KIM
Copyright©2003 by Ed Howdershelt
ISBN 1-932693-14-9
Caution: Some Erotic Content
Kim was Ed Cade's goddess. In his world, there could be only her pleasure to which to aspire. He would have relinquished his freedom to stay in her arms.
But change is inevitable, and their paradise ends when it overtakes Cade and Kim. Kim's weakness for alcohol, an accidental pregnancy, the US military bureaucracy, and Ed's perspective of his place in the world all have an effect on the rocky relationship.
While seeking a way to remain in Europe with Kim, Ed Cade is recruited into a career for which he is eminently suited; he accepts a position with a certain intelligence agency. His newfound status as a spook displeases many -- including Kim -- but Cade, with his aptitude for quick thinking and immediate action, finds satisfaction in the job and in his new colleagues, who recognize his untapped potential.
Through break-ups and reunions, in danger and good-times, for excitement or love, with his goddess or other women, the reader follows Ed Cade from Texas to Virginia to Europe.
From nightclubs to Emergency Rooms, archeological digs to mansions, and beaches to bedrooms, Ed's adventures explore both the US in the aftermath of Vietnam and Germany during the cold war.
With his distinctive style and voice, Ed Howdershelt brings us a story packed with situations -- sensual and personal -- which will hook readers early and usher them in to the inner place where it is they who live the moments, feel the emotions, enjoy the triumphs, and suffer the failures.
It becomes they who have loved and lost, who once held and will forever remember... Kim.
Reviewed by: Lisa J. Binkley, Jolie Howard Fiction:
Sensual fiction http://ljbinkley.tripod.com
Tampa, Florida, 2002
When the visibly pregnant young blonde woman slipped while stepping down from a Tampa city bus, Ed Cade quickly reached for her right forearm to steady her, but her arm flashed upward and her hand locked around the left epaulet of his khaki shirt.
Cade's grasping left hand thusly passed beyond where her forearm had been and collided with her right breast. She squealed, let go of her purse, and slapped frantically at his hand as she regained her balance on the curb.
"Sorry," said Cade. "I was reaching for your arm, but you yanked it away when you grabbed my shirt."
She gave him a vastly skeptical look, then realized that her fingers were still clutching his epaulet. She let go as Cade reached to retrieve her purse and hand it to her.
After straightening her sundress and pulling her mid-thigh skirt down, she leaned against the bus stop sign and checked her right shoe, wiggling the heel.
"Is it broken?" asked Cade.
"No, I don't think so."
Nodding at her middle, Cade said, "Maybe you were just off balance for a moment. It happens when you carry heavy things around, even when you think you're used to them."
The bus doors closed and it began to pull away as she started to say something, its loudly rattling diesel engine drowning out her first words, so she waited for it to be gone before starting again.
"Sorry for slapping your hand," she said, "I thought you were trying to grope me. It's happened before."
"No sweat," said Cade. "If you're okay, I have to get going. I've got a friend in there." He thumbed toward the hospital building behind him.
"Yeah, I'm okay," she said. "That's where I'm going, too, in a little while." Patting her stomach, she said, "It's checkup day. I have a two o'clock. Thanks again."
Cade was halfway to the hospital's big glass doors when he saw sudden motion in the reflection of the street behind him. A guy who had been leaning on a light pole launched himself away from it and began running.
As Cade turned to watch what was happening, the guy headed straight for the pregnant woman. Cade started running toward her, too. The guy slowed down long enough to grab her purse and yank it off her arm, then he sprinted down the sidewalk like a track star.
'Jesus,' thought Cade, knowing he didn't have a chance in hell of catching up even as he continued running.
The runner cut left into an walkway area between buildings, hopping over an orange barrier net. As Cade followed, he saw a pile of construction debris. Bricks, lumber, pipe, decorative cobbles for a fountain being built.
Cade slid to a stop, grabbed a cobble, and looked for the runner. The walkway was empty. He threw the cobble and grabbed two more, then started running again.
The cobble he'd thrown sailed in a high arc, landed behind the runner and bounced, then slammed into the guy's back. The guy staggered, swearing in pain and trying to reach the center of his back, then he lost his balance and tripped over a big crack in the old concrete walkway.
As Cade jogged up to him, the guy pulled one of those so-called 'tactical' folding knives and, cursing, told him to back off. Cade looked at the knife. Black handle, brass flick-open thingie on the partially serrated blade. He'd heard it lock open with a loud 'snap'.
