The Class Menagerie

thigh in a very friendly manner. “Ladies, you know I’m not supposed to share information with you, but in light of the fact that you were both at the bed and breakfast that night, and because you have occasionally provided me with some interesting information that helped in solving a case—“
    “Helped!“ Jane exclaimed. “We solved—“
    He held up his hand again.
    “You could be a crossing guard if you get tired of detecting,“ Jane said. “Okay, I’ll shut up. Just tell us what you know.“
    “Understood that this is absolutely confidential?“ he asked.
    They both nodded.
    “For now and forever?“
    Jane laughed. “Cross our hearts and hope to die. Maybe there’s a Ewe Lamb Oath we could take, too. Shelley? Like, I promise I’ll never go ba-a-a-ack on my word—“
    “I thought you’d gotten over that,“ Shelley said coldly.
    “I thought I had, too. Must have just been a momentary relapse. So, we promise, Mel.“ He said, “As I’ve told Jane before, my staff can only easily find out about people if they’ve had a bout with the law, either an arrest or a lawsuit—“
    “And one of the Ewe Lambs has a record?“
    “One has a record. And one has a lawsuit. Your Pooky.“
    “Oh, we know about that,“ Shelley said. “She sued the man who ruined her face and got a big settlement.“
    “That’s not the suit I mean. It was a very nasty divorce proceeding that involved criminal charges. Deborah—“
    “You mean Pooky?“ Jane asked.
    “Yes,“ Mel replied. “I just can’t call a grown human being ‘Pooky.’ Deborah was married to a man who had adopted his previous wife’s son. When Deborah married him, she also adopted the child. Reading between the lines, it appears that when she lost her looks, her husband lost interest in her, but became very interested in her money from the settlement. They divorced and it went well enough until it came to custody of the child. Since the boy wasn’t genetically related to either of them, it seemed likely that Deborah would get custody. But at the last moment, her soon-to-be-ex-husband filed charges against her, claiming she’d sexually abused the boy.“
    “No!“ Jane said, horrified. “That’s impossible!“
    “The judge agreed. It seems to have been a pretty blatant last-ditch effort to get at her money through the boy. The husband was trying to claim alimony, child support, and psychological damages on behalf of the child.“
    “What a jerk!“ Shelley said. “Poor old Pooky! As if life hadn’t treated her badly enough.“
    “As I say, the judge agreed. But he decided that the boy should go with the adoptive father, with whom he’d lived before the marriage anyway. The husband didn’t get a penny. But he did get the child.“
    “Yes!“ Jane said suddenly. “I remember now! Lila said something about Pooky understanding the psychology of boys. I thought it was a dig about Pooky as she was in high school, implying that she slept around, but I’ll bet that’s what she meant. And the accusation still stands in the legal record,“ Jane said. “Available to anyone who knows how and where to look.“
    “Like Lila,“ Shelley said. “Poor Pooky....“

- 20 -

    Mike came downstairs, said hello to Shelley and Mel, got a carton of orange juice, and went back upstairs. When he was out of earshot, Shelley spoke to Mel again. “You mentioned somebody having a record?“
    He nodded. “Avalon—and Jane wasn’t so far off.“
    “Drug kings in the Ozarks?“
    “Not drug kings, but there was definitely a handoff of some kind that went on at their house. The drug squad had been following a dealer. Avalon and her husband claimed to have no knowledge of what was going on and there wasn’t any proof that they were directly involved except to allow the parties into their home. Still, the foster children were all taken out of their keeping for a year. They were charged, but the charges were later dropped for lack of evidence. They got the kids back eventually. Some kids. I don’t know if it was the same ones.“
    “So Lila could have had knowledge of this, through the legal records,“ Jane said.
    “But why would she go after Avalon?“ Shelley asked. “Supporting all those kids, she can’t have much money. And she runs a little craft store and lives off in the hills someplace....“
    “There are mansions in those hills these days,“ Mel said. “And if Lila believed that Avalon and her husband were still involved in drug