"Yes, I'll do that. I just hope they can get it in fast, so I can have the judge disposed of before anyone knows he is missing."

"You might want to set a deadline for them."

"What kind of deadline?"

"Tell them that you want it ready for a pool party in ten days, and that you'll give them a bonus if they can have it completed in time."

"Can they put a pool in that fast?"

"I'm sure they can, if the bonus is big enough. Tell them that you'll give them a five thousand dollar bonus if it is completed by say, August 10th. And if they get through earlier than the 10th, you'll give them an additional thousand dollars for every day earlier than the 10th. They'll work day and night, and have it in by the 6th!"

"Do you think so?"

"Sure. Just make sure they leave the site the night before they pour the concrete, so you can hide the judge under where they plan to pour it the next day."

"Can I get you to call the contractor and tell him all that? You know more about all that than I do."

"Sure, I'll call him. You got the number?"

"Yes, come into the house." She took him into the house by way of the back deck, and the screened in back porch, where the new freezer was sitting ominously with its grizzly contents. As they approached it, she noticed that the lid to the freezer was partially opened.

"That's strange. The freezer door is open! G.o.d, I hope someone hasn't been in there!"

Travis got to it first, and raised it up. Miranda screamed.

"Oh my G.o.d! He's not dead! He's trying to get out!"

"No, he's dead all right. It's just the rigor mortis. It caused his muscles to tighten up as he froze. As he froze, he pushed up on the lid of the freezer. Is this the first time you've seen the freezer since you put him in it?"

"Yes it is." The judge's eyes were still open, but his pupils were now frozen and frosted over.

"Then it was probably like this earlier, you just didn't see it."

"It probably was. Okay. I'll deal with him later. Let's go call the pool contractor right now, to get him started on it."

"That's a good freezer! It looks like he's frozen solid!"

"I told them I wanted the biggest and best they had."

"You may have to re-arrange him, to get the lid closed."

"Okay, I'll do that. But let's call the contractor first."

They entered the house and went to the kitchen, where a phone was on the counter beside the microwave. "Sit at the phone, and I'll go get my purse. It has my phone numbers in it." He sat down and looked at the phone. It had all kinds of options. He pressed the 'play messages' b.u.t.ton while he was waiting on her. A juvenile sounding male voice came up.

"Hi Miranda, it's me again! I was just wondering if you are okay. I haven't seen you out jogging in about a week now. I hope you aren't sick or something. I still want to take you out to dinner some evening. I know you get lonely just like me. I know you are not gone on another trip, because I see your car coming and going all the time. By the way, the next time you plan a trip, let me know. I might want to go too. I'll call you later. Bye."

The second message was from her sister. The third was from the bank, wanting to confirm a check she had written. The fourth message was from the same fellow that called before.

"Hi Miranda! Listen, don't let me bother you if you have company, but I suspect there might be something wrong with your next door neighbor, Judge Rosewood. I haven't seen him leave home now in four days, which is unusual. He usually comes and goes daily. I wonder, should I call and check on him? He's an important man, and I hate to bother him. He once got mad at me when I called him. I saw you and him riding together one day, so maybe you can call and check on him. I am worried, because I know he has a bad heart. I was behind him at the drug store once, when I was getting my breathing inhalers refilled. I noticed that the kinds of prescriptions he was getting filled were for serious heart problems. I know, because I went home and looked up the prescriptions he was getting in my prescription drug catalogue. It was some serious stuff! So what do you think? Am I being too nosey? Call me when you get a chance. Bye."

This was the last call on the recorder, and it was finishing up as Miranda returned with her little black book.

"You're being a little nosey, aren't you, Travis? Do you enjoy listening to my personal messages?"

"Yes, they are very interesting. Particularly this wimpy-sounding guy who has called you twice today."

"Oh, that's just Lenny. He's harmless. He's got a crush on me, and he hasn't got anything better to do than call me. He's entertaining to talk to sometimes. I made the mistake of stopping to talk to him one day at my mailbox, and now he calls me all the time."

"He seems to be quite a fan of yours. Think he's after money?"

"No, not Lenny. He's a little on the dull side. He's about as sharp as a bowling ball."

"I don't know, he seems pretty sharp in some ways. He keeps up with his neighbors pretty well. And that's just the kind of person who you don't need watching you right now. He's just the kind of nosy simpleton that the police like to question when there is a missing person case. He will tell anything that comes to mind, no matter how small a detail. And some of the little things he just said in that recording could point toward you, if the police question him concerning Judge Rosewood."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you listened to his last call?"

"No, I just heard you playing it."

"Then you'd better listen to it."

He played it again, and she saw what he meant.

"You're right he might call the police, if I don't call him back."

"Who is he anyway?"

"He's a physically, and somewhat mentally handicapped young man who lives between here and the main road. His parents were killed when he was a teenager, and left him with a nice house, and a monthly disability check. He is able to live on his own, but he is all alone. He is a good-hearted fellow, but he's just a dead end. He has nothing better to do than watch what goes on around him. He keeps up with who comes and goes on Kellerman Road."

"So, he has no doubt seen me come and go too?"

"Yes, I'm sure. But a lot of people come up here to go to the Kellerman Country Club. Lenny only keeps up with the regulars. The problem is, aside from taking a boat up the Warrior River, Kellerman Road is the only way of getting in or out of here. I need to call him back to erase some of his suspicions. Hand me the phone. Don't say anything while I'm talking to him."

"Of course not."

She punched his number, and got an answer on the first ring.

"h.e.l.lo, Lenny! Yes, I got your message from this morning . . . No, I went to town for something. I know, but I wanted to go by myself . . . You are very thoughtful, Lenny. Uh-huh . . . Listen, in the message, you asked about the Judge? I think the reason you haven't seen him, is because he said he was going to spend a few weeks on the road, while his wife is gone. He mentioned Las Vegas and the West Coast, but I don't know exactly where he went . . . Yes, he did ask me to go, but how would that look? Me traveling with a married man?"

