Silence Of The Hams

for great ‘bonding’ if I spent every night all summer helping him with homework. I don’t think she was ever a kid herself,“ he added sourly.
    “But why would somebody kill her?“ Jane asked as if pondering the question for the first time.
    He shrugged. “You’ve got me there.“ He didn’t seem particularly curious.
    “There’s a rumor going around that she was blackmailing people,“ Shelley said.
    “Blackmailing? Really?“ He seemed genuinely surprised. “What would she know about anybody? Oh—!“ He stopped speaking, his mouth open.
    “What?“ Jane asked.
    He was glaring out across the now empty field and talking to himself more than to them. “The police asked me about some files in Robert’s office—private files, they said. Oh, shit! You don’t think—”
    Suddenly he got a grip on himself. “Sorry. Excuse my language. God, this is awful!“ He started gathering up equipment. “Boys, finish up quickly now. It’s time to go,“ he barked.
    Jane decided, since he was unravelling, she’d push him just a little further. “I guess you and Rhonda will be getting married when this is all settled.“
    “What!“ It was a yelp.
    “Aren’t you? Oh, I’m sorry. But we heard that’s why she was divorcing her husband.“
    “She’s telling people that?“ he asked, dropping his notebook and pencil. “No, no. She wouldn’t. No. Mrs. Stonecipher and I are just friends. Really. Boys! Are you ready? Are your rides all here?”
    He scrabbled for his notebook and went tearing off to hustle them along.
    “Jeez, Jane!“ Shelley said, laughing. “What a reaction. You scared him half to death.“
    “I think it’s Rhonda who’s scaring him,“ Jane said.
    Shelley watched as Tony Belton started herding the boys toward the waiting cars. “I don’t think any of that was an act, do you? I think the blackmailing news was really a kidney punch.“
    “Mel’s going to have a fit if it gets back to him that I talked about it. But if Patsy Mallett’s figured it out, I imagine a lot of people have. Wonder why Tony didn’t?“
    “When’s he had time to figure anything out?“ Shelley said. “Rhonda’s been leading him around by the nose, making him fetch and carry and write eulogies and call relatives. He can’t be too stupid to have seen what the police were getting at if he’d had time to consider about it. From his viewpoint, it must be pretty devastating. Whatever his role is in what remains of the firm, think how bad it’ll look when it’s public knowledge that Stonecipher and Weyrich were keeping blackmail files.“
    “Wow! I hadn’t thought about that!“ Jane said.
    “But Tony is,“ Shelley said. “Poor guy. And then you hit him with that marrying Rhonda thing. That was a master stroke, Jane.“
    “Rhonda sure wouldn’t have been flattered at the way he reacted.”
    They headed toward the car, just as they heard the first roll of thunder.
    Shelley pointed at the sky. “Please note! My lawn watering worked.”

19

    It was pouring down rain by the time they got home. They’d dropped off the other boys in the car pool and their own two had hopped out. As she got out, Shelley said, “Being in a closed car with a bunch of sweaty twelve-year-old boys is not one of life’s dreams. In fact, we may have just had a glimpse of what hell really is like.”
    Jane went inside and contemplated the contents of the refrigerator. It was a rare treat to have a range of choices. Of course anything she made would seem ordinary after she’d eaten so much of Conrad’s marvelous cooking lately. The rain had been swept in by surprisingly cold air, and Jane thought a stew might be nice, but it was too late to start one. She rejected chili because it wasn’t cold enough outside for that and settled on hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, corn, and a salad. Good, plain food.
    Katie came into the kitchen and offered to help. Jane tried to hide her astonishment. She put the macaroni and cheese into the oven, started making the hamburger patties, and set Katie to work on the salad.
    “That’s not veal, is it?“ Katie asked suspiciously.
    “Veal? Of course not.“
    “Because I saw a program on television about veal and the way the poor little calves are kept in these tiny pens—“
    “Katie, please. I know. And I don’t want to hear about it. I can’t afford veal anyway so it will never be a political issue around here.“
    “But not buying it because you can’t afford it isn’t the same