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they’d send someone that evening. Then I got the number for the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds in Lowell and punched it in. I told the paging operator there that it was an emergency.
    About a minute later, Chris said, ”This is Christides. Who is this?”
    ”John Cuddy, Chris.”
    ”What the hell’s the emergency?”
    I told him.
    ”Jeez, John, I don’t know what I can do about that.” I must have looked at the telephone receiver as if it were an alien artifact. ”What do you mean?”
    ”Well, from what you said, there’s no real proof that Marsh did this.”
    ”Proof? Chris, we were just with the guy for two hours, remember? He did everything but pull a gun.”
    ”Yeah, but I doubt that’ll be good enough for the cops.”
    ”Why not?”
    ”Look, if Marsh did it, he’s smart enough to use gloves and all. There won’t be any physical-type evidence at the scene.”
    I ground my teeth. ”What about the divorce court, then?”
    ”It’s like I said before about the court, John. It doesn’t have any jurisdiction because we haven’t filed anything yet.”
    ”Which adds up to what?”
    ”Which adds up to there’s no order of the court yet that Marsh violated. Assuming he did the cat.”
    ”Jesus, Chris, you’re the lawyer, not me. There must be something you can do about this.”
    ”Well, I can call Felicia and put her on notice.”
    ”Notice? Chris, the guy’s a nut! Understand? Normal people don’t do things like this. He’s obviously trying to scare Hanna into giving in on the house. If he gets away with this, he’ll just escalate till he gets everything.”
    ”John, you—what?” I could hear Chris saying something off the telephone, then, ”Jeez, John, I gotta get back to this closing here, the bank’s attorney is gonna—”
    ”I don’t give a rat’s ass about the bank’s attorney.” I lowered my voice. ”I’m sitting in an animal hospital with your client and her hysterical little girl who just saw her first pet flayed alive.”
    ”All right, all right. I’ll call Felicia right now. Just don’t expect much, okay?”
    He hung up. The receptionist looked at me with a sympathetic shrug. I apologized to her, and she said it didn’t sound like it was my fault.
    We waited for another forty minutes. I hadn’t been in many places less conducive to passing the time comfortably. I asked the receptionist if I could use the phone again. This time the paging operator couldn’t raise Chris. I depressed the cutoff button, called directory assistance, and tried the number they gave me.
    ”Law offices of Felicia Arnold. May I help you?”
    ”Let me speak to her, please.”
    ”I’m sorry, Ms. Arnold is in conference. May I take—”
    ”Interrupt her and tell her that it’s an emergency.”
    ”May I ask what the nature—”
    ”Sure. The life of one of her clients, Roy Marsh, is at stake.”
    Hesitation. ”Is this Mr. Marsh?”
    ”No. Now please get her on the phone.”
    I waited maybe thirty seconds before Arnold ’s voice said, ”Mr. Cuddy?”
    ”Good guess.”
    ”Mr. Cuddy, Chris Christides has already—”
    ”Look, Ms. Arnold. Let’s cut the ‘proper channels’ bullshit, all right? I’m calling from an animal hospital because your boy Marsh took a skinning knife to a kitten.”
    ”I’ve already spoken to Roy, Mr. Cuddy. If you’d allow me to continue?”
    ”Go ahead.”
    ”Mr. Marsh is shocked at the incident. He was at his home in Swampscott when I reached him, and he had driven directly there after our conference here.”
    ”He have somebody backing him on that?”
    ”If you mean corroboration for what you evidently assume is an alibi, yes, yes he does.”
    ”Who?”
    ”I’m not sure that’s any of your—”
    ”Let me take a wild guess then. A certain nurse from Samaritan Hospital ?”
    ”I can neither—”
    ”You really think she’ll stand up? Credibly, I mean.”
    ”Mr. Cuddy, you strike me as the sort of man who will do what you will. I can only