Silence Of The Hams

to her thighs when she turns thirty if she thinks straight hair is bad.”
    They were both on their second cup of coffee and happily rummaging through a furniture catalog when Mel arrived.
    “This isn’t the visit where you say you can’t help chaperone and I have to rip out your throat, is it?“ Jane greeted him.
    “No—not quite. This is an official visit.“
    “Not the parking ticket!“ Shelley exclaimed. “The officer said—”
    He held up both hands. “No, I just need some information.”
    Jane supplied him with coffee and put a plate of sugar cookies on the coffee table in the living room. “Don’t even think about it, Willard,“ she said sternly to the big yellow dog who shambled out of the dining room when he heard the plate being set down. Willard sprawled on the floor at Mel’s feet and gazed up at him soulfully.
    “You two were at the opening of the deli at the end of the next block this afternoon, weren’t you?”
    Mel was a few years younger than Jane, which always made her slightly uncomfortable, but today he looked tired and annoyed and not quite so young.
    “We were. Unfortunately,“ Shelley answered.
    “I wonder if you could each make a list of everybody you remember seeing there and approximate times. And then I’ll need to know which of those people had any connection with Robert Stonecipher that you know of.“
    “Mel, what’s this about?“ Jane asked. “It was just an accident and—“
    “Jane, somebody else said they saw you in the storeroom after it happened.”
    She nodded. “I was, for a second.“
    “And you saw that rack?“
    “The one with the hams that fell over? Yes, of course.“
    “Did you notice the base of it? The legs?“
    “I didn’t pay any attention,“ Jane replied.
    Mel sighed. “Well, if you had, you’d have realized right away that it couldn’t possibly fall over by itself. It had to be pushed. Hard.“
    “Somebody killed Stonecipher?“ Jane exclaimed.
    “It sure looks like it,“ Mel said grimly.

4

    “Mike!“ Jane exclaimed. “He can’t go back there!“
    “What?“ Mel asked, disconcerted by the sudden shift in the conversation.
    “My son cannot work where somebody is killing people!“
    “Hold it, Jane. We have no idea yet what really happened. Someone may have pushed it over without knowing he was behind it or—“
    “It doesn’t matter.“
    “Look, Jane, I think you should just cool down a little before you make a snap decision,“ he said warily.
    “Mel’s right,“ Shelley said. “Besides everything else, Stonecipher was a jerk who probably had more enemies than we could guess. Even if someone did kill him, that doesn’t mean they’d harm anybody else.“
    “Jane—“ Mel said hesitantly, “you know I’d never butt in on your mothering and I’m not now, but I was once an eighteen-year-old boy myself.“ He paused, waiting to see how this was going over. When Jane merely stared back at him, he went on, “Boys that age are awfully sensitive about having their mothers tell them what to do. And Mike’s a sensible, responsible kid, which would make it even harder for him to take being treated like a child.”
    Shelley backed him up. “Jane, I’d feel just like you do, but Mel has a point. Mike thinks he’s the one who takes care of you. To be told you’ve decided he has to quit his job would be really tough on him.“
    “Not as tough as getting killed,“ Jane said.
    “Jane, think about it,“ Shelley said. “If some madman killed Stonecipher at random, he’s unlikely to keep coming back to the deli. And Mike’s hardly ever there anyway except to pick up orders to deliver. It’s not as if he’s the night watchman or anything. And if Stonecipher was killed by somebody who meant to go after him specifically, Mike’s in no danger in that case either.”
    Jane shook her head. “My brain knows you’re both right, but my heart doesn’t agree.”
    Mel, having given his one piece of advice, waited patiently. Shelley said, “If you want my advice—and even if you don’t—I think you ought to tell Mike how you feel, but leave the decision up to him. That’s how you always operate with him.“
    “But it’s too late for him to get another job for the summer, and you know kids his age have no sense of their own mortality,“ Jane objected.
    “But he cares a lot for your welfare, Janey,“ Mel said. “And as the investigating officer in this matter, I have to say I don’t believe he’s in any