Mulch ado about nothing

Waring was a nice old gentleman with a terrible obsession for keeping his dead wife’s memory alive.
    And she had no idea what made Stefan Eckert’s mind work. He seemed so charming and pleasant on the surface, but came nearest guilt by having sent the flower arrangement to Julie with a message he claimed was innocent, but sounded guilty.
    And who could guess what Geneva Jackson and her husband might be up to? They seemed the most likely to be the connection between Julie Jackson and Stewart Eastman. At least Julie, Geneva, and Stewart were in businesses that appeared to overlap. Could that be it? A business deal gone badly wrong? With Geneva the only one still standing and healthy? But strangely, Geneva seemed the most normal of the entire group of gardeners. Though she never spoke, that Jane could remember, of her own gardening tastes and was the only one not to attempt to force Stefan and Arnie to adopt her own tastes.
    The kitchen door opened and Mel called out, as he had so often, “Why don’t you ever lock your doors? I know you’re here somewhere because Shelley’s van’s in her driveway. “ As he came into the living room, he exclaimed, “Dear God, that’s such a domestic scene!“
    “I’m only sewing buttonholes.“
    “Why did you never tell me? I could use some help with buttons,“ he said, sitting down next to her so her thimble disappeared between the sofa cushions.
    “Are you through for the day? Want to reconsider going to a movie?“ Jane asking, nipping off a loose thread and picking up the next shirt.
    “No, just wanting to share some information with your overly fertile imagination. I checked out the class members as well as I could. Stefan Eckert was once arrested for striking a woman student.“
    “No!”
    Mel shrugged. “Never came to court. The girl finally admitted that her boyfriend was the one who blacked her eye and she blamed Stefan because he was her faculty adviser and was disappointed at her choice of classes. And Miss Winstead wasn’t quite telling you the truth about her hatred of Dr. Eastman. She took him to court when her cousin died. Apparently the cousin had inherited a lot of money from an aunt and didn’t have a will, so the money went to Eastman. Miss Winstead dragged out a lawsuit for so long that he finally just gave her the money to get her out of his hair. He must have been making a lot of his own money by then.“
    “So much for an inheritance from an aunt,“ Jane said.
    “Was that what she told you? Cagey old gal. “
    “What about Ursula?“
    “A few unproven drug charges and two arrests after she was sent back from Vietnam for not quite following the rules as closely as the army thought she should. The report is very vague. She had an excellent reputation there as a nurse. So I don’t know why she was sent home in spite of her objections.“
    “What about Charles Jones?“
    “No blots on his record whatsoever except one late income tax payment.“
    “I thought he’d be the sort to send in his return early,“ Jane said, trying to fit a button into a buttonhole she’d made too small.
    “And the old boy Arnie had lots of commendations from his job with the fire department. Credited for saving lots of lives. Said to work up a real adrenaline rush at fires and take chances others wouldn’t.“
    “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,“ Jane said. “Say, Ursula wasn’t taking care of Arnie’s wife while she was dying, was she?“
    “I have no idea.”
    Jane said, “Oh, well. It doesn’t compute anyway. Nothing happened to either of them. Nor did either make any bad comments about the other. Never mind.”
    Mel got up and stretched. “Well, back to the salt mines. You and Shelley apply your overactive imaginations to this information for a while. It’ll keep you out of the pool halls.“
    “Probably not,“ Jane said. “I might learn to shoot pool with my crutch. Is that legal?“
    “Probably not, but give it a shot. See you later. Lock your door. “ He gave her a slightly more serious kiss than the last time before he left.
    Jane was done with the shirts and decided to do what little cleaning she could in the kitchen before the girls started their dinner project. She scared the cats out of the house, trying to wield a floor mop and one crutch. Willard moved into the far end of the living room and woofed pitifully.
    She managed to knock over Arnie’s flowers, but without breaking the little vase she’d put them in. She also made a