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We were in Odelia’s office, far removed from the hubbub that tends to engulf the Poole family. Usually Harriet and Brutus were also in there with us, but unfortunately the white Persian and her black mate had left us for calmer climes in the form of the home of Marge and Tex’s next-door neighbors the Trappers, and now resided with them—or at least I think they did, as I hadn’t seen much of our two friends since they’d moved on.

Odelia was slaving away at her computer as usual, working on some article for the Hampton Cove Gazette, and Dooley and I were resting peacefully in a corner of the office, where Odelia had organized a fun cozy little nook for us to do what we do best: nap!

Suddenly the door to the office opened and a woman entered whom I’d never seen before. She was stylishly dressed, stylishly coiffed, and was also very tall, with long legs clad in nylon stockings under a short black skirt. All in all she reminded me of a model.

Odelia looked up from her computer and gave her new visitor a smile.“Hi, there. What can I do for you?”

“I’m not sure,” said the woman, and laughed an uncertain laugh, then took a seat at the desk. “A friend of mine says you’re the person to see when you find yourself in some kind of big trouble—and I’m definitely in big trouble.”

“What trouble would that be, Mrs…”

“Barn. Erica Barn, though for the last three years I’ve gone through life as Erica Strauss.”

Odelia blinked.“Strauss as in…”

The woman nodded.“I’m Carl Strauss’s wife.”

“He’s a golfer,” I whispered for Dooley’s sake.

“A golfer? You mean like Gran?”

“Exactly like Gran. Though I don’t think Gran is in Carl Strauss’s league. Mr. Strauss is a professional golfer, which means he plays golf for a living.”

“Is he any good?”

“He’s the best. At least when he’s not running around cheating on the woman he happens to be married to at the moment.”

We both turned to Mrs. Erica Barn, who appeared to be the latest Mrs. Strauss—or rather the soon-to-be ex-Mrs. Strauss if I interpreted her words correctly.

“I want to divorce Carl,” said Erica Barn, “only he doesn’t want to.”

“Your husband doesn’t want a divorce?” asked Odelia, obviously surprised.

“He says he still loves me and wants to give our marriage another chance. Only I don’t want to give it another chance. As far as I’m concerned I’ve given it too many chances already, and every time Carl has let me down. So I’ve decided that enough is enough.”

“I think if you really want to divorce Carl there’s nothing he can do to stop you.”

“He can make it very difficult for me,” said Erica, “and that’s exactly what he’s doing. He told me he’ll fight me every inch of the way.”

“Look, if you want out, you get out. It’s that simple. Nobody can force you to stay married against your will.”

“I know, but at what cost? He’ll try and drag my name through the mud. He’s going to destroy my career if I let him. And then he’ll take me to the cleaners and make sure I’m left with absolutely nothing. I’ll leave the marriage with only the clothes on my back.”

“What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a model,” said Mrs. Barn. “Only I haven’t modeled since I married Carl, and I’m not getting any younger, so if I want back in, it’s going to be tough going. And with Carl talking every modeling agency into blackballing me, it’s going to be even harder.”

“I see,” said Odelia. “I’m very sorry about that, Mrs. Barn.”

“Erica, please.”

“But I don’t see what you want me to do. I’m a reporter, not a lawyer, so…”

“I know, but I was thinking that maybe you could go and have a word with Carl? Someone needs to get it through that thick skull of his that this marriage is over, and that I’ll never go back.”

“You want me to talk to Carl.”

“Carl is not an unreasonable man. He’s simply surrounded by a lot of unreasonable people. Someone needs to get through to him. Someone who’s on my side.”

“And you want me to be that person for you.” Odelia looked understandably skeptical.

Erica nodded.“Look, I understand that this is a very unusual request, Miss Poole.”

“Just call me Odelia.”

“But frankly I’m desperate. Carl has canceled all my credit cards, he’s cut me off from my own bank account—I’m currently staying at an Airbnb in town, paying with what little cash I have left, but if I don’t go back to work soon I’ll be broke. Only I’m in some kind of limbo right now. The agency that used to employ me also works for Carl—for his line of clothes and his line of footwear. So they don’t want to hire me as long as this divorce thing isn’t settled. You see what kind of predicament I’m in right now? Carl is a very influential person, even in my industry. He’s worked as a celebrity model, and knows all the key people. So I’m persona non grata as long as Carl doesn’t let me go.”

Odelia clearly took pity on the woman, for she nodded.“Where is Carl staying?”

“He has a house near the beach,” said Erica, looking extremely relieved. “Oh, Odelia, you don’t know what this means to me.”