The guy was black, twenty or less, dressed in baggy pants and a baggy shirt that seemed to be the style everywhere lately. He started to get to his feet and Cade threw one of the other cobbles at his legs. It hit the guy's left knee and the guy screeched in pain as he went down again.
Cade hefted the other cobble and said, "Give me the purse."
"Fuck you. You come over here and I'll cut you, Jack."
Bending to pick up the first cobble he'd thrown, Cade said again, "Give me the purse."
The guy swore at him again and got to his feet fairly quickly, although he favored his left leg. The knife pointed at Cade and the purse dangled at the end of his other arm. Cade took aim and threw the next cobble hard and fast into the guy's chest, just above the belt buckle.
The cobble slammed into him before the guy could get his arms up to try to block it. His eyes widened greatly and he seemed to freeze as he gasped for air.
Cade threw the second cobble at his feet and the guy danced to try to avoid it as Cade stepped up and grabbed his knife arm to pull the guy forward.
Cade guided him to land flat on his face, knelt on his back, and then began beating on the guy's knife hand with one of the cobbles. The hand opened with the second crushing blow and the knife skittered a few feet away.
Reaching back slightly, Cade delivered a solid whack to the side of each of the guy's knees. The guy screamed and began crying, begging him to stop and screaming, "Take the purse! Take it!"
Cade stood up and kicked the knife slightly farther away from the guy, then picked it up and closed it without looking at it very closely. He put the knife in his pocket, then went to snag the purse's strap with a toe and pull it a few feet away from the guy.
As Cade knelt to pick up the purse, the guy rolled onto his back and clutched his knees, whimpering and swearing softly, then not so softly.
When his arm darted out toward one of the fallen cobbles, Cade threw his remaining cobble at the guy's chest. It hit the guy's shoulder audibly. The guy's reach for the cobble turned into a gasping collapse.
Cade asked, "Do I have to bounce one off your skull? I'm about to walk away. If I think you'll try something, I'll have to put you down first. Think about it."
Walking around the guy to kick two of the cobbles well back along the walkway, Cade picked up the third and hefted it as he said, "I'm gonna go now. Just sit still and I won't hurt you anymore, okay?"
After a glaring moment, the guy nodded. Cade saw nothing near him that could be thrown, so he turned and walked back the way he'd come.
People were beginning to gather near the entrance to the walkway. Cade saw a Burger King bag full of someone's trash from lunch and dumped it out, then put the purse in it and continued walking.
As he stepped over the orange barrier net, he saw the woman talking to a cop. Looking to his left, he saw a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and went inside.
At the far end of the restaurant was a hallway that led to an indoor entrance to the building. Cade walked through the restaurant and out the back door, then took an elevator up to the third floor and took the overhead connecting walkway to the hospital building.
Joining several people in a 'down' elevator, he got out at the lobby and walked toward the front doors. The woman was still talking to the cop, who was taking notes. Cade sat down on a bench and waited.
A few minutes later, the cop walked with the woman toward the hospital doors, held them open for her as she entered, and then walked away. The woman stood by the doors for a few moments looking rather forlorn, then turned to walk to the elevators.
Cade stood up as she approached. She glanced at him as she passed, then stopped as if she'd hit a wall.
When she turned to face him in open-mouthed amazement, he held out the Burger King bag and said, "Here's your purse. He never had a chance to open it. You can cancel the police report later."
She reached for the bag and opened it. When she saw her purse inside, she grinned hugely and started crying. Cade led her to the bench and handed her one of his paper towel handkerchiefs.
When she took the purse out of the bag, Cade saw catsup on the bottom corner of it and took his hanky back to give the purse a wipe, then folded the towel to a clean side and handed it back to her.
She opened her purse and rummaged through it, then looked up at Cade and asked, "You saw me talking to the police? Why didn't you..."
Cade grinned and said, "Paperwork. Other hassles. I didn't want to get involved, you know."
She grinningly held up her purse and said, "I'd call this getting involved. Wouldn't you?"
"Nah. I just brought your purse back. I didn't want to mess with the cops and all that. The guy got hurt a little."
Cade stood up and pulled the knife out of his pocket, then dropped it into her open purse.
"His knife. Now it's your souvenir."
Her face instantly changed to one of concern.
"He had a knife!? Are you all right?"
Cade nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. He isn't exactly okay, but he's alive. That's why I don't want to talk to the cops."
Standing up, Cade said, "Well, things are all better now, so I'm gonna go see about my friend. Have a good one."
"Wait!" she said, holding up her wallet. "Can I at least give you something for all you've done?"
Shaking his head, Cade smiled and said, "No, that's all right. Thanks, anyway," and turned to go.
He heard the bench creak and looked back to see her hurriedly getting up, then trotting awkwardly after him. He stopped again and turned to face her, his hands up and his palms toward her in a placating gesture.
"Relax," he said. "I didn't just do it for you. I did it for me, too, so you don't owe me anything, lady."
She looked at him with a quizzical, narrowed gaze and asked, "Huh? What do you mean, 'you did it for you'?"
"I mean that I felt like doing it and I did it. I feel real good right now, lady. I had a little excitement today."
Her quizzical look didn't completely fade, but she said, "Oh. You just did it for the hell of it, then?"
Cade grinned and said, "And to get your purse back. That was what the whole thing was really about, you know. The purse was the prize, but so was the look on your face when I gave it back to you. That felt good, too."
"Oh," she said again. "Well, thanks, anyway, okay? I don't know what I would have done without my purse."
Cade gave her a smile and a little salute and turned to go yet again. She fell in beside him.
"I may as well go on up," she said. "It's almost time now, anyway. Do you mind if I walk with you?"
"Nope. I don't mind at all. They'll either think I'm your father or a very lucky older man."
She startled and stared up at him for a moment, then she giggled and said, "Maybe I'll say you're my boyfriend if anyone asks. How's that?"
"Kewl, ma'am." He looked at her belly and added, "As long as I don't get the bill for that."
Laughing, she promised him that wouldn't happen.
"One more checkup to go, then I can have my baby and start working on getting my figure back."
Cade glanced at her arms and shoulders, then her legs, and said, "You've got a good, solid bod, there. A few situps and some running will have you looking good as new."
She stopped in front of a plate glass office door and looked critically at her reflection for a moment, then looked skeptically at Cade.
"You really think so?" she asked. "You aren't just saying that?"
Cade nodded. "You're looking at the watermelon in your middle, ma'am. I'm looking at your legs and the rest of you. If you work out some you'll look great, just like before."
"How would you know how I looked before?"
Cade grinned and said, "Trust me. I can tell. I like strong, solid women and you used to be one. You're not even twenty-five, so you can be one again real soon."
She peered at him for a moment, then looked at her reflection again.
"I'm twenty-three. God, I hope you're right. I never want to do this again. I never want to look like this again. Never. You don't know what it's been like."
"Uh, huh. I'll bet I do, kind of."
"Huh?" she looked up at him sharply.
"I said, I'll bet I do. I've rubbed swollen ankles, endured mood swings, and had to convince her that she was still beautiful in a way that she could believe."
The woman pointed at her reflection, laughed cynically, and said, "I'd like to know how the hell you managed that."
"It was easy," said Cade. "Every time she started pissing and moaning about her lost looks, I took her to bed. It's kind of hard for a man to fake desire, you know."
After a moment of startlement at his words, the woman snickered and said, "Yeah, I guess it is. You really wanted her while she was pregnant?"
Cade nodded. "Yup. I really did. I just ignored one part of her and concentrated on the rest of her for a few months."
The woman sighed and said, "I wish the jerk who did this to me was still here. I might not..." She glanced up at Cade, then continued in an angry tone, "Well, I might not get laid, but at least I wouldn't have to take the damned bus."
Opening the door for her, Cade asked, "Where is he?"
She didn't look up as she said, "He ran home to New York, the asshole. What's your friend in here for?"
"She broke a leg on a boat dock." Cade patted his backpack and said, "I picked up her mail and made her a techno CD last night."
The woman looked at Cade and asked, "Techno? You mean like computer stuff or the dance music?"
"Music like Brooklyn Bounce, Real McCoy, Tina Cousin, and a few others. I ripped some of my stash for her."
She grinned and said, "Try to speak English, okay? What's ripping?"
"Well, you know how most CD's have maybe one song you like and the rest are just filler junk? Ripping makes computer files out of music tracks. Then you can make a new CD using only the good stuff."
She squinted at him as he pressed the elevator button.
"You know about computers, too?" she asked.
"Yup. Used to fix 'em, but there's no decent money in that anymore. Too many people have found out that anybody can drop in a new card or a hard drive. Now I mostly teach computer use and make websites for people."
