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“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She knew she was grinning too broadly for any sane woman; that Max would take one look at her goofy expression and guess the truth. Just as she had expected, she had fallen head over heels in love with him, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

IT WAS ALMOST NOON BY THE TIME MAX AND JAMIE arrived at the newspaper office, with Fleas in tow. Vera was dressed in a fire-engine-red pantsuit and tall heels that she seemed to have trouble maneuvering. She handed Jamie a large stack of mail.

“I have to leave for a while,” Vera said, “because a bunch of women from my church are picketing Maxine Chambers’s lingerie store this morning. I want to be there to take pictures.”

“Why don’t people leave the poor woman alone?” Jamie said.

“Because she’s displaying unmentionables in her front window,” Vera said. “And wouldn’t you know it; Agnes Aimsley’s grandson is the ringleader. Most folks don’t like Maxine anyway ’cause she was such a snooty librarian.”

Jamie gave an enormous sigh. “I don’t believe this. I’m going with you, but I’ll be the opposition. The woman has a right to run her business without a bunch of old church ladies interfering.”

“I’m with you.” When Jamie looked surprised, she went on. “After all, this is a free country. Besides, I’ve been thinking I might buy one of those push-up bras she has in her window. I might just give Destiny Moultrie a run for her money.” She grabbed her camera. “This could be good headline material, you know.”

“I need to make a few calls,” Jamie said before Vera hurried out the door. “Maxine is going to need support.” Dee Dee was first on her list. She was outraged and promised to call her friends. Jamie then called several old high school buddies, all of whom promised to meet her outside Maxine’s store and rally their support. She even phoned Destiny.

“I’ve got to run,” she told Max, who’d walked in on the tail end of one of Jamie’s calls. “A bunch of old church biddies are going to picket our new lingerie store, and I’m going to try to put a stop to it.”

“I thought we had a paper to get out.”

“This won’t take long,” Jamie promised. “But I can’t just sit back and do nothing while an army of angry women descends on Maxine Chambers’s place of business.” She hurried out the door.

By the time Jamie arrived at Maxine’s shop there were at least fifty women gathered out front, many of them chanting, “Close this store!” Agnes Aimsley and her grandson were right in front. A nervous Maxine peered out the window. Jamie gave her the thumbs-up, and the woman looked relieved to see her.

Jamie spotted Dee Dee, Beenie, and Destiny and hurried over. “How many do we have on our side?” she asked.

“We just arrived,” Dee Dee said, “but I don’t think we have more than ten or twelve. Those church ladies look pretty vicious if you ask me.”

Beenie appeared anxious. “I wish I had stayed home. I’m afraid they’ll kick my butt.”

Jamie spied Vera on the sidelines, snapping pictures as fast as she could. “I need something to stand on,” Jamie said. She hurried two doors down to Lowery’s Hardware and returned with a ladder. She didn’t see Max pull up across the street and get out as she climbed the ladder.

“Ladies, please hear me out,” Jamie said, trying to talk above the roaring crowd of female voices. “At least give me a chance to have my say.”

Brent Walker looked annoyed. “The town has spoken,” he said. “We want Maxine Chambers to pack her slut-wear and close shop.”

Obviously feeling braver now that Jamie had arrived, Maxine Chambers stood at the front door of her shop, arms folded across her breasts, a defiant look on her face. “I have as much right to run my business as any other person,” she shouted.

The crowd booed their disapproval. Jamie finally quieted them. “Maxine is right,” she yelled. “As long as she pays rent she has just as much right to operate her shop as the next merchant. And without being harassed,” she added.

“I can’t believe you’re taking her side, Jamie,” Lyle Betts’s wife, Lorna, said.

Jamie regarded the woman. “You don’t have the right to judge Maxine,” she replied. “Your husband is selling aphrodisiac-laced brownies and cakes with naked people on them.”

All eyes turned to Mrs. Betts.

She squared her shoulders. “That’s a lie. Lyle would never do something like that.”

“Then I suggest you march right up to his bakery and demand to see his new ‘Adults Only’ catalog.”

