Part 24 (1/2)
”How do you know it's evidence?”
”Don't get cute with me. It's evidence, and you know it.”
”Yeah, but you don't like that. Trust me, you'll be much happier if you take the position that it isn't evidence.”
”Cora, this is not a game. This is a murder case, and we have to cooperate with the police.”
”And we will. But we have to be careful how we do it.”
”Why?”
”You haven't thought this through. If we call the cops, what's gonna happen?”
”They're gonna come here, they're gonna take the evidence, end of story.”
”No, it's not the end of the story. Then they're gonna grill Bambi and arrest Melvin. On the grounds they had the murder weapon.”
”But they didn't.”
”Yes, they did. Look at it from the police's point of view. Bambi comes and gets us, feeds us a load of c.r.a.p, practically forces us to search the motel unit. Why? Because she realized Melvin had it, got cold feet, and wanted a way out.”
”That's really stupid.”
”Well, Bambi isn't very smart.”
”Come on, Cora, you can't have it both ways. She can't be clever enough to plan this, and too stupid to plan it well. That's the type of thing you always say, only it's Melvin, so you can't think straight.”
”I'm thinking straight, d.a.m.n it. I'm thinking just fine. If you call Chief Harper, you know what he's gonna do? He's gonna arrest Melvin. With all the pressure on him to come up with something, he can't help it. It doesn't matter if he can make it stick. The fact is, he'll have to haul him in with the media attention and the whole bit. What will happen then?”
”You'll throw a party and laugh yourself sick.”
Cora shook her head pityingly. ”You're the one who isn't thinking. He'll find himself accused of murder. He'll hire an attorney.”
”He has an attorney.”
”He has a divorce lawyer. You think little Mr. Shysterpants ever handled a murder case? He'll need a criminal attorney. He'll hire Becky Baldwin.”
”He can't do that.”
”Why not?”
”She'll turn him down.”
”Yeah, right. Becky's really in a position to turn down a six-figure retainer.”
”Six-figure?”
”Melvin's got it. Melvin's always got money. Anyway, he'll tie up Becky Baldwin so she can't represent me in the alimony suit.”
”But you hired her first.”
”Right. I'm sure that will be a point in my favor when I stand up to Melvin and say, 'No, you can't have her, I had her first,' while Becky is saying, 'Yes, he can.' ”
”You're not going to turn over the gun?”
”Of course I'm going to turn over the gun. I'm just not going to turn it over like this.”
”So, what are you going to do?”
”The same thing you're going to do. I'm going to go back to the house, look Bambi straight in the eye, and tell her we searched the motel room and couldn't find a thing.”
CHAPTER.
32.
Bambi was incredulous. ”Nothing?”
”Absolutely nothing. A hundred and six must mean something else.”
Bambi scrunched up her nose. ”I don't understand.”
”There's nothing to understand. There was nothing there.”
Aaron had been feeding Bambi coffee and she seemed to have sobered up. ”That's stupid. With so much coincidence, it must be true.”
”What coincidence?” Cora said.
”Well, the letter. Coming under our door. In one oh five. And telling us to look in one oh six.”
”It doesn't really tell us to look in one oh six.”
”It adds up to one oh six.”
”That was your idea. It's just a theory. There are other theories.”
”Like what?”
”One oh six could be a post office box number.”
”That's silly.”
”The idea the numbers add up at all is far-fetched.”
”But the crossword said-”
”Yes, it did. Let me take another look at the puzzle.”