Grime and Punishment

columns, that didn’t matter these days. She wondered briefly what sort of money he made, but then quickly reminded herself she wasn’t looking for someone to marry, just someone to date occasionally.
    Maybe.
    She hadn’t been on a date since she met Steve. Eighteen years ago! What did people do on dates these days? She was pretty sure the old kiss-on-the-third-date rule didn’t apply, but did everybody just hop into bed with everyone now? Oh, dear. That would put her at a real disadvantage. She’d be a Victorian in a time warp. Imagine letting someone you hadn’t known intimately for years see your stretch marks. Horrors! Besides, if she ever did go out with somebody like this, the fun of it would be in being seen with him. And then there were the kids to consider...
    “Mrs. Jeffry?”
    She had the feeling he’d spoken to her more than once. “Sorry, I was just thinking about—something.“
    “I know this must be very upsetting to you both,“ he said.
    Let him think it was murder on her mind, not sex. “Of course. But you must call me Jane. ‘Mrs. Jeffry’ makes me feel very old.“
    “Okay,“ he said with a charming smile, but he didn’t offer his first name. “And you’re Shelley, aren’t you?“
    “Yes,“ Shelley answered, but the look in her eyes said, “Mrs. Nowack to you, buddy.”
    Oh, dear. If Shelley had taken a dislike to him, Jane figured she’d better give up on him. It wouldn’t be a bit of fun giggling girlishly over a conquest that your friend didn’t approve of. “Now, what did you want to talk to me about?“ she asked him.
    “First, I wanted to fill Mrs. Nowack in on what we’ve learned.”
    So he had caught that expression and duly noted it. Good for him.
    “Mrs. Jeffry suggested that the regular cleaning woman probably was the intended target. That’s simply a theory, of course. She has no proof. But it is something to consider and discard—“
    “Discard!“ Jane exclaimed. “You know perfectly well there’s absolutely nothing questionable about Mrs. Thurgood’s past. Unless you’re lying to us and the newspapers about her. Are you?“
    “Why would we need to do that?“
    “And you know by now what mixed reviews Edith gets,“ she went on.
    “Mixed reviews?“
    “Some of our friends who are very good housekeepers think the world of her,“ Shelley explained, “and others who are... well, slobs, to be honest, didn’t think she did a very good job.“
    “And which are you, Mrs. Nowack?“
    “She’s only worked for me once and I didn’t think she did a very good job.“
    “And you?“ he asked Jane. “I understand she was at your house the day after the murder.“
    “I’m one of the slobs who didn’t think she did a terribly good job,“ Jane replied honestly. “I mean, she did the minimum well enough, but no more.“ He hadn’t admitted that her theory had any merit, but at least he was asking questions about Edith. Certainly that meant he was coming around to her way of thinking.
    “What conclusions do you draw from this discrepancy?“ he asked.
    “What an odd question,“ Shelley said. “Why should our conclusions matter? It’s yours that count. What do you think—or aren’t you allowed to say?”
    That put him in an obviously uncomfortable position. He stirred his coffee, cocking his head at her as if considering how much he ought to say. The silence grew longer, and Shelley’s original animosity seemed to be growing.
    Jane—wisely or not—took matters in her own hands. “I can’t speak for anybody, but I think she was blackmailing customers—or ex-customers. I haven’t figured out which.“
    “Why do you think that?“ His tone was pleasant. Almost amused. Or did Jane just imagine a patronizing tone?
    “Because the one time she did work for me, I believe she broke into a locked drawer in a room I asked her not to go into.”
    She was rewarded with a smile. A genuine, dimple-flashing smile. She nearly slipped off her chair.
    “Tell me more about it,“ he said.
    Jane did. She tried to go easy on the domestic aspects of glasses repair kits and files of report cards and envelopes with baby teeth the tooth fairy had brought. He listened in silence.
    “So nothing was missing, but you’re sure the contents were disturbed?“
    “Fairly sure. But there’s no proof.“
    “We could fingerprint the drawer, but you probably smudged any that might have been there.“
    “Sorry,“ Jane said automatically.
    “It’s all right. It