The elevator arrived and they got in. Cade pressed two and the woman pressed three.
When the elevator started moving, she stuck out her hand and said, "Geez. We've been talking forever and we don't even know each other. I'm Megan."
"I'm Ed," said Cade, taking her hand for a moment. "Nice to meet you, Megan."
She nodded and seemed thoughtful for a moment, then asked, "Can just anybody learn how to use a computer?"
Cade shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much anybody."
He saw her hesitation before she asked, "I was thinking about buying my friend's old computer. If I get one, could you show me how to use it?"
"I'm from way up in Hernando County. There's probably someone a little closer to you."
She shook her head. "I'm in Pasco County. I live in Hudson. That's not far from you, is it?"
Actually, it wasn't. Maybe fifteen miles or less.
"No, it isn't very far," said Cade. "Why aren't you seeing a doctor up there instead of coming all the way to Tampa?"
The doors opened for the second floor. Cade ignored them as he waited for Megan's answer.
She asked, "Aren't you getting off here?"
"No hurry. I'll ride back down. Why Tampa?"
The doors got tired of waiting for him and closed. Megan shrugged slightly.
"My mother's boyfriend is a doctor. The doctor I see here is a friend of his. I don't think it's costing her very much if anything, so since I don't have any money, I come here."
"What kind of work do you do, Megan?"
Patting her belly, she said, "I was a waitress until this happened. They didn't like the way I started filling my work uniform, I guess."
As the doors opened again, Cade asked, "A uniform?"
"Yeah," she said, leading the way out of the elevator. "A tee-shirt with the company logo and a pair of shorts. That was what they called a uniform."
Cade walked with her as far as the double doors that read "OB/GYN" and stopped. She stopped too, and looked up at him.
"Megan," he said, "I'll give you my card. If you come up with a computer, I'll show you how to use some of the software and get around on the internet. How's that? Nowadays they want you to know how to use the major word processors and spreadsheets."
Megan looked at the card he gave her and said, "I can type, but I'm not very fast. About forty words. You're saying I can learn this stuff at home and then go get a job?"
Cade nodded. "Sure, if you can get good enough to pass a few tests. They'll also want to see you copy and paste, move files around, and other stuff like that. Mostly, they just want to know that you can learn to do things their way."
She looked up from the card, her expression cautious.
"How much will it cost?"
Cade said, "Nothing, the first couple of sessions. After that, if you decide to keep me as a teacher, you'll have to do something for me. How do you feel about housecleaning, Megan? Maybe running a few garage sales to get rid of some stuff for me?"
Her expression turned frankly skeptical. "That's all?"
"That's all. Stuff I don't want to do. But don't answer yes until you've seen the house. It's a real mess. I also do stoneware and ceramics, and they can produce a lot of dust. We'd be cleaning, making places for things, and making sure that all the things are in their right places. Bring a friend along if you're insecure."
After a moment, Megan said, "Well, it's not like I can't do that kind of work. I guess I can think about it."
Cade nodded. "Good enough. One thing, though; the house isn't childproof and I wouldn't want him or her swallowing a clay tool or a screwdriver bit. No kids."
"I'm not sure I can do it, then. Someone would have to babysit..."
"Megan," said Cade, "Something else I've learned along the line is that mothers sometimes need a break from the bottles, the diapers, the screaming, and all that. If you don't believe me now, you will real soon, I guarantee it. Ask your own mother about the times she wanted to run screaming from the house. You can use your time at my place as that kind of a break while you learn to use a computer."
Megan eyed him for a moment, then looked at his card, then said, "Like I said, I'll think about it."
"Cool. Talk to your mom about it, too. The two of you can drop by sometime to see the place before you make up your mind about computers and me. Call ahead, though."
She nodded and said, "Yeah, okay. I'll let you know. I have to get in there, now, so thanks again, okay?"
"Sure. Take it easy, Megan."
Cade watched her walk away for a moment. Good legs. She was an attractive woman with brains enough to carry a conversation and handle the details of waitressing. No reason to think she couldn't handle a computer, as well.
As he waited for the elevator, Cade recalled the last time he'd had anything to do with a pregnant woman.
Chapter One - May, 1970, Arlington, Texas
Ed Cade had left his last class of the day and walked to the college parking lot. While still three rows away from his car he could read the big letters that had been crudely scraped into the paint of his car's trunk:
'FASCIST BABY BURNER PIG!'
