Silence Of The Hams

to come in—but now I think it’s just that they like having their food delivered. Every order has a menu in it, so it’s easy to know what we’ve got without having to see it. In fact, one of the orders Mike’s delivering now is for a party. The folks just said to send them a nice casual dinner for six. Didn’t even care what it was.“
    “That’s a real credit to you,“ Jane said.
    “I hope so. Hope it keeps on. We thought business would be slower to pick up.”
    The door opened and Patsy Mallett came in. Conrad hopped up to run behind the counter and take her order. “Jane, you caught me being a lazy slob,“ Patsy said, joining her at the little table.
    “And you caught me, too,“ Jane said.
    Patsy glanced down and rolled Conrad’s shoe over with her toe. “What’s this?“
    “Conrad’s got a blister.“ Jane lowered her voice to a near whisper. “I’ll wait for your order to be ready. I need to talk to you.“
    “I thought you might,“ Patsy said, speaking very quietly, too. “I was just at the school making sure everything was taken down and properly stored. I heard about Emma from somebody who lives near her.”
    They waited, chatting about the school party. “Did your son enjoy the party?“ Patsy asked.
    “He loved it. And he came home with a portable CD player for his truck, which thrilled him,“ Jane said.
    When their orders were both ready, Jane followed Patsy to her car, a station wagon even more beat-up and rust-ridden than Jane’s. “Did you talk to your detective friend yet?”
    - Patsy asked.
    “I haven’t had a chance. I didn’t tell him right away because—I suppose you’ve heard by now—Stonecipher wasn’t killed by that rack falling on him. He died of a heart attack.“
    “I heard that at the school, too, but wasn’t sure it was true. But Emma—?“
    “Emma was murdered,“ Jane said. “She’d asked me to come over and Mel knows that, so I’m sure I’ll hear from him as soon as he’s free.“
    “This puts a different spin on Stonecipher’s death, doesn’t it?“ Patsy said, frowning.
    “I’m sure it must. The two deaths must be connected somehow.“
    “I didn’t want to be a busybody and gossip about Emma, as you know. But with her dead, I’ll be happy to tell the police anything that might help them. I didn’t like her, but I didn’t want her killed. And whoever did it has to be stopped.“
    “Patsy, who else was around when you heard the fight between her and Stonecipher?“ “Nobody that I know of. It was late in the day and there were no clients waiting to see anyone. In fact, the waiting room was empty. I don’t know if the receptionist had already gone home or was just in the copying machine room.“
    “Could she have overheard from there?”
    “Probably.“
    “And was Tony Belton around?”
    Patsy thought for a minute. “I didn’t see him. And his office door was closed. He’d probably already left, but I wouldn’t swear to it.“
    “Could he have heard them if he were still there?“
    “I imagine so. His office and Robert’s share a wall. Why?“
    “I don’t know. I’m just wondering who else might have heard the dispute. Someone else who had an interest. Who is the receptionist?“
    “A little mousy girl named Sandy. She looks about twelve, but she’s got three kids, so she must not be.“
    “Might she have been interested in Stonecipher? I mean romantically interested?“
    “Oh, no. I think she thought of him as a well-preserved grandpa type. You know how young women sometimes are with older men—talk to them sort of loud like they might be getting deaf. And even though the office was very first-name basis, she always called him Mr. Stonecipher.“
    “What about Tony Belton? Somebody mentioned that it was unusual for somebody without kids of their own to be coaching a soccer team, but is he married?“
    “I presume he was and he does have kids. At least one. There’s a picture of a cute little boy on his desk. I asked about it, and he said it was his son who lived with his mother in Seattle or Portland or someplace in the Northwest.“
    “ ‘His,’ meaning the boy’s mother, or ‘his,’ meaning Tony’s mother?“
    “The boy’s mother. Why?“
    “I don’t know. Just wondered. Say, Patsy, have you ever been at the office when Rhonda was there?”
    Patsy gave Jane a sharp look and said warily, “As a matter of fact, I have. Why do you ask?“
    “Well, it’s just that when Shelley and I went over to