Brent Walker frowned. “I can’t believe you’re supporting this woman,” he said, pointing at Maxine. “But that should come as no surprise what with your new personals ads. Men and women need to meet in church.”

Jamie ignored him and turned to another woman. “And what about you, Mrs. Frazier?” she called out. “Are you going to tell me that you and Mr. Frazier don’t have adult videos in your store? I know you do because I’ve seen them.”

Mrs. Frazier looked embarrassed. “Some people enjoy watching that sort of thing. We have to keep up with our competition.”

“And some people enjoy wearing pretty lingerie,” Jamie said, “myself included.”

The women gasped.

“There’s a difference,” Edna Wilburn said. “I love pretty nightgowns, but I wouldn’t think of displaying that trash in my front store window. It’s not fair that the rest of us are forced to see it every time we walk by.”

Jamie hitched her chin high as she regarded the woman who was married to the owner of Wilburn’s Garage. “You want to talk about what’s fair, Edna?” she said. “Is it fair your husband charges a fortune for his work? Is it fair that he preys on women because he knows they have no idea what it costs for parts and labor to repair their cars?”

“Well, I never,” Edna said in a huff.

“Jamie’s right,” Vera called out. “How do you think you got that new swimming pool?”

Edna looked shocked. “Why, Vera Bankhead, I never knew you felt that way about my George.”

Agnes Aimsley stepped forward. “Maybe we can solve this like good Christians,” she said in her fruity-textured voice.

Everyone glanced her way. “What do you suggest, Mrs. Aimsley?” Jamie asked.

Agnes didn’t hesitate. “Why don’t we all agree to stop bothering Maxine if she agrees to use a little more, um, decorum in her window display.”

Brent looked at her in astonishment. “What are you saying, Gram?” He pointed to Maxine. “Why are you defending this, this—”

“Watch what you say, Brent,” Jamie said. “You know what the Good Book says about judging people.”

His face reddened. “I feel it’s my Christian duty to clean up this town.”

“Is that why you visited Luanne Ritter the night of her murder?” Jamie realized she’d gone too far the minute the words left her mouth.

The women went silent and fixed their gaze on the man. Brent shot Jamie a menacing look. “So you’re the one,” he said. “For your information the police have already visited me, and I’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing. Perhaps you should concentrate on running your newspaper, Miss Swift, and leave innocent people alone.”

“Oh, why do we have to have all this bickering?” Agnes said. “Why can’t we all get along?”

Jamie nodded. “Sounds like a good idea to me, Mrs. Aimsley.”

The woman faced her grandson. “I like pretty nightgowns. I think Miss Chambers should be able to run her store as she sees fit. I don’t know why everybody insists on making trouble for her. If people don’t like what they see, they should just stay away.”

Finally, Maxine spoke up. “If you people will agree to leave me alone, I’ll take some of the more, um, offensive items out of my window.”

“That sounds fair,” Agnes replied.

Brent gaped at his grandmother. “Well, I for one refuse to give in to the devil’s work.” He looked at Maxine. “You’ll pay for your actions. Mark my words.” He stalked away.

Dee Dee stepped up. “I haven’t been in your store before, Maxine, but Jamie has told me all about it. I plan to have a look before I leave here today.”

“Me, too,” Beenie said. “I love women’s lingerie.”

Jamie’s high school friends promised to visit the store, as well.

All at once, a police car skidded to a stop and Lamar Tevis and one of his deputies stepped out. They were in uniform, but instead of wearing slacks, they wore shorts.

“What in the world?” Vera said to Jamie the minute she saw them. “Would you look at how Lamar and his deputy are dressed?”

“Oh, my,” Beenie said, fanning himself. “Would you look at that deputy? I’d like some of that.”

Even Jamie had to admit the shorts bordered on indecent. “I guess they changed to shorts because of the heat,” she said.

“Okay, ladies,” Lamar said. “What’s going on here?” He was tugging at his shorts as if he found them uncomfortable.

Jamie opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Lamar’s deputy. “Lamar, these women are obviously picketing, and they don’t have a permit. They’re breaking the law. We’ll have to arrest them.”

This brought another gasp from the crowd. Jamie didn’t know if they feared jail or were afraid the men would bust out of their shorts.

“I’m guilty,” Beenie shouted, waving both hands in the air. “I insist that your deputy take me away immediately.”

Lamar looked bewildered as he gazed at the crowd of women. “Are you sure about that, Joe?” he asked the deputy.

“Yes, sir.”

Jamie stepped forward. “Lamar, you don’t have a jail large enough to hold all these women.” She tried to ignore Beenie tugging on her blouse.

“Well, that’s true. But like Joe says, you’re breaking the law, and I can’t just stand by and do nothing.”

Vera shot Lamar a dark look. “You wouldn’t dare arrest us. Besides, nobody is picketing anyone. Maxine Chambers is holding a big sale, and we’re standing in line to get into her store.”

“I’m confused,” Lamar said.

“That’s obvious,” Vera said, “or you wouldn’t be dressed like that.”

“Huh? Oh, you mean the shorts. I think the measurements were off because they’re kinda snug.”

Beenie moaned and bit his hand.

Jamie called out from her place on the ladder. “Ladies, Chief Tevis has the mistaken impression that we’re picketing Maxine’s store without a permit, which is against the law. We could all be arrested. But Vera just assured him that we’re here for Maxine’s grand opening sale, so what do you say? Who wants to buy a new nightgown today?”

Everyone in the crowd raised their hand.

MAX LOOKED PLEASED WITH JAMIE WHEN SHE crossed the street to his car. “Why are you grinning?” she asked.

“I’m proud of you, Swifty. You stood up for what you believed in. And from the looks of it, the lady who owns that store is going to make a hell of a lot of sales today.”

MAX AND JAMIE SPENT MOST OF THE DAY WORKING to get the newspaper out on time and pondering what information Muffin had for them. By the time they sent the newspaper to press, both were tired. They dropped Fleas off at Jamie’s house, and drove to a nearby Chinese restaurant for dinner.

Jamie noticed Max was quiet. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

He shrugged. “I’m disappointed that we don’t seem to be any closer to solving Luanne Ritter’s murder than we were in the beginning.”

Jamie nodded. “I’m worried, too, Max. Especially since Destiny said there was going to be another murder, and it would be someone I know.” Max remained quiet. “I know I didn’t take Destiny seriously at first, and I’m probably crazy for saying this, but what if, just what if she’s right? What if the killer is still out there looking for his next victim?” When Max didn’t respond, she went on. “Are you listening to me?”

“Yeah. You just don’t want to know what I’m thinking.”

She leaned back in her seat, noting the serious look on his face. “What is it?”

Max met her gaze. “We’ve never discussed this, but it’s been in the back of my mind all along. If Luanne Ritter’s murder had something to do with her business dealings, that’s one thing. If her murder involved the personals section, that’s a different story. But if he strikes again, it’s a whole new ballgame, you know that, don’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“It means we’re dealing with a serial killer.”

VERA WAS ODDLY QUIET WHEN MAX AND JAMIE ARrived at the office the next morning with Fleas on their heels. Jamie spoke to her and grabbed the morning mail. When Vera didn’t respond, Jamie looked up. The woman looked pale, the lines around her mouth drawn. “Is something wrong?” Jamie asked.

Vera glanced from Jamie to Max and finally to Jamie again. “You haven’t heard, have you?”

Max and Jamie exchanged looks. “Heard what?” Jamie asked.

“Maxine Chambers was found dead in the back of her store last night.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

JAMIE DROPPED THE MAIL AND IT SCATTERED across the floor. She felt her stomach take a dive. All at once, her lips became numb, her knees rubbery, and she felt a blackness descending. Max noted it right away and reached for her. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“I—I need to sit.”

He helped her into her office as Vera followed. “I’m sorry I just blurted it out,” the older woman said, “but I haven’t been myself since I heard the news.”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Jamie said, sitting on the sofa.

