I want people to get the idea we’re there to look things over. I’m going to track down the vestry members, see what I can find out about the padre and the vestry. And talk to this”—he tapped the printed message—“Irene Chatham. Hal, find Mrs. Abbott and insist she show you the teal arrow. Anita, check with some of the church ladies, see if you can get a get a line on this Helen Troy. Hal, describe her.”
“Nefertiti.”
The chief blinked. Officer Leland looked puzzled.
I kissed my fingers, blew a kiss toward my favorite police detective.
A slight flush pinked his cheeks. “Classic bone structure. She’s a knockout. It shouldn’t be hard to find her.”
“Shouldn’t be if she’s such a hottie.” The chief looked amused.
“But nobody’s pointed the way yet.”
Hal looked thoughtful. “Not the kind of gal you see at the grocery. The kind of woman who’d look good in a sleek black dress and I think she had a helluva figure from the look of her legs. She was wearing fancy gray heels.”
I nodded with approval.
Officer Leland was intrigued. “Of course churchwomen will do
G h o s t at Wo r k
anything to help, but she doesn’t sound like someone who spends much time cleaning porches. So I wonder what was so important about the porch.”
I looked at her sharply, realized her eyes were shrewd and intelligent. She’d figured out what mattered.
The chief was looking at her with admiration. “That’s the point.
She cleaned the porch. Maybe she knew there’d been a body there.” He suddenly looked formidable. “I want to know if she was a redhead. Maybe she likes to impersonate the police. Keep your eyes open for a good-looking redhead.”
Kathleen lifted a flap and yelled, “No kicking. Absolutely no kicking or wrestling. Two more minutes and it’s the girls’ turn.” I had to speak loudly for her to hear, but the boys were making so much commotion I didn’t worry about being overheard. “What is this? What’s going on?”
Kathleen lifted a finger to indicate she’d be with me ASAP, then turned her thumb toward the contraption, yelled, “Jupiter Jump, only three tickets. Girls next for the Jupiter Jump.” I suppose she thought that was a sufficient explanation. I wished I had time to go inside and bounce. What fun! However . . . I shrieked into her ear. “The police are coming. We have to find a teal arrow.
They’ll want to see it.”
Suddenly the shouts inside the inflated plastic plaything turned angry. “. . . off my back . . . stop that . . . gonna shove you . . .” Kathleen lifted the flap at the entrance, poked her head inside.
“That’s enough, boys. Time’s up. Out. Out. Out.”
Ca ro ly n H a rt
Boys ranging from six to midteens tumbled through the opening.
The last one was scarcely gone before the girls clambered inside.
I tugged on Kathleen’s jacket sleeve. “A teal arrow. You’ve got to find one. The police will be here any minute and you have to show it to them.”
A sudden screech and a burst of tears sounded inside the jump.
Kathleen held up a hand, once again pulled aside the flap. “Abigail, don’t pull Teentsy’s braids. Let go. Pronto. Abigail, you get in that corner. Teentsy, come bounce by the door.” When a semblance of harmony was restored, she gripped the edge of the opening flap, looked around.
“I’m over here. Come on, Kathleen, we don’t have much time.”
“I’m all alone. Sally Baker didn’t show up. I can’t leave the jump.
I’ll tell them—”
I gripped her arm. “Don’t tell them anything. I’ll take care of it.”
I opened my eyes. Lying on the kitchen table was a two-by-four-foot weathered wooden plaque. Mounted on it was an arrow. The shaft was a bright teal.
I clapped my hands. “Thank you, Wiggins.” I looked out the window. Three police cars turned into the far end of the church lot. Not a minute too soon, but miracles always seem to happen that way.
I looked critically at the plaque. Wiggins had done a fine job, but I felt it needed a tad more pizzazz. I rummaged in the craft drawer and found a large gold sticker that had an official appearance.
I added it beneath the arrow. I used a red marker and inscribed in looping script:
G h o s t at Wo r k
In the same ornate handwriting, I wrote on a plain sheet of stationery:
