War and Peas

“That is nice,' Shelley said when Jane was done. 'It really sums up an era, doesn't it? All the kids out crawling around the field to pick the peas so they'd have ground cover to hold the soil down the next year. We couldn't get our kids to do that.'

“I bet we could if it was a matter of eating or starving.'

“How nice that it was Sharlene he picked to tell the story to,' Shelley said.

“Just what I thought. Shelley. .' She paused for a moment. 'It really isn't any of our business who killed Regina, is it?'

“No, it isn't. But. .”

Jane sat down on a wooden crate and spoke quietly. 'I was determined not to get involved. Not to care about someone I never knew. But now that I've come to know some of these people, I find that I'm caring in spite of myself.'

“Me, too,' Shelley admitted. She perched on the corner of a sturdy buffet table. 'Mel would wash our mouths out with soap if he heard us. We've gotten to know and like people who did care for Regina. I guess that's what makes the difference. I feel so sorry for Sharlene and Lisa, losing someone they thought so much of in their different ways.'

'But not Babs? You don't feel sorry for her?'

“I don't think anybody'd ever dare feel sorry for her. Besides, she really didn't say anything much about her relationship with Regina. I wonder if she even liked her.'

“Good question,' Jane said. 'She must have respected her, though. She's the president of the board of directors. If she hadn't thought Regina was good at her job, she could probably have had her fired.'

“Yes, if she were incompetent,' Shelley agreed. 'But I have the feeling that Babs is the kind of person who could despise someone personally and still recognize their good traits.'

“You know what I'm wondering?' Jane said. 'Whether whoever shot her meant to.'

“You means Babs's theory that Caspar Snellen did it by accident?'

“No, what I really meant was this: it was a well-staged riot. The reenactors knew what they were doing, but nobody else did. Couldn't someone have been trying to shoot someone else and Regina ran in front of the target?”

Shelley considered for a moment. 'I guess that's possible. Meaning that Derek and Caspar, who are by far the best suspects, might have been the intended victims instead?'

“Or anybody else, for that matter. Neither of them was in the reenactment, though, were they? I saw Jumper in his farm-boy clothes, but I don't remember the other two.'

“I don't believe they were participants,' Shelley said. 'But anybody could have been lurking in those woods. It's pretty overgrown very near where we were walking.'

“But if they were in the woods, that puts them back at being suspects, not victims, doesn't it?”

“Right. It does.'

“I couldn't sleep last night,' Jane said, 'for thinking about it. I've tried and tried to picture where everyone was, but I just can't bring it into focus. I was only thinking about myself. I really was about ninety percent convinced it was really happening. Somehow I don't think the shooting was an accident, though. Just my gut reaction.'

“You're probably right,' Shelley agreed. 'But think about it. . from what we've heard, Regina seemed to be a sort of ordinary person. A bit dull, perhaps. Ambitious enough, but not a hint of trampling ambition. A good friend to Lisa, a good employer to Sharlene, and a good enough employee, apparently, as far as Babs is concerned. Not the sort of person to inspire passionate emotions. Not passionate enough to lead to murder.'

“Yes, but there's a lot of money involved,' Jane said. 'Millions. That could certainly inspire passion in some people. Like Caspar Snellen. And possibly that awful Georgia, his sister. Just because she was canny enough not to be overt about her resentment doesn't mean she wasn't just as greedy as Caspar.'

“Right. But killing Regina wouldn't have made any difference,' Shelley said. 'She wasn't the one who inherited the money. The museum was. And I don't imagine her death will change that. Certainly not now. Probably not even if she’d died sooner. Miss Snellen left her fortune to the museum. Granted, she had every reason to believe a woman as young as Regina would continue as director, but still. .”

Jane nodded. 'But if it was Caspar or Georgia, it might have been just sheer frustration that they weren't able to change the will. Or maybe they imagine that Georgia could divert some of the money to the two of them if Regina was out of the way.'

“What do you mean?'

“I'm not sure.' Jane thought for a moment. 'Okay. What if Georgia thought that without Regina in the way, her toy boy Derek would be director and, as a member of the board, she could get his salary kicked way up and get her hands on part of it herself?”

Shelley shook her head. 'Not with Babs McDonald and an accountant on the board. Don't you imagine the board keeps a close eye on the finances?'

“Mmm. Bad example, I guess. What if it's not the money at all?'

“What else?'

“Well, we were talking about passion. Regina was engaged, you know. And we've never even laid eyes on this Whitney guy. Surely an engagement involves some degree of passion. And didn't Sharlene say the engagement had been an on-and-off sort of thing? It might have been a rather tumultuous relationship.'

“You might have a point,' Shelley said. 'Isn't it odd that nobody's said much about him? Everybody here must have known Whitney. He's the architect of the new building. He must have attended board meetings, surveyed this building pretty thoroughly, and so forth.'

“That is strange, now that you mention it. It's as if he hasn't made an impression of any kind.”

Shelley stood up. 'We'd better get on with something more productive than this, Jane. I hardly know where to start down here. Let me think about it overnight. Let's go back up and finish the room I was almost done with.' She picked up her clipboard and Jane grabbed a book to serve as one.

“Jane? Shelley?' a faint voice called from the doorway.

They wound their way back through the artificial hallways of stored items and found Sharlene standing at the doorway, shading her eyes against the bare light bulb overhead.

“What's up, Sharlene?' Jane asked.

“How long have you been down here?' Sharlene replied.

Jane glanced at her watch. 'About an hour. Why?'

“You didn't come upstairs during the board meeting?'

“No. Why do you ask?'

“I was hoping you'd seen something. Oh, this is so awful. Somebody's been in Ms. Palmer's office, rummaging through things like mad.'

“During the board meeting, you mean?' Jane asked.

“I think so.'

“Then you know at least a couple of people that it wasn't,' Shelley said briskly.

“Well, not really. Babs went out to get some financial statements from the files. Tom went to the bathroom. Georgia left to make a phone call—'

“Wait,' Jane said. 'Start at the beginning. How do you know this happened during the board meeting?”

Sharlene thought for a minute. 'I guess I really don't. I went into her office this morning, to put some flowers on her desk. I guess it was stupid, but I saw them for sale on a street corner on the way to work and it seemed a nice thing—'

“It was nice,' Shelley said. 'You don't have to explain yourself on that score. But what time was that?'

“Nine or so.'

“And did you lock the door when you came out?' Jane asked.

“I think so. Yes. Well, maybe.'

“So anybody might have gone in there anytime today?'

“Not really. There are always people in the staff area — the tour guides on their breaks and such. Somebody would have seen if anyone else went inside.'

“Wasn't that true during the board meeting, too?' Shelley asked.

Sharlene shook her head. 'I don't think so. There weren't any scheduled tours this afternoon and there were