"Miss Goldy," he began, "why don't you start by telling me about your husband? About this allegation of his?"

"My ex-husband," I said, suddenly angry, "is a-" I stopped and looked at my hands. "John Richard Korman," I began again, "is an abusive man. He frightens me. I was trying to give him mushrooms instead of tomatoes, to which he is allergic." I looked at Schulz. "Believe me," I said, "I don't have that much interest in Fritz Korman. He's just an old charmer whose wife is an alc-" I paused. I said, "Not under my jurisdiction, as you cops would say."

Schulz pulled his mouth into a small o. He leaned toward me and raised the tentlike eyebrows.

He said, "Just calm down." He leaned back again. "Let's start over. You can begin by offering me a nice cup of espresso and some of those rolls they're eating out in the kitchen. I don't ordinarily take refreshment at a suspect's house, but I'm going to make a large exception, since it smells so good in here."

I complied. Somehow the fact that he was hungry for something I had fixed, and that he trusted something I would fix, was encouraging.

He smiled at me between sips and bites. "This is really nice, this place," he said. "I like this old neighborhood. Has a lot of charm. So do some of the residents." He gave what appeared to be either a judicious wink or a left-eye tic.

What in the world was going on? After a moment I said, "Are you going to ask me some questions or not?"

"Okeydoke." He laboriously wiped each of his fingers on the napkin I had given him. "Just take it easy, okay?"

I nodded.

He said, "Did you put a foreign substance into Fritz Korman's food to make him sick or kill him?"

I looked Investigator Schulz square in his X-ray vision eyes.

"No," I said. "I did not."

"Did you put a foreign substance into John Richard Korman's food to make him sick or kill him?"

I said, "I did not. It would harm my business, which is my sole source of income-"

Schulz chuckled. "It has already harmed your business. It may be the end of your business. Please assure me they weren't funny mushrooms."

"They were the regular kind."

"Good. Health Department report'll be in tomorrow or the day after. That spread sure looked good, too, hated to waste it. Poached salmon. Strawberry shortcake." He took a deep breath and leaned back to hike up his belt. "I've never been to a party you've catered."

"So?"

"Now Miss Goldy, I'm just saying you seem to be a good cook. You've got a reputation to protect."

I said, "The way you say it, it sounds like soliciting."