“Hey, Judy.”

“It’s Jaine.”

“Right,” he smirked. “Jane Eyre. Like the author.”

Why did I get the feeling that he knew exactly what my name was?

“Mind if I ask you a question?” I forced myself to smile.

“Shoot,” he said.

“Doesn’t it bother you that the cops suspect your sister of murder? Aren’t you worried that she might wind up in jail?”

“Nah,” he said, dismissing my fears with a wave of his hand. “Dad’ll take care of everything.”

Spoken with the confidence of a kid who knew he could break the law and get away with it.

“Lt. Webb tells me you were on your lunch break at the time of SueEllen’s murder.”

“That’s right,” he said. “And I’ve got three friends who’ll back me up.”

“I’m sure they will. That’s what friends are for, right?”

That wiped the smirk off his face.

“Screw you,” he muttered cordially, then turned on his heels and headed back to the house.

What a rotten kid. I felt like keying his Ferrari.

Instead I got in my Corolla and started home.

I could easily picture Brad Kingsley killing SueEllen for a Ferrari, and then framing his sister for the murder. So what if his friends swore he was with them at the time Sue-Ellen was killed? They could be lying to cover for him. If they were anything like Brad, they had the ethics of a gerbil.

Between Brad, Hal, and my bevy of blondes, my mind was reeling with suspects. What I needed was a relaxing soak in the tub, where I could lie back and sort things out. I’d been avoiding the tub, after seeing SueEllen electrocuted in hers. But I had to get over that silly fear. Tonight, I was definitely going to make a return appearance in my bathtub.

In the meanwhile, I stopped off to pick up something nutritious for dinner. I remembered Larkspur’s advice about staying away from dairy products. So I told the clown I wouldn’t be having a milkshake with my Jumbo Jack and fries.

My answering machine was blinking when I got home. One whole message. It’s a good thing I had that five thousand dollars from Hal. I sure as heck wasn’t getting any writing jobs.

It was Kandi.

Well, sweetie. I think this could be the night. Matt’s taking me to dinner at the beach. He said he had an important question he wanted to ask me. I smell an engagement ring! I know what you’re thinking, that we’ve only been out on three dates, but I’m telling you, Jaine, this guy is Mr. Right. Did I mention that he can bench press four hundred pounds? And he cracks walnuts with his bare hands. Not that I eat walnuts; they’re so damn fattening. The point is, Matt’s the strong, silent type of guy I should have been dating all along. So wish me luck tonight. Oh, and before I forget. Major news flash about Tommy the Termite. Apparently he got caught by a health inspector dropping a cockroach into a barbeque chicken pizza. It’ll be in the trades tomorrow. “Toon Termite Caught Bugging.” We’re going to have to write him out of the series. It’ll be a very special episode. Tommy the Termite Meets the Orkin Man. Okay, honey. Gotta run. Love you.