Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

A longtime neighbor and friend has accused me of stealing a ring. I had been providing her with transportation to visit her husband while he was in rehab recovering from a broken leg. I also took her on other errands.

"Short of taking a lie detector test to prove your innocence, I doubt there will be anything you can say to convince her."

I tried to help her retrace her steps and also asked when and where she may have left her pocketbook open or unattended. She then said I was the only one who had been with her pocketbook and that

My neighbor later came to dinner with my family, and I gave her another ride or two. Then she made a threatening hang-up call. When I went to her house (with a food gift) to address the situation, she didn’t answer the door,