It was the latest of such personalized vandalisms that the anti-war crowd on campus had perpetrated after learning that the GI Bill was sponsoring Cade's attendance.
The Arlington cops and the campus cops took the incident reports and flatly told Cade that the chances of catching the vandals weren't good.
Cade had found that answer to be entirely unsatisfactory. He'd put up with eggings and soaped-on slogans and a couple of flat tires, but various aspects of the day and the type of damage done to his car combined to make Cade decide to call an immediate end to the harassments.
After leaving the police station, Cade went to one of the local student hangouts and waited until he spotted one of the campus activist toadies. The guy was an inner-circle gofer for one of the noisiest anti-war groups.
He caught up with the guy in a stairwell at the end of the Travis building and spent a few moments convincing him that total cooperation would be a good thing, indeed.
The guy gave Cade a name -- Stephen Dever -- and a short list of places to look for him, on and off campus. Dever wasn't enrolled at the college; he apparently only visited the campus to foment unrest, sponge off his faithful followers, and sell drugs.
When Cade knocked on the door of the second-floor apartment that was one of the addresses on his list, the blinds parted briefly before someone asked, "Who is it?"
"The frigging Furry Freak Brothers," said Cade. "You think I'm gonna stand here and yell my name?"
The door cracked open and an eye appeared in the crack. No chain. Cade kicked the door in and crouched a bit as he quickly entered the apartment.
Two guys sat on the couch, one sat on the floor, and one stood in the kitchen. The guy in the kitchen trotted toward Cade and tried to be a hero, but he quickly wound up unconscious between the end of the couch and the stereo system. The other three followed instructions to sit on the couch and be quiet.
"I just came here," said Cade, "To get two hundred bucks to fix what you people did to my car."
"Fuck you, pig," said the guy at the end of the couch. "We ain't givin' you shit, you baby-burning fascist motherfucking pig. Kill any babies today, pig?"
Cade regarded the speaker for a moment, then said, "After that I don't much care if you're Dever or not. You'll do. You can pay your way out of this or I can take the price of a paint job out of your hide, man. Your choice."
Cade received some more strident anti-war rhetoric and swearing, so he decided to reduce their number by making an example of one of them.
The kick was lightning-quick and without warning of any sort. It knocked the end guy off the couch and out cold on the floor and it caused one of the remaining guys on the couch to wet himself. Cade quietly informed the wet one that he'd be next if somebody didn't cough up some money.
The guy grabbed the front of the other guy's shirt and almost screamed, "Dever, man, you gotta give him the money! Do it, man! Don't let him do that to me!"
Dever simply glared hatefully at Cade and spouted some more revolutionary drivel. From between the seat cushions he pulled a rather large bowie-style hunting knife, which he grinningly waved at Cade as he stood up.
"Now, motherfucker," he said, "What were you sayin'?"
Dever was one of those twits who think that any weapon is some kind of a magic wand. He was wrong. Cade simply kicked the knife out of Dever's hand. The wet guy bailed over the back of the couch and cowered there.
The knife went flying across the room to land by the TV as Cade grabbed the heavy ashtray from the coffee table, then used it on the side of Dever's head in a backhand swing that dropped Dever cold across the coffee table.
Cade put the ashtray down and looked over the couch at the wet guy, saying, "I know he's a drug dealer. Show me his stash and I'll let you walk out of here."
The shaken and trembling kid led Cade to Dever's stash, which was in an old frozen hamburger shipping box hidden under a sofa chair.
Sliding the box out from under the chair from behind, the kid opened it and stepped away from it. In the box were two rubber band-wrapped rolls of money, several large bags of dope, and four fat baggies of pills.
Cade installed his guide in the hall closet and warned him to stay there. After considering what to do and how to do it, he went to the bedroom and unplugged the phone at the wall, then carried the phone into the front room and plugged it in by the sofa.
He then went back to the stashbox and put the money in his pocket. He briefly considered flushing all the dope, then decided that there was enough of it to make Dever a bit more than a neighborhood source. More likely Dever was a middleman of some sort.
The guy he'd kicked started to wake up, so Cade went to stand near him. When the guy looked up, Cade simply pointed at the hallway and offered to physically put him in the bedroom if he didn't go quietly.
"I may want to have a private talk with Dever," said Cade. "I may want to see if your stories match later. If so, I'll ask you the same questions. I won't hurt you if you cooperate. Just wait in there and don't come out until I tell you to come out."
