“Bingo. Ursula and Richard had both but the kids weren’t an issue, they’re almost adults. It was all about dollar signs. Tweaking their settlement took five years, three of them after the decree.”

“They came back for more.”

“Fine-tuning,” said Fellinger. “We finally arrived at a mutually beneficial settlement. By we, I mean myself and Richard Corey’s attorney.”

“Who’s that, sir?”

“Earl Cohen. He’s old-school.”

I said, “Someone wanted rematches?”

“Both of them wanted rematches. Every year or so. For all my experience, it was a weird situation. One day they’d come in looking like best friends, saying the right things, willing to do anything to smooth things out. They’d leave looking cozy. Affectionate, even. I’d see them like that and wonder why the hell they divorced in the first place.”

Fellinger leaned forward. “This was not a situation where the lawyers kept it going to churn fees. Earl and I are both busy. This could’ve been the exception—smooth sailing, genuine amicability, move on and have a nice life.”

I said, “The Coreys didn’t see it that way.”

“They moved on, all right. Then they’d retrench. What made it a royal pain was that Earl and I would take them at their word and proceed accordingly. Several thousand bucks of billable hours later, we’d both get irate phone calls, all bets are off, back to the trenches. The impetus never seemed connected to a specific event. Nor did they ever seem hostile when they showed up. It was as if they’d saved up their energy and were ready to reenlist. Last go-round was a year ago.”

Milo said, “Anyone walk away angry that time?”

Fellinger stared. “Could Richard do something like this? Good God, I hope not. I mean that would be disgusting. That would make me doubt my ability to judge people. No, Lieutenant, there was no anger from either side. In fact, they seemed genuinely settled.” His eyebrows rose. “Was Ursula robbed? Because she likes her jewelry, was wearing plenty today.”

Milo said, “No evidence of robbery.”

“You’re sure? I saw a whole lot of diamonds on her, maybe something’s missing.”

“We removed and cataloged three rings, Mr. Fellinger, along with a necklace, two bracelets, and a pair of ruby-and-gold earrings. Plus there was an expensive watch in her purse.”

Fellinger’s tiny mouth rotated. “That sounds about right. So you’re considering Richard a suspect? I guess the husband’s always where you start and Lord knows I’ve seen plenty of spouses I’d consider prime suspects if anything happened. But I don’t know about Richard. It really doesn’t fit.”

I’d been an expert witness on scores of divorce cases, couldn’t recall a single one where the opposing lawyer defended the enemy.

I said, “Richard’s a good guy.”