obnoxious, why didn’t she fire him? Or explain it to the board of directors, if they’re the ones who do the firing?“
“Pride,“ Lisa answered. “That’s all. Regina could be awfully stiff-necked at times. She’d searched high and low for an assistant, interviewed a mob of candidates. Somehow Derek managed to behave in the interviews and she recommended him to the board. She just couldn’t bring herself to admit to them that she’d made a mistake. And it might have actually been hard to get rid of him. He’s superbly well qualified, academically. More so than either Regina or I when we came here.”
Jane nibbled at her salad, reflecting that it was interesting how Shelley’s bluntness often encouraged people to talk about things they’d never normally say, especially to strangers. Lisa Quigley hardly knew them, yet Shelley had her “talking shop“ in minutes. Of course, part of it was probably the fact that poor Lisa had unexpectedly lost a good friend as well as a coworker.
“Don’t you suppose the board knows what he’s like?“ Jane asked. “Babs McDonald strikes me as a sharp woman.”
Lisa kept poking at her salad as if she really wanted to eat but couldn’t quite bring herself to it. “Yes, Babs must realize. And I imagine Regina talked to Jumper about it. She depended a lot on his judgment.“
“Then it doesn’t sound like there’s too much danger of Derek being appointed director,“ Shelley said. “Who else is on the board?“
“Jumper, Babs, Georgia Snellen—do you know her?“
“We do,“ Shelley said curtly. “We saw her at the Festival. With Derek.”
Lisa looked for a minute like she was going to question Shelley, but went on instead. “Then there’s an accountant Jumper recommended a few years ago when Miss Snellen died and we suddenly had a large endowment. He’s in Alaska right now, visiting his brother who’s a park ranger or something.“
“Is that all?“ Jane asked.
“No, there’s a history professor from the local junior college, but he’s traveling in Europe this summer, doing research for a paper. Then there are a half-dozen honorary board members. They aren’t voting directors, but they’re community leaders whose support is important, and their opinions are pretty highly valued.“
“So right now, the appointment of a new director lies with Jumper, Babs, and Georgia.“
“Only Jumper and Georgia, theoretically. Babs is the president of the board and votes only in case of a tie.“
“Let me guess,“ Shelley said. “Jumper would probably vote against Derek’s appointment. Georgia would probably vote for it. And Babs would break the tie.”
Lisa thought for a moment. “Yes, but... I think parliamentary procedure allows the president to break a tie, but doesn’t require it. So Babs might refuse to cast the deciding vote and make everybody wait until the other two board members return or can be reached to cast a vote by mail. I imagine they’ll just appoint him acting director while they search for a new person entirely. Unless—”
The word hung in the air for a moment until Jane asked, “Unless what?“
“Unless Derek’s arrested for murdering Regina,“ Lisa said.
Eight
“Do you think he killed her?“ Shelley asked Lisa seemed to suddenly realize that she’d gone too far. “No, no. Not at all. I shouldn’t have even thought that, much less said it. I’m really sorry.”
Shelley brushed aside her objections. “It’s natural to wonder when something so terrible happens to someone you love. Do you believe the shooting was deliberate?“
“It had to be, didn’t it?“ Lisa said, her voice catching. “The police said the gun came from the museum. That had to be deliberate, stealing the gun. And it’s hard to imagine why anybody would take it on purpose, then shoot someone with it by accident.“
“Who could have taken it?”
Lisa shrugged helplessly. “Anybody, I guess. Well, anybody who knows where the keys to the
“Pride,“ Lisa answered. “That’s all. Regina could be awfully stiff-necked at times. She’d searched high and low for an assistant, interviewed a mob of candidates. Somehow Derek managed to behave in the interviews and she recommended him to the board. She just couldn’t bring herself to admit to them that she’d made a mistake. And it might have actually been hard to get rid of him. He’s superbly well qualified, academically. More so than either Regina or I when we came here.”
Jane nibbled at her salad, reflecting that it was interesting how Shelley’s bluntness often encouraged people to talk about things they’d never normally say, especially to strangers. Lisa Quigley hardly knew them, yet Shelley had her “talking shop“ in minutes. Of course, part of it was probably the fact that poor Lisa had unexpectedly lost a good friend as well as a coworker.
“Don’t you suppose the board knows what he’s like?“ Jane asked. “Babs McDonald strikes me as a sharp woman.”
Lisa kept poking at her salad as if she really wanted to eat but couldn’t quite bring herself to it. “Yes, Babs must realize. And I imagine Regina talked to Jumper about it. She depended a lot on his judgment.“
“Then it doesn’t sound like there’s too much danger of Derek being appointed director,“ Shelley said. “Who else is on the board?“
“Jumper, Babs, Georgia Snellen—do you know her?“
“We do,“ Shelley said curtly. “We saw her at the Festival. With Derek.”
Lisa looked for a minute like she was going to question Shelley, but went on instead. “Then there’s an accountant Jumper recommended a few years ago when Miss Snellen died and we suddenly had a large endowment. He’s in Alaska right now, visiting his brother who’s a park ranger or something.“
“Is that all?“ Jane asked.
“No, there’s a history professor from the local junior college, but he’s traveling in Europe this summer, doing research for a paper. Then there are a half-dozen honorary board members. They aren’t voting directors, but they’re community leaders whose support is important, and their opinions are pretty highly valued.“
“So right now, the appointment of a new director lies with Jumper, Babs, and Georgia.“
“Only Jumper and Georgia, theoretically. Babs is the president of the board and votes only in case of a tie.“
“Let me guess,“ Shelley said. “Jumper would probably vote against Derek’s appointment. Georgia would probably vote for it. And Babs would break the tie.”
Lisa thought for a moment. “Yes, but... I think parliamentary procedure allows the president to break a tie, but doesn’t require it. So Babs might refuse to cast the deciding vote and make everybody wait until the other two board members return or can be reached to cast a vote by mail. I imagine they’ll just appoint him acting director while they search for a new person entirely. Unless—”
The word hung in the air for a moment until Jane asked, “Unless what?“
“Unless Derek’s arrested for murdering Regina,“ Lisa said.
Eight
“Do you think he killed her?“ Shelley asked Lisa seemed to suddenly realize that she’d gone too far. “No, no. Not at all. I shouldn’t have even thought that, much less said it. I’m really sorry.”
Shelley brushed aside her objections. “It’s natural to wonder when something so terrible happens to someone you love. Do you believe the shooting was deliberate?“
“It had to be, didn’t it?“ Lisa said, her voice catching. “The police said the gun came from the museum. That had to be deliberate, stealing the gun. And it’s hard to imagine why anybody would take it on purpose, then shoot someone with it by accident.“
“Who could have taken it?”
Lisa shrugged helplessly. “Anybody, I guess. Well, anybody who knows where the keys to the
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