Silence Of The Hams

work. I’ll call you later,“ Mel said. “For God’s sake, don’t talk to anybody about this. No more snooping! Understand?”
    When he’d gone, Jane suddenly felt exhausted. Her frenzied, largely sleepless night suddenly caught up with her.
    “What’s wrong?“ Shelley asked as Jane sat down at the kitchen table.
    “I was up half the night. I fried my brain thinking about this.“
    “Then go back to bed. There’s nothing more we can—or should—do.“
    “Don’t you want to know—“
    “Sure, but I think I see the general outline. I’ll come back and blast you out at noon if I haven’t heard from you sooner.”
    Jane dragged herself upstairs and fell, still dressed, into bed. She woke up again in what seemed like a couple minutes, but was actually nearly four hours. She was sitting on the patio drinking a cola and smoking a cigarette when Shelley found her. “I take it you haven’t heard from Mel yet?“ Shelley asked.
    “Not a peep.“
    “I have a dental appointment in a few minutes, then I have to go to the library. Say about two-thirty? Want to go along?”
    Neither of them mentioned what was uppermost in her mind.
    “That sounds fine,“ Jane said.
    Shelley tooted her horn on the dot of half past two. In the meantime, Jane had cleaned her basement office and found two more overdue library books.
    “They’ll send the library police for you if you keep doing that,“ Shelley said with a strained smile. “Mike’s not working today, is he?“
    “No. Let me turn these in and pay my fines, then we’ll talk.”
    As they entered the library, a familiar figure was standing at the pay phone by the door. “Oh, Jane! Shelley!“ Grace Axton said, hanging up. “I was trying to call you two. Conrad’s got another artichoke thing he wants you to test.“ She indicated the books she was holding under one arm. “Then he’s moving into raspberries since they’re the currently trendy fruit. What’s wrong?“
    “Nothing,“ Jane and Shelley said in unison, then laughed nervously.
    “Are you just returning those books?“ Grace asked.
    “And picking up a couple I had on reserve,“ Shelley said.
    “Okay, I’ll wait with you,“ Grace said. “The raspberries were Sarah’s idea,“ she said happily as Shelley and Jane conducted their business. “She’s starting to take more of an interest in the food. I’m starting to wonder if maybe Conrad was right that she was overly tired. Since she’s been back from the hospital, I really think there’s been a change. Not much. Very subtle. But I don’t think I’m imagining it.”
    Grace continued to chat as they went back out to their cars. Once under way, Jane said to Shelley, “I don’t like this. If Mel sees my car at the deli, he’ll think we’re snooping or gossiping.“
    “We’ll be in and out so fast there won’t be a chance,“ Shelley said. “I’ve just remembered an appointment that will make us have to run through.“
    “I’m parking in back, just in case,“ Jane said. They followed Grace’s car through the alley behind the deli and as they were pulling in to the small parking area, another car came right behind them. Patsy Mallett got out, already talking. “I’ve been trailing you and honking for three blocks!“ she said. “You two must really be preoccupied. I’ve got some of those food order records I promised to copy for you, Shelley. I was going to drop them in your mailbox, but I saw you pull out of the library and thought—hi, Grace. Were you in front of them? What a parade!“
    “We’re testing another recipe,“ Grace said. “Come join us.“
    “Worse and worse,“ Shelley whispered to Jane.
    Conrad greeted them effusively. “Perfect timing! I just took them out of the oven. Wait until you see these, ladies.”
    He escorted them through the kitchen, past the deli cases, and to the seating area, empty now that the lunch hour was well past. Sarah trailed along behind with plates and silverware. Grace brought up the rear with a tray of glasses and a pitcher of iced tea. When they were all settled, Conrad came out with a casserole dish and removed the lid with a flourish. Inside were a half dozen large artichokes, hollowed out and filled with a rich stuffing. They were topped with browned Parmesan cheese with herbs mixed in. The smell was heavenly.
    With great formality he placed one on each plate. He was just sitting down himself when the front door opened. Mel VanDyne and two uniformed officers came in.