"Is what Paulina told me true, Amanda?" Rachel demanded, "Did you have an affair with Joe?"

Amanda was defiant: "Yes!"

"How could you do a thing like that to your sister?"

"I should have known Paulina's feelings would be all you care about!" said Amanda, "What about ME? Why should Paulina have Everything - a handsome husband, a beautiful little boy, a perfect marriage - "

"Not so perfect." said Rachel, drily, "Obviously."

"-when I have Nothing?"

"So, you decided to break up your sister's marriage out of Jealousy?"

"I didn't mean to break it up!" Amanda protested, "Paulina wasn't supposed to find out!"

"And your attempt to destroy My marriage to Carl, was that out of jealousy as well?"

"Carl was dangerous! I wanted to protect you!"

"That attitude Might have made sense when Carl and I first got together," said Rachel, "But after he spent five years Proving that he was a reformed character, it's absurd!"

****

Meanwhile, Cindy received a phonecall.

"My name is Trent Forbes." the caller said, "Mayor Harrison has retained me to represent him in your divorce action."

"Oh yeah?" said Cindy, "Well, Grant Knows what my terms are! Just send the papers over!"

"Actually, I was hoping to meet face-to-face to work out the details." said Forbes, "Shall we say, the Harbour Club, at eight o'clock this evening?"

"Okay." said Cindy, "But if Grant thinks a free meal is going to soften me up, he's nuts!"

****

Over at Lumina, the Lama Tensing Norgay was telling a story: "I said, 'How could you carry that old woman on your back, when a monk is not permitted to touch a woman under any circumstances?'. He replied: 'I put the woman down as soon as we had crossed over the river; You are still carrying her!'."

Zack was sure that this story - or was it a parable? - had a point. He just wasn't sure what it was.

`"Thank you, Your Holiness - er, Tensing."

****

Lila arrived back at the Cory Mansion carrying a stack of envelopes.

"What are those?" said Matthew.

"Ah - found them out on the stoop." said Lila, handing them around.

Each envelope contained an invitation to dinner at the Harbour Club, that very evening. They were signed 'Jordan Stark'.

"Should we go?" Matthew wondered.

"You've got to!" said Lila, "Ah mean - this is yo' chance to meet the mystery man everyone is tawkin' 'bout!"

"Jordan Stark must have some motive for making the invitation." said Rachel, "Perhaps we should find out what it is."

****

Nick had decided to confront Remy: "I want to know what's going on!"

"See, I've got this brain tumour!" said Remy, "It's inoperable! Or as good as inoperable, anyway."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, it's located in the medulla oblongata." said Remy, "There's only One doctor who's even willing to TRY operating! He's - like- the World's Greatest Brain Surgeon!"

"Dr Baxley?" Nick had made his acquaintance the time Kirkland had had the brain aneurism.

"That's him!" said Remy, "But he doesn't work cheap. And even if I survived the operation, I'd have to stay in the hospital for Months, having all this physiotherapy! The whole thing would cost about - half a million dollars! I'm not gonna be able to save That out of my tips at Carlino's!"

****

Paulina had refused Stark's dinner invitation ("I'd rather stay home and hone my brooding skills." was how she put it), and Rachel had suggested that Amanda do the same ("I don't think I could sit down to a meal with you at the moment." she told her daughter, "It would ruin my appetite.").

Accordingly, the dinner guests consisted only of Rachel, Matthew and Lila - or so the latter thought, until they arrived at the Harbour Club.

"Hi, Matt !" said Sofia.

"Whut's She doin' heah?" Lila demanded.

"I invited her." said Matthew.

"Jo'dan Stahk's invitation didn't say anythin' about bringin' a Date!"

"Come to that, where Is Jordan Stark?" Rachel wondered.

"Mr Stark sent word that he has been delayed," said the maitre de', showing them to their table, "He asked that you start without him." He handed out menues.

Meanwhile, Cindy made an entrance; she was going for the Italian Movie Star look, with outsized sunglasses and a leopard-print scarf draped over her hair.

"Mrs Harrison? I'm Trent Forbes."

Cindy gave him a suspicious look over the tops of her sunglasses. Any lawyer hired by Grant was sure to be a shark.

****

"Is true! Sergei entered country illegally!" he declared, "I want to live in Home of Brave and Land of Free!" He began to sing: "So beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain -!"

"But Sergei!" said Felicia, "There are ways of doing these things! You should have applied to become an immigrant! Now, they are going to deport you, and it will be a black mark on your record!"

