"I'm not pushing. You're pushing. I'm holding my ground."

He frowned. "You really think you can handle this crime stuff, don't you?"

"Don't feel bad. Big-city Philly didn't know what hit them either. You better get this tiny burg ready for me. Why don't you admit you don't have enough evidence to deny him bail? He's new in town. He doesn't know all those people he named in his statement and how they're connected. How could he possibly come up with that Loraine in a thong? That whole setup had to come from her, just as he told you."

"Our investigation is-."

She interrupted, "If you guys think that if you can't find the real killer, you can always fall back on my brother, forget it. It ain't gonna happen. You'll love reading my interview in the paper and watching me on TV. Innocent people will be embarrassed, and everyone will wonder how the hell the people with badges let things get out of control. I can get real loud."

"Sounds like a threat."

"Of course it's a threat. Geez, what do you think we're doing here?"

She turned her back to him and leaned far over the convertible's door to lift her briefcase off the seat. She could feel his eyes on her. She stretched out farther and took longer than actually necessary. No question in her mind where his eyes were and no chance he would forget her. She now had him on the defensive. She straightened and slowly walked into the real estate office.