Grime and Punishment

“It wasn't there before that?”

Jane struggled to think back. 'I don't remember if I was in that room anytime today after I got dressed. I don't think so.'

“No hurry. Just think it out step by step. Talk it through if that helps.'

“All right. I got the kids off to school and left to ride with Shelley to get birdseed around quarter of nine.'

“Did you lock the house? I don't see any obvious evidence of forced entry.'

“Yes, that time I locked up. I'm sure of it.”

“When did you get back?”

Jane looked at Shelley and shrugged. 'Around nine-thirty or ten?' Shelley nodded. Jane went on. 'I came inside, and a few minutes later Shelley came over. We went over to her house, and you called.”

VanDyne flipped a page of the small notebook he was writing in. 'That was at 10:08. Did you lock up the house then?'

“I don't know. I think so. You came over when?'

“Twenty minutes later.'

“I didn't go back home after that for a while. When you left, we cleaned up the kitchen and put all the borrowed dishes in Shelley's minivan to take back. We went to Suzie Williams's house first—'

“You drove next door?'

“We didn't mean to, exactly. But yes. She was just getting home as we were leaving. We stayed a few minutes, and then we went to see Robbie Jones.”

VanDyne looked up from his note-taking, an eyebrow lifted. 'You weren't, by any chance, trying to do my job for me, were you?'

“Whatever do you mean?' Jane asked, sounding even to herself like Miss America being asked if she were a virgin.

“I mean, it's odd that you happened to be visiting with the very people I'm questioning.”

Jane slipped off her sneaker and started massaging her foot as if she had a sudden cramp.

Shelley said, 'Jane, I think we better tell him.'

“What kind of friend are you?' Jane asked. She was joking, but embarrassed. 'All right. We were trying to find out if and why they were being blackmailed by that awful Edith.'

“And were they?'

“Oh, yes. At least two of them were. Suzie says not and I believe her. But Robbie and Joyce—' Jane stopped. She could feel the hateful tears filling her eyes again. She wasn't going to break down and make a bleary-eyed, blubbering fool of herself in front of him. Bad enough that he now knew she wore boring white underwear.

“I don't mean to upset you. We know about Mrs. Jones. Robbie. But not about Mrs. Greenway.”

Shelley sat forward, as if to speak, but Jane put up a hand to stop her. 'My husband, my late husband—' She paused, taking a deep breath. 'My late husband was leaving me for Joyce Greenway the night he — became my late husband.”

There, she'd said it.

He had the good grace to look surprised. 'I am sorry I had to know that, Mrs. Jeffry. Jane. Off the record, I've also got to tell you I find it hard to believe.'

“Oh, it's true enough. She admitted—'

“No, what I meant was, I've interviewed you and I've interviewed her and I can't imagine—”

Jane felt herself blushing. Actually blushing.Oh, well, he'll probably think it's a hot flash. 'Will you be able to tell anything about the person who did this from the paper the note was on? I've read that the police can trace paper—'

“It was the back of your electric bill.'

“She could have at least used a brand of paper only made in Singapore between March and July of the year she was there with her brother—'

“She?Singapore? What?'

“I was just thinking about mystery books. It always turns on something like that.' Now she was back on familiar ground, he was scowling at her again. It was oddly comforting. 'We only talked to Suzie Williams, Robbie Jones, and Joyce Greenway. It had to be one of them.'

“Or somebody they talked to about your — questioning,' he said.

“You mean snooping. I guess that's true, but I'm pretty sure neither Robbie nor Joyce would have gotten right on the phone to talk to somebody else about it.”

He leaned back and studied her for a long moment. She felt like a used car about to get its tires kicked. 'You think you know who did this, don't you?'

“It doesn't matter what I think. I've had ample proof today of the general failure of my perceptions.'

“Still, I'd like to know your opinion.”

Shelley nodded her encouragement, and Jane said, 'For what it's worth, I'm certain it's Robbie Jones. Suzie Williams was pretty much amused by my questions. Joyce Greenway — well, she was as upset as I was by my knowing. Not that I'd like to give her public credit for having a conscience, but I think she probably went home and just kept crying. But Robbie was furious. She screamed at us to get out of her house and kept on screaming. I've never seen anybody look at me with such hatred.'

“And all these women were home all day?'

“No, Suzie was just coming home from work early, and Joyce doesn't have a job. Robbie said she was leaving for work in nine minutes, but that was when we got there. She might have changed her mind.'

“I'll check on it.' The doorbell rang. 'That must be my man from the lab. I'll get it.' He went to answer the door, talked for a minute with the newcomer, and sent him up the stairs.

When he came back, Jane said, 'He won't be long, will he? I don't want the kids to know what danger they're in. What danger I've put them in.'

“You didn't mean to. And, frankly, you were able to find out at least one thing that we might have never known. Now, you need to decide where you're going to go.'

“Go? Why should I go anywhere? Oh, you mean in case Ro — the person who did thiscomes back. I see. Do I have to go? I'd have to explain it all to the kids and—'

“Don't you have some relatives you can stay with?'

“Only my mother-in-law — and I'd ' rather move into a kennel of rabid dogs.'

“Well, I could ask the county if they can spare an officer to stay here, but they're pretty short-staffed as it is, and I don't know how long it would be.'

“What about your Uncle Jim?' Shelley asked. 'He's offered, but it's so far out of his way, and if it's going to be for long—'

“I hope it won't be any time at all,' VanDyne said. 'But I can't make any promises.'

“You mean this could just drag on forever? What are you going to do to solve it?”

“Everything we can.”

The man from the lab came downstairs just then and handed VanDyne a note. He read it and said to Shelley and Jane, 'Mrs. Jones came to work in a disturbed state today and left after a half hour.”

He made no further comment then, but simply rose and tucked his notebook into his jacket pocket. Jane stood too, and walked to the front door with him and the lab man, who was carrying a plastic bag.

The lab man went to his car, but VanDyne paused. 'Mrs. Jeffry, Mrs. Nowack — in the normal course of such an investigation, I wouldn't have told you that. But you have created an abnormal situation by conducting your own research. I don't need to point out the danger and tell you to stop, do I?'

“Of course not. I'm reformed. From now on I mind only my own business,' Jane said fervently.

That sounded familiar. Hadn't she said the same thing to Uncle Jim just this morning? This time she meant it.

Twenty

Uncle Jim was furious. 'You went around tell- ing those women you knew they were being blackmailed? Oh, Jane, Jane, Jane. Your