The guy scurried to the bedroom, casting only a cursory glance at the others.
The guy who had attacked Cade upon entering the apartment was still out, too, but pinching his nose and covering his mouth made him wake up fairly quickly.
Cade asked if he wanted a repeat performance, and when the guy declined, Cade told him to wait in the bedroom, too.
"What about Dever? How bad..."
"He's just unconscious and I won't bust him up if he answers my questions. Now get in there."
The guy seemed resistive and asked, "What are you going to do to him?"
"This," said Cade, and he kicked the guy just above the belt buckle hard enough to lift him off the floor. "Now get your sorry ass in the bathroom."
The guy nodded as he gasped for air and held up a hand to let Cade know another kick wouldn't be necessary, then he went into the bedroom.
Cade had seen a regular bed-type pillow on the couch. He pulled the pillowcase off it and wrapped it around his hands, then he opened a bag of dope and a bag of pills. He scattered some of the dope and all of the pills on top of and behind the refrigerator.
He put the open dope bag on the coffee table, then closed the box containing the remaining unopened bags and shoved it down behind the fridge. After putting the pillowcase back on the pillow he checked Dever again. Still out.
He let the guy out of the closet and led him into the front room, then pointed at the door.
In a quiet tone, Cade said, "No talking. Just go."
The disbelieving kid asked, "Really?"
Indicating the open bag of dope, Cade said, "Yeah, really. Take that stuff with you or I'll flush it. You're the only one who didn't give me any shit when I came in. Go now, while you still can."
The kid stuffed the bag of dope into his shirt and ran out the open front door. He nearly pitched over the balcony rail before he could change direction and continue running for the stairs to the parking lot.
Cade went to the bathroom, took a leak, washed his hands, and made a point of leaving fingerprints on the toilet handle, the light switch, the sink, and the faucets.
He then called the cops and told them that there'd been an altercation with injuries, gave the address, and said that they should search the apartment for drugs. When asked for his name, he hung up the phone.
Dever was coming around as Cade passed, so Cade used the ashtray on him again. He wiped his prints off the ashtray with a paper towel as he took the ashtray to the bedroom and knocked on the door.
One of the guys opened the door. Cade tossed him the ashtray, stuffed the paper towel in a pocket, and said, "I didn't see an ashtray when I was in here. Smoke 'em if you got 'em. It could be a few minutes yet. Dever isn't saying much that's useful to me."
"Is he okay?" asked the other guy.
"He's going to have a headache," said Cade. "You can have one too or you can shut up and stay put. Okay?"
They nodded. Cade closed the bedroom door, then he walked out the front door, pulling it shut behind him.
From the gas station across the street Cade watched the cops arrive and go up the stairs to the apartment. They knocked on the door, then they pounded, then one of them tried the doorknob and found it unlocked.
In short order, all four cops had entered the apartment. A few minutes later, more cop cars showed up, and one of them contained a police dog. An ambulance arrived and two paramedics went into the apartment.
Some fifteen minutes later the three guys were led out of the apartment and stuffed in cars. Flashes in the apartment told Cade that pictures were being taken, indicating that they'd found the drugs.
Cade stopped at a post office on the way home and bought a padded manila envelope that he addressed to himself at his parents' address in nearby Grand Prairie. He then snapped his fingers and excused himself to go to his car as if he'd forgotten something.
In the restroom of the gas station next door to the post office, Cade counted the money and was floored to discover that he was holding $9020.00 in mixed denominations.
He put $9000.00 of it in the envelope and returned to the post office, where he sent the envelope by receipt-requested insured mail. When asked about the contents, Cade avoided lying by saying that they were legal documents, then asked the clerk if he'd ever seen anyone use the 'send-to-self' method of proving that they'd written something before someone else had.
The woman asked, "You mean like if someone copies something and then says they wrote it first?"
Cade patted the envelope and said, "Yeah. My having a dated post office receipt and a sealed original would kind of sink their boat, wouldn't it?"
She grinned and said, "Yeah, I guess it would. You could probably sue them, too."
Nodding with a grin of his own, Cade said, "Under those circumstances, suing someone would be both a duty and a pleasure, I think."
Still grinning, the clerk tossed the envelope in a wheeled mail bin and said, "Oh, yes, you'd just about have to, I think. Oh, yes. Absolutely."
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