Stuart Woods: Short Straw

"How long have you been in Mexico, folks?"

"Only a few hours," Jimmy said. "We just came over for dinner."

"Have you purchased anything during your stay in Mexico?"

"Only dinner," Jimmy replied.

"Do you own this car, sir?" The patrolman asked.

"Yes, I do. Would you like to see the registration?"

"Yes, please."

Jimmy dug into the glove compartment and handed over the California document.

"All appears to be in order, sir," the patrolman said, handing back their documents. "Welcome home." He waved them on.

Jimmy pulled the car up to a barrier and waited for it to open.

"AND WHO IS THE tall Indian gentleman who is staring at the car?" the captain asked.

"He is my client," Vittorio replied. "He is disappointed, too, as he had hoped to take his wife back to El Norte tonight."

The captain watched as the BMW moved up to the barrier.

EAGLE STOPPED A FEW FEET behind the BMW and motioned Cupie to stop, too. "Let's just wait right here," he said. Vittorio joined them. As they watched, two men in suits and half a dozen uniformed policemen approached the BMW from the U.S. side of the border.

BARBARA WAS SURPRISED, when someone opened her car door, not to be confronted by the Mexican capitan. "Barbara Woodfield?" A man in a suit asked.

"Yes?" she said uncertainly. What was going on here?

"I'm Lieutenant Charles Vickers of the Los Angeles Police Department." He handed her a folded sheet of paper. "This is an arrest warrant with your name on it; the charge is first-degree murder, two counts."

"I believe you've made a mistake," she said, reaching for her handbag, but Vickers got there first. He reached out and snapped a cuff closed on her wrist. An officer on the driver's side of the car began cuffing Jimmy.

"You're making a terrible mistake," Barbara said.

"Yes," Jimmy joined in. "We've just come back from dinner. She hasn't murdered anybody; I can attest to that."

"Well, sir," Vickers said, "we're going to have a long talk about that just as soon as we get back to L.A."

The police removed both of them from the BMW, and a police officer got behind the wheel and moved it. A moment later, Barbara and Jimmy were in the rear seats of separate police cars.

"SHE LOOKS DIFFERENT," Eagle said.

"She's had some work done," Vittorio replied. "We saw her in the Bel-Air bar last night, remember."

"I do now."

"All this was very nicely done," Vittorio said.

"Now you know why I didn't want her harmed," Eagle replied. "You'll probably be called to testify."

"I doubt if I'll be needed," Vittorio said. "The gun she used is in her handbag. If she's smart, she'll plea-bargain for her life."

"Oh, she's smart," Ed Eagle said. "She's very smart, but I'm glad I'm not defending her." He clapped Vittorio on the shoulder. "Now you can drive me to the airport."