The Class Menagerie

ingredients. By the time the breakfast was ready, Shelley had gotten a grip on herself. “Ladies, we need to get breakfast over and begin our meeting,“ she was saying as she shooed them toward the dining room. “We really have a lot of business to work out if we’re going to contribute to the fund-raising effort.“
    Jane took in the tray of fruit and said, “Who’s missing?“
    They all glanced around at each other. “Where’s Lila?“ Beth asked. “She’s not locked in her room, too, is she?“
    Shelley went up to see and came down perplexed. “She’s not there. It doesn’t look like her bed’s been slept in.“
    “Or maybe she made it herself,“ Jane said, hoping some of the others would follow this example and save her some maid duties. -_:
    “Maybe she went out running,“ Crispy said. “Didn’t she mention—jogging?“ She shuddered as she said the word.
    “Well, if she did, she better be back by the time we start the meeting,“ Shelley said firmly. Crispy and Avalon looked at her with surprise. Just as Jane had never seen Shelley out of control, these women must not have seen her in control.
    But Lila hadn’t turned up by nine-thirty when the meeting was supposed to start. Shelley went back upstairs when it was proposed that Lila might have actually left and gone home. But her belongings were still there. They all seemed to feel they ought to be concerned about Lila, but were relieved to have her out of their hair.
    Shelley marched them all to the library while Jane collected her cleaning supplies and went upstairs. The first room she tackled was Avalon’s, which was surprisingly neat considering Avalon’s untidy appearance. When she got to the bathroom, she realized she’d forgotten to bring along toilet paper and the roll in Avalon’s bathroom needed replacing.
    Jane went back downstairs to the supply closet, discovered there was only one roll left there and headed out to the carriage house where the huge carton was stored. She pulled open the small door set into the big garage door and stepped into the gloom. Edgar had turned on a light when they were here before. Where was the switch? She fumbled along the adjacent wall for a moment before she found it.
    When the light came on, she noticed two things right away that shouldn’t have been there. Against the far wall there was a six-pack of beer with two cans opened and cigarettes scattered next to it. But her attention to this was short-lived when she noticed the pile of curtains and draperies that were being turned into cleaning rags.
    There was a woman’s hand protruding from them.
    Her heart pounding in her throat, Jane stood rooted for a second, unable to breathe or even think. Then, leaden-footed, she went forward and gingerly removed some of the rags.
    It was, as she expected, Lila. And she was very dead.

- 7 -

    Jane hadn’t anticipated seeing Mel VanDyne until the following Tuesday, but his was the face she saw when she removed the cold compress from her eyes. She was sitting in Edgar’s kitchen, where she had very nearly fainted after telling him what was in the carriage house. Edgar had pushed her into a chair, shoved her head between her knees, and gone to look for himself, reappearing seconds later to dial the police. Then, while they waited the few minutes it took the law to arrive, he’d made her an ice pack and insisted that she slouch back in the chair and apply it to her eyes. “My mother believed in this as a cure for any shock,“ he said, his own voice trembling a little. “Hold still!“
    In quick succession, three sirens wailed to a stop in the drive, half a dozen car doors slammed. Edgar went out the kitchen door to show the police to the scene. Shelley’s control over her meeting had apparently evaporated, because within moments, the kitchen was full of women asking what was happening. Jane stayed hidden behind her cold compress, thinking like mad.
    Finally Shelley said to her, “Jane, what’s this about?“
    “Lila’s out there. Dead,“ Jane mumbled.
    A shocked silence.
    The kitchen door opened and Mel said, “Jane... Mrs. Jeffry?“
    Uh-oh , Jane thought. He’s calling me Mrs. Jeffry. Not a good sign . She removed the compress. “Yes?“
    “I understand you found the body?“
    “I’m afraid so.“
    “Is there someplace we can speak privately?“
    “Use the library,“ Shelley said.
    “Ah, Mrs. Nowack, you’re here too,“ Mel said blandly.
    “As a matter of fact, I am, Detective