Grime and Punishment

round?“
    “Sure. I’ll eat a barfy omelet while you’re showering.”
    Katie was right about starting the day like a balloon. By the time Jane heard Shelley in her driveway, she felt like she could have just tucked in her arms and legs and rolled across to the Nowacks’.
    “What are we shopping for?“ she asked, hoisting herself into Shelley’s minivan.
    “Shopping center to return some bath towels.”
    As soon as they got out of the subdivision and onto a main road, Jane said, “Shelley, I’ve been thinking about that woman getting killed...“
    “What about it?“ Shelley said, frowning and braking as a little green sports car cut viciously in front of her. “Silly jerk. Doesn’t he know if I hit him in this thing I’m all right, but he’s catmeat?“
    “Two things. First, I realized something when I went to the Little League game. I sat by Suzie Williams—“
    “Learn any new words?“ Shelley said, grinning.
    “Not this time. Listen. A bunch of the kids ran into each other and one of them came limping off the field and Suzie thought it was her little boy. She got clear down the bleachers before she realized it was another kid. She came back and said something about all of them looking alike in their uniforms.”
    She paused, letting the thought soak in to Shelley’s traffic-fuddled brain. She was easing the minivan into a parking place near the main entrance to the shopping center. They didn’t talk until they were inside. “Damn! I thought Marshall Fields was at this end. We’ve got to walk clear down the mall,“ Shelley said.
    They set out briskly, passing an endless number of shoe stores. “Have you ever noticed that nobody’s ever actually buying shoes in these places?“ Jane mused. Eyes on the shop window they were passing, she collided with a solid bank of elderly men taking their daily health-walk. Shelley stood aside while Jane extricated herself from canes and walkers and apologized. She had no sooner gotten free when, from the other direction, four women outfitted in stylish jogging suits and wearing fanatically determined expressions nearly ran her down.
    “When did the mall become a running track?“ Jane complained. “What happened to leisurely strolling?”
    Shelley made no comment. She’d apparently been brooding over what Jane had been saying in the car. “So you figure whoever killed Ramona meant to kill Edith and mistook her?“ she asked, resuming her quick pace. “But Jane, they don’t look that much alike.”
    Jane tried to answer without panting. “But you vacuum with your back to the doorway.”
    No explanation was necessary, Shelley accepted this and went on. “But why? So what if it was supposed to be Edith instead of Ramona? That doesn’t get you any closer to knowing who or why. Have you told Detective VanDyne about this idea?”
    They’d come to an escalator, and Jane was able to get her breath for a moment. “Oh, I have. I’ll tell you how charming he was about vacuuming backwards later. As a matter of fact, the idea had occurred to him as well.“
    “And did he think it was meant to be Edith?”
    “He didn’t share his thoughts,“ Jane replied archly.
    Shelley arched an eyebrow, but didn’t ask for an elaboration. They reached the other end of the mall, and Jane occupied herself studying all the pretty linens on sale while Shelley managed her towel return. Jane had been witness to some of Shelley’s transactions before, and it wasn’t always a pretty sight. What Shelley wanted, she got, no matter how many broken bodies were left behind in the process.
    The thought made her uneasy. It wasn’t thatshe suspected her friend of having anything to do with the murder of the cleaning lady. Shelley could no more kill someone than she could. But still... her mind kept involuntarily coming back to her, and she kept shaking off her suspicions as fast as they formed.
    “There. All taken care of,“ Shelley announced. “Where next?“ Jane asked as they returned at breakneck pace to the van.
    “The feed store, for birdseed.“
    “Feed store? You’ve got to be kidding? Are there such things around here?“ Someone had parked so close to the minivan that Jane could hardly open the door and squeeze in.
    “Not on every corner, but I found one. It’s not far.“
    “Why don’t you just buy birdseed at the grocery store?“
    “That junk? That’s for people who don’t know birds. I have a special combination I mix myself. Are you in? Good. Now,