Silence Of The Hams

aspect of it earlier,“ Shelley said.
    “What money aspect?“
    “Just speculating whether there was one,“ Jane said. “Stonecipher seemed to have a great deal of money—or at least to spend a lot. So anything having to do with the law firm’s income might reflect on his wife, or Tony Belton, or Emma herself. You said you had people looking into that. Have they found anything?“
    “Not yet. And it’s a tricky legal situation.“
    “Why?“ Jane asked.
    “Because the firm belongs to Stonecipher and Belton. Stonecipher is dead, of natural causes. Belton isn’t officially a suspect. Weyrich was merely an employee who was killed in her own apartment outside office hours. There are all sorts of privacy considerations that have to be danced around very carefully. If Mrs. Stonecipher and Tony Belton voluntarily opened the books and tax records and such, it would be a different story.“
    “But they’re refusing?“ Shelley asked, her eyes going a bit slitty.
    “Not exactly refusing. Waffling. Delaying. Asking more questions than they’re answering. And to be honest, there’s nothing inherently suspicious about that. You and your husband wouldn’t fling information about your business into the lap of the police if one of your employees was murdered, would you?“
    “No, but we wouldn’t have anything to do with the murder, either,“ Shelley said indignantly.
    “And maybe they don’t,“ Mel said. “Besides, Stonecipher himself was only buried this morning. If his wife and partner have nothing to do with Emma’s death, why would they bother to stop in the middle of funeral preparations to help us?“
    “I hate it when you’re so fair and reasonable!“ Jane said.
    “Don’t kid yourself. You love it,“ he said with a grin. It was the first time he’d smiled since he arrived.
    “Was Tony at the deli opening?“ Shelley asked. “It seems so long ago already that I don’t remember.“
    “It doesn’t seem like he was until after Stonecipher died and Emma called him,“ Mel said. “Nobody mentioned seeing him there earlier and he said he was at the office.“
    “That should be easy to prove,“ Jane said.
    “Not entirely, but it doesn’t really matter. Weyrich and Stonecipher were gone and the secretary had a dental appointment. He was there by himself. But as I keep reminding you, nobody killed Stonecipher.“
    “But somebody pushed that rack over on him,“ Jane said. “Surely that’s significant.“
    “Probably, but I can’t figure out how,“ Mel said.
    “You’re positive it couldn’t have been an accident? Somebody bumping against it without even knowing he was there? Or a leg of it collapsing under its own weight?“
    “No way. Before we realized it was a natural death, it was set back up and tested. Even our heftiest officer, pretending to stumble into it, could only rock it slightly. And that was with the shelves empty. Loaded up, it would have been even heavier and more stable. No, somebody had to give it a hard, deliberate push.“
    “Could a woman have had the strength?“ Shelley asked.
    “Have you got someone in mind?“ Mel asked.
    “No, just wondering.“
    “Yes, a woman could have done it. It’s not so much a question of strength or weight as leverage. If you’d run into it accidentally, you’d hit it with your hip or shoulder and maybe rattle a few small items off the shelves. But it’s not nearly as hard to make it go over if you reach up and push with both hands.“
    “I guess the thing was thoroughly fingerprinted,“ Jane said.
    “Of course. The Bakers’ and Mrs. Axton’s prints were all over it, which they should have been. And there were some smudges in the area where someone might have pushed it.“
    “You don’t mean to suggest that somebody came to the deli opening expecting to find Robert Stonecipher dead, planned ahead to push the rack over on him, and brought gloves along for the purpose!“ Shelley exclaimed.
    “Say, that’s a theory I hadn’t considered,“ Mel said. “Sorry to be sarcastic. No, there were a good half dozen people handling the thing, trying to pull the rack off him just in case he might still be revived. They’re the ones who smudged it up.“
    “Mel, this whole thing—someone pushing that rack onto his body—has to have a connection to Emma’s death, doesn’t it?“ Jane asked.
    He shrugged. “Frankly, your guess is as good as mine. I don’t believe in coincidences, but I sure can’t come up with any