The House of Seven Mabels

write a report.“
    “So you’re not married?“ Shelley asked. “You must have a lot of free time for hobbies, I guess.“
    “I do a little fly fishing when I get the chance,“ he admitted.
    A hard thing to comment on, Jane thought.
    But Shelley took up the conversation. “Do you make your own flies?“
    “Nope.“
    Shelley kept on. “Any other hobbies?“
    He scratched his head. “Can’t think of any.“
    “How do you like working with Evaline?“
    “It’s okay.“
    Shelley sighed, but continued the questioning. “Have you worked with her before?“
    “Nope.“
    “I bet you’d like to, though. Her special paste must make the work go much faster.“
    “Hadn’t given it any thought.“
    Jane had already finished her sandwich and munched her gummy Fritos before Shelley gave up.
    “It surely has been interesting talking to you,“ she said with apparent sincerity. “I guess we should leave you to your lunch.“
    “Okay.“
    “Oh,“ Shelley said, “one more thing. What did you think of Sandra?“
    “Not much,“ he said.
    “Could you elaborate?“
    “Not really.“

Twenty-six

    When Shelley and Jane were on their way home, Shelley said, “That’s the most aggressively boring person I’ve ever spoken to. No wonder he’s not married. There would be no way to live with him unless you were in a coma.“
    “You’re right. But maybe he just clams up around strangers. When someone comes to my door doing some nosy survey, I get very, very stupid and curt. Don’t remember when I moved here. Don’t remember my age.“
    “Why don’t you just shut the door?“ Shelley asked.
    “Because of my parents. When you’re raised in the diplomatic corps, you learn to be overly polite.“
    “It didn’t work on your sister.“
    “I know. But she was always cranky and difficult.“
    “Have you called her back yet?“
    “Nope,“ Jane said, imitating Carl Stringfield.
    “Okay,“ Shelley said.
    “Wasn’t the conversation with Thomasina interesting?“ Jane said, changing the subject.
    “Interesting, yes. But I can’t see that it helps us figure out what’s going on. I wish you hadn’t veered off on those pathetic little girls.“
    “I had to before you said they were pathetic.“ Jane was laughing. “I couldn’t help thinking of Fantasia when she said she and her husband taught the girls to dance. The pink elephants in tutus doing the ballet.“
    Shelley didn’t think it was funny at all. “Can you imagine Sandra making a pass at her?“
    “Hard to picture,“ Jane said. “But Thomasina nipped it in the bud, as you’d expect her to do. I’ll bet she was more vulgar at the time than she let on to us.“
    “Maybe someone didn’t tell Sandra off,“ Shelley said. “And that sort of unprofessional behavior on a job site might have truly upset another member of the crew.“
    “Have you anyone in mind?“
    “Only Bitsy. I wonder if that’s the real reason Bitsy fired her.“
    “You’re not going to ask Bitsy that, are you?“
    “I might.“
    “We’ve struck out on Thomasina. Her problem with Sandra was taken care of by telling her off and getting on with the job,“ Jane said. “And we got nothing from Carl. I still think our best suspects are Bitsy’s ex-husband and Joe Budley.“
    “Both out of range for chatting up,“ Shelley said.
    “Unfortunately,“ Jane agreed.
    Shelley thought for a while and said, “Maybe I should talk to Paul about this.“
    “What does he know about renovations, feminism, or divorce?“
    “Practically nothing. But he knows tons of people who know lots of other people. In fact, his attorney is a wealth of financial gossip. Paul never considers opening another restaurant without getting the whole history of the property he’s considering and everybody who has owned or leased it. The attorney has an assistant who researches the history of any lawsuits or code violations.“
    “Would Paul be willing to find out about Neville Burnside and Joe Budley for us?“
    “I’ll ask. He doesn’t like what he’s heard about this renovation project anyway and may enjoy digging up some interesting dirt.“
    “Have you heard anything from Bitsy about this elusive contract we were supposed to have seen by now?“
    “Not a peep. I called her early this morning to ask. She just fluttered around about how busy her lawyer was and how she couldn’t catch up with him and thought he might be out of town on some kind of lecture tour to a law school.“
    “I