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Authors: Jill Churchill
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respond to this except to cock his eyebrow.
“I see,“ Jane said. “Let me think... I don’t know exactly when I last saw her. She was at dinner. She was making nasty cracks to people off and on all evening. But everybody was milling around. Going upstairs for things, talking in the library and the living room. Coming in and out of the kitchen. I was mostly in the kitchen and only saw the people who came through there.“
‘Try to pin down the last time you’re sure you saw her,“ Mel insisted, not sympathetic to Jane’s excuses.
“Okay. Dinner for sure. That was at seven. I came in the kitchen just after Lila had been trying to goad · Mimi Soong about something. That’s the last time I actually saw her.“
“When was that?“
“I have no idea. I wasn’t paying any attention to the time. Oh, wait. Pooky came in a little bit after that and Lila had been harassing her and Pooky said she wanted to go outside for some air and Edgar said he wasn’t going to lock up for an hour yet, so it must have been about nine-thirty because he locked up at ten-thirty, just after I got back.“
Mel had been staring at her intently. “Pooky?“ he said, pronouncing it very carefully.. “That’s somebody’s name?“
“A nickname, I think. A couple of them go by nicknames. Lila was actually Delilah, I think.“
“All right, give me a rundown on who’s attending this thing, who was in the house last night.“
“Me, for one.“
“What about Mrs. Nowack?“
“She had to go home to wait for a phone call from her husband. And of course, Edgar and Gordon were here. It’s their house.“
“The guests...?“ he prodded.
“All right, there was Lila. I can’t remember her last name, though. And Beth... uh, Vaughn, I think. She’s the one who’s a judge. Very square, sensible, low-heeled shoes, graying hair.“
VanDyne closed his eyes for a second, then nodded, as if he’d seen her in the kitchen and identified her.
“And Crispy. I’m sorry I’m rattled. I can’t remember her real name either. Her maiden name was Crisp. She’s the little stylish one with the spike heels, frosted hair, and incredible fingernails. Avalon Smith is the one with the sloppy dark red hair and potato sack clothing. She’s from Arkansas.“
“Who else?“
“Pooky is that poor woman with the horrible facelift that went wrong and the stiff blond hair that looks like a bad wig. She seems to be stunningly stupid, so keep that in mind when you talk to her.“
“I’ll do that,“ he said wryly. “Who’s the fat, sloppy one in the carpenter overalls?“
“Kathy Herrmannson. She sees herself as the social conscience of the group. Peace, love, and recycling.“
“Is that all?“
“I think s-no, I left out Mimi Soong. She’s Chinese and very elegant.“ · ·
Mel sat back for a moment, digesting this information. Finally he said, “Got any idea who did it?“
“Killed her? No. I think everybody would have liked to. There were jokes about drawing straws.“
“Who made the jokes?“
“I won’t answer that!“ Jane said. “They were just jokes, because she was so unpleasant. I don’t even remember who said what. Somebody was also playing practical jokes.“
“Oh? What kind? Who’d they play them on?“
“Somebody exchanged the contents of Avalon’s and Pooky’s purses.“
“So?“
“So, nothing. It was’ dumb and pointless. Then alarm clocks went off all night. Cheap wind-up ones somebody had hidden in a couple of rooms. And this morning, some of the doorknobs had been taken off the outsides of bedroom doors so people couldn’t get out until Edgar rescued them. None of the tricks were particularly clever or even funny, just stupid nuisances.“
Mel sat back and tented his fingers. “Odd,“ he murmured.
“Mel—was it my imagination, or were there beer cans and cigarettes on the floor out there in the carriage house?“
“There were.“
“They weren’t supposed to be there.“
“No, probably
“I see,“ Jane said. “Let me think... I don’t know exactly when I last saw her. She was at dinner. She was making nasty cracks to people off and on all evening. But everybody was milling around. Going upstairs for things, talking in the library and the living room. Coming in and out of the kitchen. I was mostly in the kitchen and only saw the people who came through there.“
‘Try to pin down the last time you’re sure you saw her,“ Mel insisted, not sympathetic to Jane’s excuses.
“Okay. Dinner for sure. That was at seven. I came in the kitchen just after Lila had been trying to goad · Mimi Soong about something. That’s the last time I actually saw her.“
“When was that?“
“I have no idea. I wasn’t paying any attention to the time. Oh, wait. Pooky came in a little bit after that and Lila had been harassing her and Pooky said she wanted to go outside for some air and Edgar said he wasn’t going to lock up for an hour yet, so it must have been about nine-thirty because he locked up at ten-thirty, just after I got back.“
Mel had been staring at her intently. “Pooky?“ he said, pronouncing it very carefully.. “That’s somebody’s name?“
“A nickname, I think. A couple of them go by nicknames. Lila was actually Delilah, I think.“
“All right, give me a rundown on who’s attending this thing, who was in the house last night.“
“Me, for one.“
“What about Mrs. Nowack?“
“She had to go home to wait for a phone call from her husband. And of course, Edgar and Gordon were here. It’s their house.“
“The guests...?“ he prodded.
“All right, there was Lila. I can’t remember her last name, though. And Beth... uh, Vaughn, I think. She’s the one who’s a judge. Very square, sensible, low-heeled shoes, graying hair.“
VanDyne closed his eyes for a second, then nodded, as if he’d seen her in the kitchen and identified her.
“And Crispy. I’m sorry I’m rattled. I can’t remember her real name either. Her maiden name was Crisp. She’s the little stylish one with the spike heels, frosted hair, and incredible fingernails. Avalon Smith is the one with the sloppy dark red hair and potato sack clothing. She’s from Arkansas.“
“Who else?“
“Pooky is that poor woman with the horrible facelift that went wrong and the stiff blond hair that looks like a bad wig. She seems to be stunningly stupid, so keep that in mind when you talk to her.“
“I’ll do that,“ he said wryly. “Who’s the fat, sloppy one in the carpenter overalls?“
“Kathy Herrmannson. She sees herself as the social conscience of the group. Peace, love, and recycling.“
“Is that all?“
“I think s-no, I left out Mimi Soong. She’s Chinese and very elegant.“ · ·
Mel sat back for a moment, digesting this information. Finally he said, “Got any idea who did it?“
“Killed her? No. I think everybody would have liked to. There were jokes about drawing straws.“
“Who made the jokes?“
“I won’t answer that!“ Jane said. “They were just jokes, because she was so unpleasant. I don’t even remember who said what. Somebody was also playing practical jokes.“
“Oh? What kind? Who’d they play them on?“
“Somebody exchanged the contents of Avalon’s and Pooky’s purses.“
“So?“
“So, nothing. It was’ dumb and pointless. Then alarm clocks went off all night. Cheap wind-up ones somebody had hidden in a couple of rooms. And this morning, some of the doorknobs had been taken off the outsides of bedroom doors so people couldn’t get out until Edgar rescued them. None of the tricks were particularly clever or even funny, just stupid nuisances.“
Mel sat back and tented his fingers. “Odd,“ he murmured.
“Mel—was it my imagination, or were there beer cans and cigarettes on the floor out there in the carriage house?“
“There were.“
“They weren’t supposed to be there.“
“No, probably
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