Max immediately shoved her head between her legs. “Get some wet paper towels,” he told Vera.

Fleas came to Jamie’s side as though he sensed a problem. Jamie kept her head down until the nausea passed. Vera returned with the wet paper towels and handed them to her.

“What happened?” Jamie managed.

“One of Lamar’s deputies saw the lights on when he drove by late last night and decided to check it out,” Vera said. “The back door was open.”

“How did she—” Jamie couldn’t say the word.

“Same as Luanne Ritter. A fatal blow to the head.”

Jamie felt sick again, mopped her face with the wet towels.

“Take deep breaths,” Max said.

She gulped in air.

“I feel so bad for her,” Vera said. “Especially after everybody gave her such a hard time yesterday. I tell you, something isn’t right in this town. I’m wondering if the two murders are connected in some way.”

Max and Jamie exchanged looks.

Vera checked her wristwatch. “Oh, darn, I’m supposed to be at the doctor’s office in fifteen minutes.”

“Are you ill?” Jamie asked.

“No, it’s just my yearly checkup, but if I cancel there’s no telling how long I’ll have to wait for my next appointment. Not that I’m in much of a mind to go,” she added. She studied Jamie, as if unsure what to do.

Jamie continued to breathe deeply. “You need to go,” she said between breaths. “I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure?” Vera said.

“I’ll stay with her,” Max said.

Vera left a few minutes later. Max touched Jamie’s shoulder. “How are you feeling?”

“The nausea has finally passed.” She felt the sting of tears, blinked them back. “It’s just such a shock.”

Max retrieved the mail and placed it on the coffee table before her. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Yeah, we need to find the killer.” Jamie glanced at the stack of mail and shuffled through it if for no other reason than to have something to do. There were five new ads for her personals section, but more than a dozen addressed to the Divine Love Goddess Advisor. She was surprised to find they’d written in so soon. She put the mail aside and looked at Max.

“Destiny was right. Not only do we have a new murder on our hands, I knew the victim personally.”

“It’s a small town, Jamie. You know a lot of people.”

She wasn’t listening. “Brent Walker,” she said suddenly. “He threatened Maxine yesterday.” She jumped as someone knocked on the door. Destiny peeked in.

“I heard the news on the radio and came straight over. Are you okay?”

Jamie shrugged.

“We’ll find the person responsible.”

“Yeah, but how many people have to die in the meantime?” Jamie’s eyes glistened. “Poor Maxine. She had so many dreams for her store.”

Destiny seemed at a loss for words. The three of them were quiet for a moment. Destiny glanced at the mail. “Is any of that for me?”

Jamie swiped at her eyes. “Most of it’s for you.”

They were interrupted by another knock on the door. Jamie wasn’t surprised to find Police Chief Lamar Tevis standing there.

He glanced at Destiny, studied her a moment, then moved to Jamie. “From the looks on your faces I take it you’ve heard.”

Jamie nodded. “We all feel awful about it.”

Lamar glanced at Destiny again. “Jamie, I need to speak to you and Max. In private,” he added.

Jamie feared the worst was to come. “Lamar, this is Destiny Moultrie. She has been helping Max and me study the case. You can speak freely in front of her. But please, won’t you sit down? Would you like coffee?”

Lamar shook his head as he sat on the sofa. “I’ve been up all night, had my quota of caffeine.” He hesitated. “I’m afraid I have some more bad news for you. We searched Maxine’s store and her house, and we found a clipping of the personals section from your newspaper on her kitchen table. We don’t know if she actually called anyone, because none of the ads had been circled, but—” He paused and reached into his shirt pocket. He pulled out a sheet of paper and unfolded it.

Just what Jamie had been dreading.

“I have a court order here,” he said, handing Jamie an official document, “for you to hand over any information you have on those who’ve placed or answered ads in your column. In the meantime, I’m going to request that you stop running the column. At least until we get to the bottom of this.”

“I’ll need to make copies for you,” Max said, reaching into his briefcase for the file they’d started.

