The House of Seven Mabels

of it on her hand. 'Oops, I'll have to wash my hand first.'

On entering the kitchen Jane noticed a pot on the stove that was almost bubbling over and turned the burner off. Then she washed her hands and looked around for a paper towel to dry them. Not seeing any, she opened a drawer to find a dishcloth. The first drawer was full of silverware. The next drawer down held the dishcloths. As she lifted one out, she saw something under it. A little brown leather notebook with a name stamped on it in gold. She picked it up with a fresh dishcloth.

In the living room, Shelley was asking Evaline when she thought she'd get the patent. Evaline started to reply, but sniffed and said, 'Oh, dear. I think the gravy's burning. I forgot to turn off the stove.' She hurried to the kitchen and came to a sudden stop when she saw Jane.

'What are you doing with that?'

'Oh, Evaline, I'm so sorry. I was just looking for something to dry my hands and found this.'

'You're not going to tell anyone, are you?'

'I have to,' Jane said.

Evaline reached for the pot, where the gravy was still boiling-hot. 'No, you won't,' she said. She grabbed the handle of the pot and made a swinging motion with it, but it slipped out of her hand and hit the floor. Hot, thick brown gravy splashed back on her bare legs, and she screamed.

As Shelley ran into the room, Jane put down the little book and scrambled to the sink with a handful of more dishcloths to get them wet. 'Call 911, Shelley. She's burned herself badly.'

Shelley already had her cell phone in her hand, and while she waited for an answer said, 'Jane, dab. Don't wipe.'

Evaline had collapsed on the floor, still screaming-After the emergency medical technicians had taken Evaline away, Shelley asked, 'What happened?'

'She was trying to throw the boiling-hot gravy at me, and it came back on her. I'll explain in a minute, but first call Mel and tell him to call the nearest hospital and order them not to release her. She killed Sandra. The evidence is on the kitchen counter.'

Shelley dialed the police station as Jane started cleaning up the gravy from the floor.

'I need to talk to Mel VanDyne immediately,' Shelley was saying. 'You can't contact him?

Why? Never mind. Call the hospitals and find out which one the emergency people took Evaline Herman to from this address,' she said, reeling off the street address and apartment number. 'She's the one who murdered the woman on the case Detective VanDyne is on. Tell them not to release her.'

She hung up and said, 'Jane, stop cleaning. Let's get out of here.'

They were both so shaken that they just sat in Shelley's minivan for a few minutes, trying to calm down enough for Shelley to drive. In a shaking voice, Jane explained about looking for a dishcloth and finding Sandra's little brown notebook in the drawer.

'How did you know it was hers?'

'It had her name stamped on the front. Did you leave the door to the apartment unlocked?'

'Yes,' Shelley said as she fumbled to get the ignition key in and start the car.

For once in her life, she drove slowly and carefully.

Jane had gravy all over her knees from kneeling and trying to get the gravy off Evaline, and went straight to the basement to take her slacks off. Shelley followed her. 'There should be clean jeans in the dryer. Keep very quiet. I don't want Kate and Todd to know about this.'

'You're still shaking, and you're as white as a ghost. Do you want to come to my house?'

'You're as pale as I am. Let's go sit out on the patio. I'll take the portable phone with me, so if Mel calls back, I can grab the call before one of the kids picks it up.'

They sat outside for quite a long time, speaking in low tones. 'At least I had the common sense not to get my own fingerprints on the notebook.'

'Good for you. Katie's not on the phone line, is she?' Shelley said.

'No. A little red light would come on the portable if she were.'

It was dark, and the evening was turning chilly. Jane went inside and peeked in each child's room. Katie was listening to loud music while supposedly doing her homework. Jane pulled herself together well enough to say, 'Katie, don't use the phone for a while. I'm expecting a call.' Katie nodded.

Todd had his computer on and was mumbling to himself and punching numbers into the little adding machine. Jane told him he'd better stop working on the prime numbers in a few minutes and do his homework.

'Already did it.'

'Mrs. Nowack and I are going to sit outside for a while. If you need anything, you can find me.'

She got out a couple of sweaters and on the way through the kitchen, poured two glasses of wine. 'This will warm us up a bit,' she said, handing Shelley one of the glasses and a sweater.

'I'm so sorry it was Evaline,' Shelley said. 'I

know you liked her. Do you think she was responsible for all the other things that happened at the House of Seven Mabels?'

Jane shrugged. 'I don't know. I'm sort of sick even thinking about it.'

'Did you open the notebook?'

'No. I was holding it with a dishcloth and looking for a place to put it somewhere she wouldn't find it and dispose of it before we could contact Mel. But she caught me holding it. I did like her until she tried to disfigure me with the hot gravy.'

'How did she think that would save her?'

'I doubt she was thinking at all. She was lashing out at someone who'd suddenly become a threat. That's all.'

The phone rang. Jane pushed the button and said, 'Mel?'

'Are you okay?'

'Shaken, but not stirred,' Jane said.

'I'm swamped and can't talk now, but I wanted to be sure you were home and safe,' Mel said. 'Go to bed. I'll call you in the morning.'

'You do have Evaline locked up somewhere, don't you?'

'We sure do.'

'That's all I need to know.'

Twenty-nine

Mel called jane at 8:30 the next morning.

'Where were you when I needed to get in

touch with you?' Jane asked.

'On a stakeout at what Shelley calls the House of Seven Gables.'

'Seven Mabels. Why?'

'I was thinking there hadn't been anything bad happening there for a couple of days and it was time for another event. So I got four officers to hide in and around the place.'

'Did something happen?'

'Yep! It did. We caught a kid about nineteen prying loose one of the pieces of plywood over the windows to get inside. He'd been equipped with a gallon of gasoline and a bag of dry rags.'

'Good Lord! Who was he? What did he say?'

'First he wet his pants. Then he told us his dad used to do a lot of jobs for Neville Burnside. When his dad died a of couple weeks ago, Burn-side contacted him.'

'So this kid with the wet crotch was responsible for all the vandalism?'

'No. Just a lot of it. Evaline admits she rigged the electrical and did the shrimp deal to discredit Sandra. And the fake bomb toolbox and returning the purse. Everything else she vehemently denies.'

'What about Evaline's burns?'

'She's in bad shape and will be under treatment for them for quite a while. But in a prison hospital, not the one she first went to.'

'Did she confess that she killed Sandra?'

'Yes, but she claims it was accidental.'

'Accidental? How?'