"I'm perfectly fine. Now go to work and stop worrying about me."
"Are you planning to go into the office today?" he asked.
"I probably need to talk to Lamar first."
"Just call me on my cell phone." Phillip kissed her lightly. "Frankie, Deedee, thanks for coffee. Max, it was a pleasure meeting you. Call me and we can have a drink at my club."
Max nodded.
Frankie walked Phillip out. When he returned he held the newspaper. "Neither rain nor hail nor a drive-by shooting prevents our newspaper from getting out."
Jamie accepted another cup of coffee as Frankie perused the paper. She dreaded calling Vera, knowing the woman would somehow blame her for the shooting incident.
"Are there any sales, sweetie?" Deedee said.
Frankie looked. "Aw, Bates's Furniture is having a liquidation sale. Everything in the store is half price. I don't know if they have French provincial furniture, though."
Jamie looked up from her coffee cup. "What did you say?"
"And Beaumont Paints is having a going-out-of-business sale," Frankie added. "I didn't know they were going out of business. This might be a good time to repaint the house, Deedee." He winked at Max.
"Let me see that," Jamie said, reaching for the newspaper. The two ads together took up a full page. "Oh, no!"
"What is it?" Max said.
"I never saw these advertisements."
He got up, rounded the table and glanced over her shoulder. "Those are the two ads I told you I put in at the last minute. Vera handed them to me on her way out."
The color drained from Jamie's face. "Double damn!"
"What's wrong, honey?" Deedee asked.
"I can't believe she did this to me," Jamie said. "I'm going to kill her. I'll kill her with her own gun, that's what I'll do. That way it'll look like suicide."
"Do I sense a problem?" Max asked.
Jamie briefly filled them in.
Max stared at her in disbelief. "You had the place painted and furnished for my visit? Why?"
"I didn't want you to see how bad it looked."
"You mean it looked worse before it was redecorated?"
She shot him a death look but went on to explain. "Vera asked Tom and Herman, well, actually, she threatened them, to give the place a little face-lift, and that's how they responded."
"Oh, Jamie," Deedee cooed, patting her hand. "I would have decorated it for you."
Jamie could only imagine the results had Deedee been in charge, and she immediately felt ashamed. "Tom and Herman are going to sue my pants off. I need to call my lawyer."
"Let me see if I can talk to these guys first," Max said.
Beenie rushed through the swinging door with Choo-Choo. "Here's your mama," he told the small dog, placing him in Deedee's outstretched arms.
"Did he go?" she asked.
"Oh, yes! Choo-Choo is a very good boy. I gave him his treat, brushed his teeth and coat, and then I sprayed him with doggie deodorant."
"Mama is very proud of her little boy," Deedee exclaimed, kissing the pooch on his nose.
She suddenly yawned. "I'm going back to bed. I can't handle a crisis this early in the morning. Besides, I feel bags growing beneath my eyes."
"I'll get you an eye mask from the freezer," Beenie said, hurrying through the swinging door once more.
Deedee turned to Jamie with a look of determination on her face. "Honey, I insist you stay with us for a while. At least until we find the guy who shot out your window last night."
"I'll be fine," Jamie said.
Deedee looked at her husband. "Frankie, make her stay."
"You have to stay," Frankie said. "Deedee will worry."
"We can run by your place later so you can pick up some clothes," Max offered. "I'm going into town anyway."
Jamie debated whether or not to remain in the Fontana household. She had been scared the night before, but the sun shining through the dining room window made her feel as though everything were going to be okay. Besides, she liked being in her own place. "I'm not afraid of being alone," she said.
Deedee leaned closer. "You know Phillip will have a hissy fit if you stay at your place," she said in a conspiratorial manner. "He and Annabelle will march right up to your doorstep and drag you home with them. You won't be able to wear jeans because you won't blend. You'll have to wear dresses."
"Eeyeuuw!" Jamie said.
"Yeah, I figured that would settle it. Besides, you've got a baseball bat under your bed, and I've got a rolling pin on my night table. Ain't nobody going to mess with us, sister."
Jamie looked at Max. The smile on his face told her he was glad she was staying. She was definitely going to have to put Max Holt in his place.
Jamie tried not to worry about a possible lawsuit as she dialed the city police. She was put through to Lamar, who told her it would be okay to go back into the building.
"My deputies are over there now looking around in case we missed anything last night. They'll keep an eye on the place for a few days. Also, I'm going to have to question your employees, if that's okay."
"That's fine." Jamie hung up and dialed Vera, who answered on the first ring.
"You must've really made someone mad this time," Vera said, before Jamie spoke. "What in the world did you do?"
"Vera Bankhead, don't you dare start on me. Have you lost your mind? You've opened me up for a lawsuit from Tom and Herman."
"Oh, that," Vera said, as though it were no big deal. "Tom and Herman wouldn't dare sue us."
She didn't sound very confident.
"You're going to print a retraction, and an apology. But first, you're going over to Tom's and Herman's stores and apologize to them personally."
"And if I refuse?"
Jamie paused abruptly. She loved Vera like a mother, but the woman had crossed the line and left the newspaper vulnerable to legal problems. Still, she couldn't fire her. She took a deep breath. "You won't get the raise I was planning to give you with your new job title."
"You never said anything about a raise or a promotion."
"I wanted to surprise you."
The woman on the other end was quiet for a moment. "What's my new title?"
Jamie sighed. "Assistant editor. I want you to work more closely with Mike and me. Mostly Mike."
Vera seemed to ponder it. "I'll think about it."
"And I might put you in charge of selling advertisement if that part-time guy doesn't start doing a better job."
"How much of a raise are we talking about?"
"I'll let you know as soon as I look at our budget. But first you need to tell Tom and Herman you're sorry."
Vera grumbled under her breath. "I'll work on it."
* * * * *
Jamie came downstairs wearing a pair of Deedee's jeans that were a bit on the snug side, and a cotton pullover that molded nicely to her breasts.
Max smiled at the sight. "You ready to go?"
Jamie nodded and followed him out to his car. "I spoke with Lamar," she said, once they were on their way. "He's going to have deputies watching the place."
Max nodded. "Muffin, rise and shine. We've got work to do."
"And a hearty good morning to you, Max," Muffin replied. "I'm fine, how are you?"
Jamie couldn't hide her amazement. "She's being sarcastic."
"Good morning, Miss Swift," Muffin said. "I hope you rested well considering all the turmoil last night. Is your leg better?"
Jamie stared, dumbfounded. "I'm, uh, fine, thank you." She covered her face. "I'm talking to a computer."
"At least she's being nice to you," Max said. "Okay, Muffin, now that we've exchanged pleasantries, would you mind looking up the number to Bates's Furniture? I want to talk to Herman Bates."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
"What are you doing?" Jamie asked Max.
"I'm trying to kill two birds with one stone. We need new furniture, and we need to suck up to Herman Bates and the other fellow."
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