ED EAGLE NEARLY choked on his eggs. “Susannah!” he yelled.

She stuck her head around the bathroom door. “Yes?”

“Barbara was acquitted!”

“What?”

“I’m not kidding; she got off!”

“What does this mean, Ed?”

“It means that all they’ve got on her now is escaping from the courthouse. She can’t be charged with the two murders again.”

“Anything on where she is?”

“Nothing; she’s very, very good at disappearing.”

“Do we have anything to worry about?”

“Well, given that she’s already tried to kill us once, I’d say yes.”

“Are we okay here in the hotel?”

“You will recall that here is where she tried to kill us last time. We should get out of here. Are you done in L.A.?”

“I need another day to see my agent. We can go to my apartment; Barbara wouldn’t know where that is.” Susannah had a pied-à-terre in Century City.

“I hate your apartment,” he said. “And your ex-husband knows where it is, doesn’t he?”

“Maybe. I’m not sure, but I haven’t heard from him for a while.”

“That’s because you’ve spent most of your time in Santa Fe.”

“We could move to another hotel.”

Eagle sighed. “All right, let’s go to your apartment.” He pointed at her tray. “Have some breakfast, then pack and we’ll get out of here.” He began packing, himself, and he retrieved the small.45 pistol and holster he traveled with and ran the holster onto his belt. He wasn’t taking any chances.

BARBARA WAITED UNTIL after nine o’clock, then phoned her lawyer in Los Angeles.

“Good morning. Karp and Edelman.”

“Richard Karp, please; it’s Barbara Eagle.”

“Oh.”

Karp came on the line. “Barbara? Where the hell are you?”

“Richard, you don’t really want to know that, do you? Let’s just say I’m out of the country.”

“Have you heard the news?”

“Yes, and I have to say I’m surprised.”

“Why are you surprised? I told you I’d get you off.”

“And I believed you, Richard, right up until the moment when I climbed out that window.”

“Well, now we’ve got an escaping-from-custody charge to deal with. I’m going to need a ten-thousand-dollar retainer.”

“Richard, after all I’ve already paid you? How difficult can this be? I’m innocent in the eyes of the law.”

Karp was quiet for a moment. “Give me a number where I can reach you.”

It was Barbara’s turn to think. Jimmy had said there was no GPS chip in her new phone. “All right.” She gave him the number.

“I’ll try to get back to you inside an hour,” Karp said, then hung up.

AFTER A LONG look around the Bel-Air parking lot, Eagle got into the rented Mercedes, and Susannah got into the passenger seat. “Keep your eyes open,” he said.

“Yeah, for a blonde.”

“I very much doubt that she’s still a blonde.”

“Okay, what should I look for?”

“A woman with a gun.”

“Oh.”

He drove to Century City, sticking to the surface streets and being very watchful, then parked in the lot under her building. Susannah found a cart, and they wheeled their luggage into the elevator and upstairs.

The place was spotless and not as cramped as Eagle had remembered it, when it was still full of unpacked boxes.

“God, I have sixteen messages,” Susannah said, picking up the phone and pressing the Message button.

Eagle took their luggage into the bedroom, which was nearly as cramped as he remembered it. When he came back she was still listening to messages, and she looked angry.

Susannah hung up the phone. “One call from my agent, who canceled our appointment, and fifteen messages from my ex-husband.”

“What’s his problem?”

“His problem is, he’s still angry about the settlement he had to pay.”

“Call your lawyer and let him deal with it.”

“Every time I so much as speak to him it costs me five hundred dollars,” she said.

“You’re not going to get any sympathy from me over your legal fees,” Eagle replied.

“You lawyers are all alike.”

“No, some of us charge a thousand dollars for a phone call. Does your ex have any sort of legitimate beef?”

“Certainly not. He’s just nuts, that’s all.”

“Then instruct your lawyer to get a temporary restraining order. That will stop him from calling you. Does he have your Santa Fe number?”

“He doesn’t even know I bought the Santa Fe house-at least, as far as I know. My publicist kept it out of the press, and my number is unlisted.”

"How many people in L.A. know you bought the house?”

“Three or four, I guess. I told them all not to tell anybody.”

"How often does that work in L.A.?”

She picked up the phone and called her lawyer.

RICHARD KARP PHONED Judge Henry Allman, who had presided over the Barbara Eagle case, catching him before he went into court.

“Yes, Richard?”

“Judge, I’ve heard from my client.”

“And you’ll be surrendering her when?”

“I’m sorry; I don’t know where she is. She says she’s out of the country.”

“Then why are you calling me?”

“Judge, the woman is absolutely panicked; that’s why she did what she did. I don’t think for a minute it was planned, she just went nuts and bolted.”

“Well, get her into my court, and she can explain herself.”

“Now she’s afraid for her life; she’s convinced that Ed Eagle will have her killed.”

“That’s not my problem, until she’s in my court. I can send the police to get her, if you like.”

“Judge, it’s my hope that you’ll drop the escape charge.”

“Well, you can hope.”

"The woman has spent a year in the L.A. County Jail, and she’s officially innocent. No one was hurt in her escape, and the incarceration has to count for something; she’s already served more time than she’s likely to get on the escape charge. I think, given the jury’s verdict, that she should be allowed to go and live her life without fear of arrest. She was in a very fragile state, mentally, and she needs to be able to recover without fear of being incarcerated again.”

“Have you talked to the D.A. about this?”

“No.” Karp could hear the judge’s fingers drumming on his desk. “All right, I’ll dismiss the escape charges. Write an order and messenger it over here. The D.A. will scream bloody murder, but she always does. Let’s get this thing out of the way.”

“Yes, Judge, the order will be on your desk when you break for lunch; I’ll have the messenger wait for it.” Karp hung up and called Barbara Eagle.

Barbara was in the colorist’s chair in the beauty salon when her phone vibrated. “Yes?” she said, warily.

“It’s Richard. All right, you’re off the hook. I have to write an order and messenger it to the judge for his signature, but you’re a free woman.”

“Thank God,” Barbara said.

“No, thank Richard. And you owe me ten thousand dollars.”

EAGLE WENT INTO the bedroom to make some phone calls, then he took a shower, having left the Bel-Air in too much of a hurry for one. He laid his clothes neatly on the bed, along with the small.45 pistol. He was still in the shower when the phone rang once, then stopped.

He stood under the torrent of water for another couple of minutes, then turned it off, grabbed a towel and dried himself before he stepped out of the shower. He walked back into the bedroom, got a fresh pair of boxer shorts out of his bag and was stepping into them when he heard the gunshot. He looked at his holster on the bed; it was empty.

Eagle ran to the living room door and stopped. “Susannah?” he called. “Are you all right?”

“I think so,” she said.

“Can I come in there without getting shot?”

“I think so.”

Eagle stepped into the living room, and then he could see where the gunshot had gone. It was in the chest of a man who was lying on the floor, just inside the front door. He walked over to Susannah and took the gun from her, then led her to the living room sofa and sat her down. “Just take some deep breaths,” he said, stroking her face.