“Stop! If you’ll stop, I’ll help you.”
“No, you won’t.” She kicked again when he moved closer. She held the tangled hair and branch in both hands and was now lying on her side, both legs kicking like a fallen bicycle rider.
“Don’t you touch me! I’ll call the police! I will!” She tugged furiously at the entanglement for a few moments.
“What were you doing here?” he demanded. Beckman hunched down close to her, but out of range of her feet.
“That ain’t none of your bisness.”
“I saw you looking in my window.”
“I was not. I ain’t never done any such of a thing. You can’t prove it.”
“Suppose I went in, got my camera, and took a picture of you here in your strange predicament.”
The desk clerk pulled frantically at her hair, making a humming sound. She stopped after a while, breathing hard
