The House of Seven Mabels

isolated. And the basement door is around a corner that isn’t really obvious.“
    “How would anyone who didn’t belong in the house get Sandra to the basement door?“
    “He or she could have claimed they wanted to confide something to her privately and suggested the little hall to the basement. But only if they were familiar with the layout of the place,“ Shelley said.
    “And almost anyone could have been. It was never locked up. I’ll bet Bitsy’s ex-husband had been there in the dead of night with a flashlight.“
    “Or Joe Dudley, looking over the job he’d missed getting. In fact, it could be anyone who’d even seen the house plan for the first floor,“ Shelley added.
    “Or some private enemy of Sandra’s we don’t even know about,“ Jane added. “She probably had a lot of them. She was a tough-minded and not especially honest or tactful person.“
    The waitress brought Shelley’s vegetarian lasagna and Jane’s spaghetti and meatballs and said with a laugh, “You’re not talking about me, are you?“
    “We should watch what we say in public places about this,“ Shelley said, picking the olives out of her salad.

Eighteen

    On Monday morning Shelley called Jane early. Fortunately, Jane had been awake long enough to make some sense of what Shelley was rattling on about.
    “Bitsy says she thinks she’ll have the contract for us Wednesday or Thursday and she sent over the stuff we need to get into the Merchandise Mart. We can go look it over today. Are you free?“
    “I guess I can be. How do we dress?“
    “Like professional decorators. I’m afraid that might involve panty hose, but flat, comfortable shoes. We need to run by Bitsy’s first to pick up the paperwork. Could you be ready in fifteen minutes?“
    “You’re not driving, right?“
    “Of course not. We’ll take the El and then a cab.“
    Jane was only five minutes over Shelley’s limit. Her hair was a bit awry, but she had a brush, a mirror, and some spray in her purse and could fix
    it as they traveled. The slight delay allowed them to miss the worst of the rush hour, and while Jane attempted to get her hair in shape, Shelley asked, “Have you ever been to this place?“
    Jane looked up. “Never.“
    “Me neither. I’ve seen it many times, but not up close. Bitsy gave us a brochure in this envelope of stuff.“ She glanced at Jane’s hair and said, “You should stop now while you’re ahead, so to speak. It looks fine.“
    Shelley read for a few minutes while Jane touched up her lipstick and put all her makeup and hair paraphernalia away in the oversized purse she’d chosen for this trip.
    “What do you know?“ Shelley said. “It was built in 1930 by Marshall Field. I had no idea it was so old. In 1945, Joseph Kennedy, of all people, bought it from Field and his estate owned it until 1995, when it was sold to a property developer.“
    “That Joseph Kennedy?“
    “The very same. It’s so big it has its own zip code. I think the Empire State Building does, too,“ Shelley said, reading on. “Dear Lord! It’s twenty-seven stories high. Huge.“
    “Of course it’s huge,“ Jane said. “That’s why it’s so famous. Does our paperwork allow us to go anywhere we want? I thought you had to be the owner or somebody really high in a decorating firm to get in at all.“
    “Apparently we are the president and CEO of a company from Boston,“ Shelley said, reading the note Bitsy had included. “I’m the president and you’re the CEO.“
    “I don’t even know what a CEO is, you realize.“
    “Chief executive officer. That’s better than president. President is usually an honorary position and the board of directors can fire me.“ She thought for a moment and said, “Or maybe it’s the other way around. Anyway, can you do a Boston accent?“
    “We don’t have to have been born and raised in Boston to live in Boston, you know. I think it would be a bit over the top to try accents,“ Jane said with a laugh.
    Shelley’s eyes got slitty with cynicism. “You know why Bitsy got us this today? Before giving us the contract?“
    “To whet our appetites, right?“
    “Yes. She thinks we’ll be so overwhelmed by this place that we’ll accept anything to come back.“
    Jane sighed. “She’s probably right.“
    They were overwhelmed. They arrived at about ten-thirty and waited through a short line to be vetted and approved. They’d learned from the brochure that some of the building was open to the public