the murder. I plan to win this case. So, you let her talk, Melvin goes free, and I get my money. It's a win-win. Sure, he loses his money. But under the circ.u.mstances, it's still a win."

"And just what is this woman going to tell us?"

"I'd rather you heard it from her. If you want, I'll ask her questions. If you don't, I'll feed them to my lawyer, and she'll ask them, but it will take twice as long."

Judge Hobbs sighed. All hope of maintaining order in the courtroom and preventing a sideshow had long since gone by the board. "Very well. Make your case."

CHAPTER.

54.

Cora Felton stepped out in the middle of the courtroom. She smiled at the Channel 8 TV camera for the benefit of the Granville Grains publicity department and Judge Hobbs's skyrocketing blood pressure. She shot a glance at the plaintiff's table. Melvin was grinning from ear to ear. He had a lovely smile, one of his more endearing qualities, and a wicked grin. She remembered the latter more fondly, perhaps because it was more likely sincere. In any event, it was clear her ex-husband was getting a huge kick out of the proceedings. After all, it wasn't every day a man got to see his ex-wife grill his wife on the witness stand.

"Mrs. Crabtree," Cora said, "I'm sorry to put you through this. It must be quite an ordeal. I'll try to make it easy. You are the current Mrs. Melvin Crabtree?"

"That's right."

"How long did you say you've been married to the plaintiff?"

"About a year."

"When did things go bad?"

"Is this relevant?" Judge Hobbs said.

"That's the thing about question and answer," Cora said. "Some answers are more relevant than others. And you never know until you ask the questions."

Judge Hobbs took a breath. "Proceed."

"When did things go bad?"

"Right after the honeymoon."

"You were lucky. Mine went bad on the honeymoon." Cora caught the look in Judge Hobbs's eye and said, "But to move along. What went wrong with the marriage?"

"I found out Melvin was involved with someone else."

"Would that be the young lady sitting behind him in court?"

"No. There was another one before her."

"What happened to her?"

"She dropped him like a hot potato when she found out he was married."

"What happened then?"

"He took up with Bambi. That's the young woman sitting there."

"Did she mind he was married?"

"No."

"How do you know she knew?"

"I made sure she knew."

"How did you do that?"

"I sent her a little note."

"You didn't accost her in person?"

"No."

"Why not?"