Jane Goes Batty

Chloe.”

“Sneaky,” said Jane. “Let’s just hope Beverly doesn’t try to take a bite out of you.”

Ted paled as he let go of Jane, and as she stepped back she felt obligated to say, “I’m just teasing.”

This seemed to do little to make things better, as Ted appeared rattled and mistakenly clapped on the up beat. But there was no time to apologize again before Jane found herself with Sherman.

“Just the woman I wanted to see,” said Sherman. He pulled her close in to his body and whispered, “They found a note in the pocket of Jessica Abernathy’s jacket, asking her to meet at the fairgrounds.”

“Do they know who sent it?” asked Jane.

“Someone called Violet Grey,” said Sherman as he released Jane’s arm.

Jane stifled a gasp, almost forgetting to clap. Violet Grey? Did that mean Charlotte was in town? Had she killed Jessica—her sorority sister—to send a message to Jane?

“Isn’t Chloe’s costume fabulous?” her next partner asked as they began their swing.

“Don’t bother,” Jane said. “I know you’re Ned. You have some nerve, leaving your brother with that jackal.”

“I’m sorry,” Ned told her. “I just couldn’t stand it anymore. She keeps trying to hold my hand.”

“You’re lucky that’s all she’s trying to hold,” said Jane. “But you won’t have to do it for much longer, so don’t worry. We won’t let her savage you.”

During the two bars of clapping she looked to her right. Walter was dancing with a woman Jane didn’t know. But he kept stealing glances at Jane. Moments later they were arm in arm.

“I thought you’d never get here,” Walter told her.

“I’m sure your mother is thrilled about it,” said Jane.

“Can we not talk about her?” Walter said. “At least for the next count of four.”

When he let go of Jane it was reluctantly. As their arms parted his fingers grabbed hers. Just for a second he held them tightly. Then Jane stepped back and the connection was broken. She looked into Walter’s eyes as they clapped. I can’t keep doing this, Jane thought.

Her final partner was a stranger, a short, jolly man who swung her with such vigor that she was almost swept off her feet. She was relieved when their turn was over and she was once again dancing with Byron.

“Did anything interesting happen?” he asked as he and Jane did their final swing.

“Our Gloomy Friend may be in town,” Jane informed him. “I think that qualifies.”

There was no more time for discussion as they parted and clapped down the final bars. But the music kept playing as Katherine’s voice came over the speaker. “Gentlemen, stay in place and continue clapping,” she instructed them. “Ladies, your job is a little trickier. Remember your numbers?”

A chorus of laughter and yeses filled the room.

“I hope so,” said Katherine.

Jane wished she could sneak out of the circle. But it was too late. Not only was the circle of men keeping her inside, there was simply no way to do it without causing a commotion. Also, it would leave the circle with an odd number of couples, which would make the dance impossible.

“Ladies, turn and face inside the circle.”

Jane turned her back to Byron. Across the circle from her was Posey, moving back and forth as she kept time with her feet.

“When I say go, I want the odd-numbered ladies to walk forward and meet in the middle of the circle,” said Katherine. “You’ll join hands and circle to your right for a count of eight. If you do it right, you should end up back where you started. Walk backward to your starting position. Then we’ll repeat those steps with the even-numbered ladies. On the next bar, we’ll begin!” said Katherine. “And two, three, four, go!”

Jane watched as Beverly, Chloe, and the two unknown women walked forward and joined hands. As they circled she counted down the bars until she would have to move forward and take Miriam’s hand. She comforted herself with the knowledge that Lucy would be on her other side.

The women on either side of Jane returned to their places. At the beginning of the next bar Katherine called out, “Even-numbered ladies!” and Jane willed herself to move. When she reached the center she gladly reached for Lucy on her left. She hesitated a moment and then extended her hand to Miriam on her right.

Miriam’s hand was cool and dry. But seconds after Jane grasped it she felt a wave of emotion wash over her, a sickening wall of fear and rage. Instinctively she dropped the woman’s hand and stepped away as if she’d been stung. Miriam stared at her, her eyes blazing.

“I’m sorry,” Jane said, letting go of Lucy’s hand. “I have to go.”

Turning, she ran toward Byron, pushed him aside, and ran as quickly as she could toward the door.

Chapter 26

“You could have mentioned that Jessica was dead,” Byron said. He sounded hurt.

“I’m not apologizing for that,” said Jane. “I didn’t know Our Gloomy Friend might have had something to do with it, not until Sherman told me at the dance. And anyway, I only found out this morning. I was still basking in the joyous news.”

They were in Jane’s living room. Jane was stretched out on the couch, an afghan covering her, and Byron was seated in one of the armchairs. He still wore his dancing clothes, but Jane had swapped her dress for a pair of pajamas made from lightweight pink flannel printed with images of small gray mice. They each had a glass of merlot, and the almost empty bottle sat on the coffee table.

“Does Sherman know who Violet Grey is?” asked Byron.

“I doubt it,” Jane answered. “I think he was just pleased to have more information about Jessica’s murder.”

“Being in possession of that information is very dangerous for him,” said Byron. “If Our Gloomy Friend really is responsible, she’s going to go after anyone who knows anything about her.”

“Including us,” Jane said.

“Especially us,” said Byron. He sighed and glanced at his watch. “It’s almost two,” he said. “Do you want to go over the rules of softball so you’re ready for tomorrow’s game?”

Jane groaned. She’d forgotten all about the big Janeites versus Brontëites ballgame. Having never played softball, she had only a vague idea of what was involved. Byron had volunteered to help her figure it out, and Jane had brought home a book on the subject from the store. She handed it to Byron. “Read,” she said.

Byron opened the book. “ ‘Softball is commonly mistaken for an easier version of baseball,’ ” he read. “ ‘In fact, it is just as interesting and just as complex a game. The fundamental difference between the sports is the size of the ball used and the style of pitching, which in baseball is overhand and in softball is underhand.’ ”

“I’m already bored,” said Jane. “Can you condense it all for me?”

Byron skimmed the page and turned to the next one. After flipping through perhaps a dozen or so he shut the book and sighed. “You stand on a plate, someone tosses a ball at you, and you try to hit it with a stick,” he said. “If you succeed in hitting it and no one catches it, you run. If you run far enough, you score a point for your team.”

“That sounds rather easy, really,” Jane said. “Surely there must be other rules?”

“Well, yes,” said Byron. “Quite a lot of them, actually. Do you really want to hear them all?”

“I don’t think I do,” Jane said. “I imagine if there’s anything I need to know they’ll explain it to me.”

“Pity they aren’t playing cricket,” said Byron. “That would be much easier. These American games make absolutely no sense.”

“Why do you think Miriam hasn’t made her move yet?” Jane asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” said Byron. “And Lilith hasn’t brought us any additional information. I’m beginning to think the little bitch is a liar.”

“Ned hasn’t been any more useful,” Jane said. “According to him, all Beverly talks about is how wonderful you are.”

“I’m not surprised,” said Byron. “Just between us, I think she had rather a crush on me.”