"No! Don't let them deport Sergei!" he cried, flinging himself at Felicia's feet.

"There's no way I can stop them." said Felicia.

"Marry me!"

****

Halfway through the meal, Rachel received a phonecall.

"Jordan Stark here, Rachel." said a voice. "Could we have a private word, out on the terrace?"

"This should be interesting." Rachel commented, as she got up from the table.

"I'll go with you, Mom." said Matthew.

"No - he specified that I be Alone." said Rachel.

Out on the terrace, a figure was lurking in the shadows.

"Mr Stark?" said Rachel, "I can hardly see you. Why don't we go inside?"

"I have reasons for preferring the darkness." said Stark. "I believe this is yours."

He held out his hand, with the ring in it.

Rachel hid her left hand in the folds of her skirt. "My wedding ring! " she said, "Where did you find it?"

"I have ways of finding things." said Stark, "I know you value it greatly, as a link to your late husband. You miss him terribly, and your children don't make even a pretence of sympathy -"

"I don't care to discuss my family with a stranger!" said Rachel.

****

"What Is this, Grant's idea of a joke?" said Cindy, throwing down the divorce settlement Trent Forbes had offered for her signature. "Grant Knows what a divorce is going to cost him, and the longer he delays, the more the price goes up! Tell him that!"

She stood up and swept out of the restaurant, not even noticing that her scarf, with its distinctive leopard print, had fallen off. Sofia picked it up: "Hey, you dropped - " Too late! Cindy was gone. Sofia shrugged and put the scarf into her purse.

"Cindy's not the only one who wants things settled." she said, "I think it's time we set a weddin' date, Matt!"

"You jist do that!" said Lila, "Jasmine and Ah will be leavin' in the mornin'!"

"I don't want that?" Matthew protested.

"Whut DO you wawnt, Matt?" said Lila, "You can't have it both ways - Two's comp'ny, three's a crowd!"

"YOU can leave!" said Sofia, "The sooner, the better ! But Jasmine stays with Matt!"

"That is Nevuh gonna happen!" said Lila, "You heah me, Liddle Girl? Matt had bettuh make up his mind who he wawnts - You or Jasmine - 'cause No Way kin he have Both!"

"Lila -!" Matthew was caught in the middle; now he knew how a bone feels, between two dogs.

"You hear that, Matt?" said Sofia, "It doesn't sound to me like you've persuaded Lila to give You custody!"

"Sofia-!"

"No One is gonna take my chile away from me!"

"Lila, we can talk about this at home!" said Matthew.

"No, we're gonna talk about it right now!" said Sofia, "I want it out in the open! Matthew is that baby's Father! He can give her things you can't - a good home, with a mother and a father! He's willin' to pay you for custody! If he has to take you to court, any judge is gonna see it His way!

"You thank yo' gonna play Mama to Mah baby?" said Lila, "Ah'll Kill you with mah bare hands befo' Ah let that happen!"

She turned and ran from the restaurant.

"Did you HAVE to make a scene in front of half of Bay City?" Matthew demanded.

"Lila's right about one thing, Matt!" said Sofia, "You better decide what it is you really want, because I refuse to live in the same house as that witch!"

"Sofia -!"

"Call me when you're ready to get Lila out of our lives!"

****

The Lone Gunmen had tracked the source of the e-mail that had drawn them to Bay City. It was the local Cyber Cafe.

"Look at these antiques!" said Frohike, looking around at the cafe's selection of terminals. "It's pathetic!"

"A couple of years ago, these were cutting-edge." Langley pointed out.

"Yeah, but things change!"

Byers noticed a small, ragged man, wearing a porkpie hat, trying to attract their attention.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Wally." he said, "I'm the one who contacted you."

"We need to talk."

****

"Where did Lila go?" Rachel asked, as soon as she got back to the table.

"She and Sofia had a catfight, and both walked out." said Matthew. "What did Stark want?"

"To pique my interest." said Rachel, "I have a few questions for Lila."

****

Sofia was furious with Matthew; she decided to walk home along the docks, to work off some of her anger by physical activity. It was starting to drizzle, and she didn't have an umbrella. She took Cindy's scarf out of her purse and put it on her own head.

****

Rachel and Matthew were just getting into their car when they heard a scream. They hurried to investigate.

Lila was kneeling beside a body. There was blood on her hands.

"Oh Gawd! It's mah fault! Ah didn't Mean to Kill her!" she cried.

"SOFIA!" cried Matthew.

To be continued