The House of Seven Mabels

little nasty trick?“
    “Not necessarily,“ Mel said. “If we hadn’t happened to be there to notice, it might have burned to the other end of the Dumpster and generated enough heat and flame to burn the whole place down.“
    “Am I to understand that you’re saying it was a good thing we dragged you over there?“ Jane asked.
    “I guess it was,“ Mel admitted.
    “Any hints of who did it?“
    “Nope. No container left behind. And the ground around the far end is so compacted it won’t take footprints. Janey, you’re not really going to take this job, are you?“
    “I hope not,“ Jane said. “Shelley’s excited about the shopping possibilities and I’d hate to let her down. But Bitsy seems to have found a good attorney who probably won’t approve the contract Shelley drew up. That’s about the only thing that . could get me off the hook. You want to come by for glass of wine?“
    “Thanks, but I’ve had a very long day. How about tomorrow?“
    “That sounds fine. Are you going to suggest to Bitsy that she hire some security people?“
    “I already called and reported the fire to her and suggested it,“ Mel said, his voice fading with weariness. “She says she doesn’t think she can afford it. So much has already gone wrong and it’s costing her much more than she planned, she says.“
    “She has a point. But I worry that the next little trick might actually harm or kill someone.“
    “So do I.“ His words ended in a yawn. “Janey, I’m falling into bed in three seconds.“
    “Sleep well,“ Jane said softly.
    She rang up Shelley to report what Mel had told her.
    “I’m glad we were there before it got out of hand,“ Shelley said.
    “Why are you talking funny?“ Jane asked.
    “I’m putting this new gunk I bought for wrinkles on my face and I don’t want to get it all over the phone,“ she explained.
    “Did you get me some, too?“
    “I did. I’ll give you your bottle tomorrow.“
    “Do you still want to go on with this job?“ Jane asked.
    “The wrinkle project? Of course.“
    “No, I mean the House of Seven Mabels.“ Jane realized she’d fallen into Shelley’s habit of calling it that.
    “I’ve been thinking about it,“ Shelley said thoughtfully. “I wish Bitsy would hop to it and show us the revised contract. If it’s too good to pass up, which I doubt, we’d make a lot of money to spend on ourselves.“
    Jane was silent for a moment. Shelley’s husband made tons of money and wasn’t the least bit stingy with it. So that wasn’t the real reason Shelley was sticking with this idiocy. Jane wondered if Shelley truly looked forward to the whole shopping thing that much or if she was doing it for her. Jane was comfortable with her income from the pharmacies but probably could be more financially secure with a real job and more money. Was that on Shelley’s mind as well?
    “I guess we’ll just have to see what happens next,“ Jane said. “You don’t suppose Bitsy would ever consider just giving this up and selling it back to the township to tear down?“
    “I wouldn’t think so,“ Shelley said. “Think of all the costs she’s already paid. I think she’ll hold out to the bitter end.“
    “Unless—“
    “Unless what?“
    “I can hardly bear to say it, but if she’s insured the project, she might be better off if it had burned down tonight.“
    The silence now was on Shelley’s end. Finally she said, “It’s possible. She’s changed a lot in the years we weren’t in touch with her. I bet she hasn’t bought so much as a single roll of crepe paper in five years. Who knows how desperate she is to close this bad experience? It’s worth thinking about. Has Mel ever mentioned the possibility?“
    “Not to me,“ Jane said. “But maybe I’ll suggest he give it some thought.“
    Jane could hardly get to sleep that night. She tried forcing herself to think about the book she was writing and what Priscilla would do next. But her thoughts kept coming back to Bitsy. She’d never seriously suspected Bitsy until a second before she spoke the words to Shelley. If Sandra’s death was an accident, which she didn’t think for a moment, then what was the point of all the nasty pranks afterward?
    Maybe it really did come back to Bitsy’s ex-husband. The single time she’d seen him, Jane had taken an instant and intense dislike to him. He’d been clearly gloating over Bitsy’s apparent failure to get on with the job. Was it possible he had nothing to