Jamie stood. Her knees still trembled. “I’ll make them,” she said, needing to do something. She hurried out to the reception area, thankful that Vera was not around to ask questions. When she returned with the copies, she handed them to Lamar.

He glanced through them. “Larry Johnson. Now there’s a name I recognize. We’ve already had a few run-ins with him, a domestic-violence charge being one of them. Unfortunately, his wife dropped the charges.”

“He has a serious alcohol and anger problem,” Jamie said.

Max nodded. “When he’s not working, he hangs out at the lounge at the Holiday Inn.”

“I see you’ve made notes on the rest of these guys,” Lamar said. “That will be real helpful for us since me and my men have been focusing on Luanne’s business dealings instead of the personals section.”

“Destiny and I set up dates with these men,” Jamie said. “At first blush they seemed harmless. Except for Larry Johnson.”

Destiny spoke. “Don’t forget he keeps a crowbar handy,” she reminded Jamie.

Jamie looked at Lamar. “One in his car and one just inside his front door.”

“You should probably check them for trace evidence,” Max told Lamar.

“And let’s not forget about Brent Walker,” Jamie said. “He publicly threatened Maxine yesterday. I could be wrong, but I think the man has a few loose screws.”

“He’s been preaching on street corners, scaring folks half to death with talk of doom and gloom,” Lamar said. “One of my deputies threatened to haul him in if he didn’t stop. ’Course, Walker started yapping about freedom of speech and all that.

“We suspect he visited Luanne Ritter the night of her murder,” he went on, “but we have no proof. He claims he was home reading Scripture. It’s not exactly an airtight alibi; Agnes wasn’t feeling well that night and went to bed early. I mean, who else would have left all that religious material in her mailbox?”

“There is one other person who could have put that religious literature in Luanne’s mailbox,” Max said. He told him about the Reverend Heyward. “He ran an ad. He’s strange.”

“Do you know if Luanne contacted him?” Lamar asked.

Max shook his head. “I managed to get my hands on Luanne’s cell phone records, did a cross-check on the phone numbers, but I got nothing. She obviously made the calls from her home or office phone.”

“Any return addresses on the envelopes of those who responded to the ads?” Lamar asked Jamie.

She shook her head. “Like I told Max, they would have wanted it confidential.”

Lamar shuffled through the ads. “You’ve met with all these men?”

“Except for Sam Hunter,” Max said.

“I’ve left several messages on his answering machine,” Destiny said. “He must be playing hard to get.”

Lamar looked at her. “If you don’t mind my asking, what is your involvement in this case?”

“She’s psychic,” Max said.

“Oh, Lord, not one of
those
,” Lamar said with a sigh.

“Actually, she has visions,” Jamie told him. “She knew there would be another victim, but since we had nothing specific—”

“The scratches,” Destiny interrupted. She looked at Lamar. “Maxine Chambers put up a fight before she died. She left deep scratches on the killer’s arms.”

Lamar looked from Jamie to Max. “Several of her fingernails were broken. I had my men bag her hands for nail scrapings. I’d like to have a look at Larry Johnson’s and Brent Walker’s arms. Would ya’ll excuse me just a minute?” He got on his radio while Jamie and Destiny headed to the small kitchen for coffee.

“Maybe I could help you, Chief Tevis,” Destiny said, once she and Jamie had returned with their coffee. “If I could take a look at the murder scene, you know, I might get a feel for something. I can’t make any promises.”

Lamar seemed to struggle with the idea. “The guys would laugh me right out of my job.”

“But what if it works?” Max said. “What if it saves another woman’s life? You won’t know until you try.”

Lamar finally relented. “Oh, okay, you can come with me, but don’t tell the guys why you’re really there. I’ll think of something on the way over.” They started for the door.

“I’ll have to bring Ronnie.”

“Who’s Ronnie?” Lamar asked.

Jamie cleared her throat.

“Never mind,” Destiny said.

.  .  .

AGNES AIMSLEY AWOKE IN HER EASY CHAIR WITH a start. She felt tired and haggard after a fitful night. She had awakened when Brent had come in after midnight, only to toss and turn for hours. She had finally given up on sleep and had risen at four A.M. She glanced at the clock, reached for her remote control, and turned on the midday news where the top story of the day brought a gasp from her lips.

