“Well, gee, thanks. I’m so glad you don’t want to think of me as a slut and a murderer.”
“What else am I supposed to believe?”
“Believe anything you like, just leave me alone.”
“All along, even when it stretched credibility, I’ve been giving you the benefit of the doubt. Until tonight.” He opened his jacket far enough for her to see the envelope inside his breast pocket.
Suddenly she ceased to struggle. She stared at the envelope for a moment, and he saw her lips twitch with what looked like remorse. But to her credit, when she raised her eyes to his, they were defiant and proud. “Juicy reading?”
“Damaging. Very damaging. This is the ammunition they need to nail you.”
“Then why are you standing here talking to me?”
“Smilow will take this and run with it.”
“So call him up. Give him the lowdown. You got what you wanted, what you paid for.”
“I’m giving you a chance to explain it.”
“I rather imagine it’s self-explanatory.”
“So I’m supposed to take it at face value?”
“I don’t give a damn how you take it.”
“Okay. I’ll interpret it the only way I can.” He pressed his lower body against her. “It means you’ve come a long way, baby.”
Her composure and hauteur deserted her. With both hands, she pushed hard against his chest. “Get away from me.”
He didn’t yield. “What this indicates to me is that last Saturday night was more than a simple seduction.”
“I didn’t seduce you.”
“Like hell, but we’ve been through that before. You’re implicated in a felony crime, and you deliberately drew me in. Why, Alex? You intentionally created a conflict of interest for me as a prosecutor. You made me part of it—whatever the hell it is.”
“There is no ‘it.’ There never was. Not until Lute Pettijohn turned up dead.”
“Was he in on it?”
“Aren’t you listening?” she cried.
“Was I the target of his last scheme? Was he plotting my downfall when he was murdered?”
“I don’t know. His being murdered had nothing to do with me.”
“I wish I could believe that. Our meeting was not accidental, Alex. You’ve admitted that much.”
She tried to sidestep him, but he blocked her and placed his hands on her shoulders.
“You’re not leaving until I get to the truth. How did you know I would be at that fair?”
She shook her head.
“How did you know?”
She remained stubbornly mute.
“Tell me, Alex. How did you know I was going there? You couldn’t have. The only way you could have known is if—” Suddenly he broke off. He gave her a hard, piercing look and gripped her shoulders tighter.