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the morning, Sadie was asleep, not that I cared. I was leaving. If Peter woke her, it was his own problem. “The crux of the claim seems to be that he pitched an idea for an animated cannibal TV series to the studio about ten years ago, and he says you ripped off his pitch.”
    “But my animated series is based on my movies!” Peter’s series of cannibal horror movies have been pretty successful, as far as B horror movies go; they have a devoted cult following. A live-action TV series once made it all the way to a pilot, but it was never picked up. Now there was an animated version in the works, and for the past few months Peter had been consumed with critical decisions like whether to go with CGI or traditional animation.
    “Yes, well, he seems to be saying that you stole your movies from his pitch to the studio.”
    “But that’s insane. My first movie came out years ago. And it was a script that I shopped around all over town. And it wasn’t even made by this studio. They just bought the distribution rights!”
    “The plaintiff claims that all that was an elaborate ruse. He claims that the studio got so excited by his pitch that it secretly contracted with you to write a screenplay, which you then pretended to make with a small independent production company but really made with the studio’s money just so that you could make the sequels large enough so that you could go forward with the animated TV series. Which was the plaintiff’s idea. Which you stole.”
    Peter collapsed into his kitchen chair. “This is insane. It’s is going to go away, right? Please tell me this is going to go away.”
    “It’s going to go away. It’s going to cost the studio some money to litigate, and I hope to God they don’t decide to settle, but yes, it’s going to go away.”
    “Settle? Settle? But it’s all a lie! How could they settle?”
    “In order to avoid spending a quarter of a million dollars in legal fees. But let’s not go there, okay? I mean, your studio is famous for not settling, otherwise it would end up a constant target for these kinds of extortionists, and it’s a patently false claim. Don’t worry, honey. The lawyers are going to take care of it. It’s going to be all right.”
    Peter groaned.
    “Sweetie,” I said. “Chiki and I have to get going or I’m going to miss my flight. Are you going to be okay here?”
    He groaned again.
    “Peter,” I said. “Let’s focus now, okay? Sadie? Ruby? Isaac?” I kept the words very simple. “Can you handle this? Do you want me to stay?” I made my unwillingness to do that so clear by the sound of my voice that the hopeful expression on his face immediately faded.
    “No, I’ll be fine,” he said.
    “Call Lilly if you’re in trouble,” I said. “She’s in town this week, and I’m sure she’ll let you come over this afternoon and hang out by the pool.” Our friend Lilly Green is a movie star with a full staff ofnannies. When left on his own, Peter often resorts to Lilly’s beneficent companionship. But then, so do I. It’s a lot easier to kill a day with three children at
her
house than at ours. Especially since at her house you get to lie on a chaise longue drinking iced tea while a nanny takes care of your children.
    “You are going to help me with this lawsuit, aren’t you, Juliet?” Peter said.
    “Of course I am. And there’s not going to be anything to do. Tomorrow I’ll call the studio’s legal department, but I’m sure they’re already dealing with it. They’ll make it go away. I promise.”
    He stood up and gave me a hug. I kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Honey, Chiki and I really have to go. See you tonight.”
    “I’ll be waiting.”

Seven
    T HE visiting room of Dartmore Prison made an attempt at cheer that somehow served only to highlight how grim the place really was. The long tables had been pushed back from the walls in one corner to allow some floor space to be transformed into a play corner where a few children