Brent found her there when he came through the front door several hours later. The TV was off. Agnes hadn’t moved from the chair except to answer the door once and make a cup of tea.

“What’s wrong, Gram?” he asked.

She didn’t answer.

“Gram?”

“The police came by earlier.”

He gave an exasperated sigh. “What do they want this time?”

“They didn’t say. Brent, the most awful thing has happened. Mrs. Chambers was murdered last night.”

“Who?”

“Maxine Chambers from the lingerie store.”

“Oh, great, the police probably want to pin that on me, too.”

Agnes looked at him. “What are you talking about?”

He sank onto the sofa and raked his hands through his hair. “They questioned me about that Ritter woman. I left some spiritual literature in her mailbox so they naturally assume I killed her.”

“I don’t understand. What was your business with Mrs. Ritter?”

Brent gaped at her. “Surely you know that she was hounding several members of the church, Gram. They had taken out loans with her and were having a hard time making payments. Ritter sent a couple of her goons out to scare them. These guys scared one of the members pretty bad. I’m surprised you haven’t heard.”

“I thought they were just rumors.”

“Somebody had to take the woman to task,” Brent said. “I felt it was my Christian duty.”

“You visited her?”

Brent nodded.

“Do the police know this?”

He hesitated. “I don’t want to involve you, Gram. The less you know the better.”

“You’ve always been able to talk to me.”

Brent clasped his hands together and stared down at the floor. “I had to lie to the police, Gram. I told them I never set foot inside Ritter’s house. That’s not true.”

Agnes went deathly still. “What happened?”

“She let me in, said she’d give me five minutes to have my say. It turned into a yelling match. I was so mad.” He raked his hands across his face. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You should have told the police the truth, Brent. It’s not like you to lie.”

“I had no choice. They’re desperate to pin this thing on someone. And now they’re going to come after me over that Chambers woman. I lost my temper yesterday, said some things I probably shouldn’t have. My guess is somebody reported it. Probably that newspaperwoman.”

Agnes suddenly looked afraid. “The police asked me if you went out last night. I told them yes, that you didn’t come home until late.”

Brent paled. “I was out driving around,” he said. “Driving and thinking. I might as well tell you things aren’t going well at school.”

“Then I suggest you return immediately and straighten them out, young man,” Agnes said sharply.

Their gazes locked. “Yes, of course,” he said. “I can be packed and out of here in less than an hour.”

VERA WAS NOT HAPPY. “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE going to pull the personals section to give that crazy woman more space for her Divine Love Goddess Advisor column.”

“It’s just temporary,” Jamie said. “Did you see the stack of mail Destiny received?”

“Yes. It just goes to show you people aren’t thinking straight if they’re seeking information from somebody like her. They must be spending too much time in the sun. Or maybe they’re eating too many of Lyle Betts’s brownies.”

Dee Dee and Beenie came through the front door. It was obvious Dee Dee had been crying. “We heard the news about Maxine, and we just stopped by to make sure you were okay. I know you liked her.”

“Thank you,” Jamie said. “It came as a real shock.”

“And we wanted to invite you to lunch,” Beenie said.

Dee Dee nodded. “That’s right. We haven’t had lunch together in ages. We used to do it all the time when I first moved here.”

It was obvious they were trying to cheer her up. “I wish I could join you,” Jamie said, “but I’ve been so upset over Maxine that I haven’t been able to concentrate on my work, and it’s going to be difficult enough meeting today’s deadline. I need to stay here.”

“Do you know if the police have any suspects?” Dee Dee asked nervously. “Do you know if Luanne Ritter’s death was connected?” she added, without waiting for an answer. “I shudder to think we have a killer walking the streets. I mean, what if he strikes again?” She had to pause to catch her breath.

“Dee Dee didn’t take the news well,” Beenie said, meeting Jamie’s gaze. “She’s really trying to be brave about the whole thing.”