that had fallen well below the knee had been replaced with a fresher model in a startling petrol blue paired with a black jacket with a high-back collar. Her dimpled knees showed clearly below the starkly raised hem. And the thick nylons had been replaced with their sheer, silk cousins. The low heels were gone, and her height had shot up to within about two inches of his by virtue of her spiked, strappy footwear. The knotted bun had vanished, and she had on a black fascinator hat with a sticking-up bow and attached short veil. Her blond tresses fell straight down and skimmed her shoulders like a stage curtain against the floor. Her face, freed from being pulled at by the hair and covered by the shell glasses, had now relaxed into a thing of startling beauty, the eyes wide and holding considerable depth. And the paint on her face, lips, and nails rivaled Jackie’s for its vitality.
Archer could only stare openmouthed at her for a few seconds. “Miss Crabtree, what in the world are you…? Well, you look…different.”
She glanced down at herself, and the woman’s pleased look gave her inner feeling away.
“I’m…meeting someone.”
“Where would that be, I wonder?” said Archer as he made a show of eyeing the Cat’s Meow, which was the only place down this way worth going to, and that still had its lights on and its door unlocked.
“Where that would be is none of your business. What are you doing here?”
“Just stretching my legs and getting some fresh air.”
“You wouldn’t possibly be thinking of going into that bar?”
“What bar would that be?”
“The Cat’s Meow, right there.”
“Oh, is that what that is, a bar?”
“Of course, it’s a—” She paled a bit and looked down at her peep toe shoes.
Archer said, “I guess you’ve been in to see for yourself. I wouldn’t know.”
She squeezed her black envelope handbag and continued to study the toes of her high heels with evident concern. “There is no law against me enjoying a drink, every now and again.”
“No law at all, ma’am. I would join you if I could, but it would violate Rule Number 14, and possibly 15 and 16, depending on how things turned out. There might be others, but those will surely do.”
She eyed his clothes. “Your new suit fits you…very well.”
“And that dress is very pretty. And your hair down that way gives your face a nice framing.”
She touched her hair and tried, but could not manage, to suffocate the smile that appeared on her face.
“Thank you,” she said with a level of shyness that he had a hard time reconciling with the unyielding parole officer. “Are you working on your pickle of a problem?”
“I am indeed. It’s why I’m here at this particular spot.”
She glanced at the bar. “You think he might show up here? Mr. Pittleman, I mean?”
“Well, the man told me he’s here every day except Saturday and the Sabbath, when he’s with his wife. And I know that for a fact since I was at his house on Saturday.”
“Why did you go there?”
“He’s paying me, so I thought it right to explain things to him.”
“But from what you told me this morning, he wasn’t very understanding.”
“No, but he was very clear on what I needed to do if I wanted to get paid. But now with the collateral all burned up, we have to go in a different direction. I’ve been thinking about some options to give him. And see if he has any ideas. Always a good thing to give a man options and let him know what’s what.”
“Yes, I agree, that is smart.”
“Well, I have to be smart, since he pretty much told me he was going to hurt me bad if I didn’t finish the job.”
“He threatened you with bodily harm? That’s a crime.”
“Who’s gonna call him on that? From what I’ve heard he owns just about anything worth owning around here.”
“Well, he doesn’t own the law. Or me.”
“Never figured he could afford you, Miss Crabtree.”
She smiled at this comment but then caught herself and her expression returned to neutral. “So, what will you do when you see him tonight?”
“Tell him the truth. Tell him about the burned-out car and give him some ideas going forward. At the least I figure it’ll buy me a little time to sort things out. I mean, I can’t collect what doesn’t exist anymore.” He paused and eyed the bar. “Well, don’t let me keep you. Is the person you’re meeting already in