(Travis rolled his eyes.) "Yes, and him a Federal Judge at that! . . . Well, he might have invited you, if he knew you wanted to go." (Miranda rolled her eyes.) "Well, my goodness, Lenny! Do you watch the road day and night? He might have left in the wee hours of the morning. There's no telling with him. With his wife gone, he just wanted to get away and be a free soul for awhile . . . Yes, I've heard her called that too. He told me she was going to be gone for three weeks, so he probably won't be back until right before she does . . . Uh-huh. Well, listen, Lenny. I appreciate your concern, I really do, but to be honest, you make me feel just a little uncomfortable with the way you watch me all the time! I feel like you are stalking me, and I don't like a friend who does that! . . . Yes, I cherish my privacy! . . . No, you're not a bad person, Lenny! Don't beat yourself up! Just be a good neighbor, and don't be so nosey! If you will do that, I will go out to eat lunch with you one day, I promise! . . . Oh, nowhere expensive, just some nice sit-down restaurant . . . Well, How about this Friday? Okay, fine. I'm sure you will. Bye, Lenny."

"Sounds like you have a real fan there!"

"The poor fellow, he doesn't have a spoonful of sense!"

"I don't know, he seems to have pretty good observation skills. And that can be dangerous, after the Judge is determined to be missing. Know what I mean? We shouldn't underestimate him."

"I know."

"So you agreed to eat lunch with him?"

"I had to, as a reward for him not being so nosey!"

"And that will make him be less nosey?"

"Lenny is very simple-minded. He's about 35, and was diagnosed as having Down's Syndrome when he was born. He is pretty smart when it comes to books and information, but he is honest and sincere. If I ask him to do something, or not do something, he always does as I ask."

"And how long have you known him?"

"Since I moved here, six or eight months ago. He can't drive a car, but he sometimes rides a bicycle up and down Kellerman Road. I went in his house once, to give him a ride to town, and I saw a tripod mounted pair of binoculars at the front window, aimed at the highway."

"He sounds like a serious observer."

"Like I said, he has nothing better to do. He's a pathetic creature, but he's very likable."

"Kind of like a puppy-dog? You like that kind, don't you?"

"Well, to be honest, he is one of the most sincere men I have ever met since I won the lottery. He has no devious, dark ulterior motives. Lenny is just Lenny. He's just a big kid."

"That's going to be cute, him taking you out to eat on his bicycle!"

"I'll pick him up to go out to eat. He likes to ride in my car."

"Does he know that you and the Judge had something going on?"

"Of course not. I had not even met Leon until the morning of the day he . . . he . . ."

"Died?"

"Yes."

"And in that short a time, you and he were planning to run off on a three week, shall we say, 'adventure'?"

"I already told you, it was a spontaneous thing! That was our plan, but most likely, I would have backed out of it before the next morning. But I guess we'll never know, will we?"

"Well, after you get your pool in, the Judge will occupy a special place in you heart, as well as on your property!"

"Please don't put it that way."

"I can tell you're a little touchy about that. So, since our trip to Greece, you haven't found anyone who is a likely candidate for 'Mr. Right?"

"Let's not go there."

"So that's a definite 'no'?"

"Considering the situation I am presently caught up in, you should know the answer to that!"

"You're right. I guess it's hard to find Mr. Right when you are rich. The gold-diggers just come out of the woodwork."

"G.o.d! Don't they, though?"

"What you need to do, after you get rid of the Judge, is to relocate. Go to another region of the country, buy a modest house, get a modest job, just for appearances, of course. Give all your new neighbors the impression that you are just a working girl, trying to make ends meet. And you might want to dress down a bit. Try not to look so glamorous."

"Glamorous? Look at me! You call this glamorous? I'm wearing a denim shirt and blue jeans! How can I dress down any more?"

"Well you're right. No matter how badly you dress, you are still a beautiful woman, and it shows, no matter what you wear."

"Thanks for that compliment, but to me, it's more of a burden. I don't expect you to understand that though, you being a man."

"I think I do. You are looking for a man with a heart of gold, but you can't, because your looks keep getting in the way."

"You're right. And the only men who have a heart of gold are all married!"

"Just keep looking. You'll find one."

"No chance of Janice divorcing you any time soon?"

"I hope not. I kind of like my life the way it is. Even with the complications that come with kids, and sometimes with friends."

"I know."

"Miranda, you know the s.h.i.t is going to hit the fan, when the Judge comes up missing. And because you are his closest neighbor, you know the police are going to question you."

"I know."

"Are you sure you can hold up to the questions and interrogations without cracking? If they see you sweat, they will concentrate on you, as a suspect. Think you can handle that?"

"I think so. After all, I didn't kill him! But even if I do crack, you can rest a.s.sured that I will not incriminate you in any way."

"That's not what I was thinking, but I appreciate it."

"This is my mess, and if something goes wrong, I will take full blame for it. But I thank you for your help."

"We were about to call the pool contractor?"

"Yes, I have the number right here. So if he says he can't get to it right away, to offer him cash incentives?"

"Yeah, money talks, and you seem to have plenty of it, so use it! Even if he's in the middle of another job, if you make it worth his while, he'll drop the other job and come put yours in. That's the way contractors work."

"You said you would call him for me."

"Yes I did. I guess I have time before I go to work."

"Here's the number."

Travis called the contractor, reaching him at a job site. He identified himself as 'Ms. Monroe's financial advisor', and laid out the bonus schedule for him. The contractor was so eager to get started, that he said he would be there with a back-hoe to get started later that evening. Travis thanked him and hung up.