..baby, so fine."He stood up, releasing her arms and told her to remove her skirt. Carol felt totally humiliated at the thought of undressing herself ...illingly for a man who was going to rape her... and in front of her own daughter!As soon as the skirt was removed he began taking off his own shirt. Carol couldn't help but notice his big chest and arms, how big and powerful he seemed. He then unbuttoned his pants allowing them to drop to the floor.   Carol gasped. "Please mister," she. Butthere'd been a lot of those lately, arguments about nothing. Something bigger was bothering her that she wouldn't talk about. This weekend I meant to ask her what it was. Then when I got home something didn't feel quite right. A chair ortwo out of place -- Joan is meticulous about such things. I headedfor a beer while musing about it and found half a bottle of wineuncovered in the fridge, and wine glasses unpropped in thedishwasher as if hastily put there. From the night before, she'dhad. "My husband sat directly across from me. The recliner and matching sofa weren't the only pieces of furniture in the room, but the obligatory coffee table was missing. The empty space between us, perhaps eight feet of it, seemed unusually large and empty as we looked at each other. One whole wall of Dr. Lin's thirteenth floor office was made of glass, offering a nice view of the Sound, but it was gray outside and a heavy rain pelted the windows. It gave the room an odd, blue color that was. It was Madeline Albright, the owner of La Petite, one of our town'smore exclusive boutiques. (Actually, it's our only boutique.) It wasthe only place in three hundred miles that one could actually purchasea Versace, a Gucci, or a Scarvelli. Julia had spent a lot of Bradford'smoney there, buying high-fashion costumes and accessories before thebastard killed her. Over time, Julia came to own several of eachdesigner's gowns and the shoes, purses, and jewelry, all in diamondsand gold, to match. In.