From Here to Paternity

leave them as I came here, but forgot.“
    “Okay, but you won’t stay and talk, will you? I’m starving.“
    “Promise.“
    Jane’s sweater/jacket had a hood that looked warmer than it turned out to be. She was stylish, but freezing by the time they got to Doris’s cabin. She had tried to ignore the cold by talking a blue streak about Doris, the Holnagrad Society, and Doris’s claim that Bill Smith was the rightful Tsar. When they arrived, Jane tapped lightly on the door and it swung open under her touch. Doris must have been so disconcerted when she returned that she hadn’t pushed it closed properly.
    “Mrs. Schmidtheiser?“ Jane called through the open doorway. “Yoo-hoo! Are you home? Mrs. Schmidtheiser?“
    There was no answer.
    “I’ll just put it inside,“ Jane said. But the moment she stepped inside she knew something was wrong. “Mel,“ she said softly.
    The alarm in her voice brought him instantly to her side.
    The cabin was arranged just like Jane’s, with an entry hallway that opened onto the living room straight ahead and the kitchen to the left and the bedroom hallway to the right. In front of them, papers were strewn all over the floor.
    “Stay here,“ Mel said sharply.
    He went into the living room and Jane, in spite of his orders, followed him.
    Doris Schmidtheiser was crumpled on the floor, next to the coffee table. Mel was kneeling beside her, feeling for a pulse. “Janey, you better wait outside.“
    “I’ll freeze out there,“ Jane said. “Is she dead?“
    “I’m afraid so.“
    “Heart attack? She took heart pills.“
    “Probably. I’ll call the police, then alert the hotel people about what’s happening.“
    He went to the phone, but pulled out a handkerchief to put in his hand before he picked up the receiver. He dialed 911, spoke briefly, then dialed the hotel operator. “Who’s the owner, Jane?“ he asked while waiting for the hotel operator to pick up.
    “Bill Smith, but I think you probably want to ask for Tenny Garner.“
    He did, then identified himself and told Tenny that a guest had died and he’d already summoned help.
    “Why the handkerchief?“ Jane asked after he’d hung up. “If you think it was a heart attack.“
    “No reason especially. Just habit.“
    Jane looked at him.
    “Well, that and the mess. Whenever you have a death in the midst of this kind of disorder, you have to wonder.“
    “You think it’s murder?“
    “No!“ he said emphatically. “I don’t think any such thing, and don’t let your imagination go rocketing off, either. She’s an old lady who had a bad afternoon. She had heart troubles and was under a lot of stress at a high altitude. That’s it.“
    “Okay, okay. I was just asking.“
    Still, she took a quick look around, careful not to touch anything. There was a coffee cup on the low table, nearly empty. Doris was still wearing her outdoor boots, though her coat was nowhere to be seen. Presumably she’d hung it up when she came in. There was a faint odor of overcooked, almost burned coffee in the air, and Jane discovered that the coffee-maker in the kitchen was still on and the coffee had cooked down to a half inch of dregs. She turned it off, fearing nobody else would think of it. Doris’s briefcase was upside down on the floor next to her, the papers and folders spread in a messy circle. Jane crept down the hall to the bedroom—this cabin had only one—and it, too, was littered with papers. Several notebooks gaped open, their pages awry as if the contents had been skimmed in a frenzy.
    Jane heard a siren and went back to open the front door. A moment later, an ambulance pulled up and medical attendants leaped out and ran in with their equipment. A few seconds behind them was a patrol car. A good ol’ boy of a sheriff hoisted himself out of the driver’s side, and a rabbity deputy hopped out the other door. The sheriff ignored Jane as he rolled past. “Excuse me, miss,“ the deputy said.
    “Well, are you the fella who called this in?“ the sheriff boomed.
    “Mel VanDyne. Yes, I placed the call.“
    “You a relative?“
    “No, I’ve never seen this woman before. But my friend had some papers to return to her. When we got here, the door was open and we found the body.“
    “Well, now, ain’t that convenient.“
    Uh-oh , Jane thought.
    Mel came into the front hallway. He didn’t look pleasant.
    “Jane,“ he said with deadly formality, “I think maybe you better go down to the lodge. I’ll join