War and Peas

“But look at the passions we’re all subject to—ambition, for example. Ambition can be overwhelming. A man can appear to give up everything for his own advancement, but beneath it all, there’s always an element of sex. He wants to be rich, successful, revered—and he also wants other men to envy him and women to desire him. Derek’s ambition was backward. He thought he could get what he wanted by being sexy. Oh, well, so much for philosophy. You better go make your lunch reservations.”
    Jane heard papers rustling as Jumper gathered up his things and left. She sat staring blindly at the computer screen. Babs said good-bye to her, and Jane, preoccupied, mumbled a polite farewell.
    Sex, she thought. They’d dismissed sex. Oh, she and Shelley had speculated a bit about Whitney and Regina’s relationship and complained about Derek’s sleazeball attitudes, but they really hadn’t taken sex seriously as a motive. Maybe it was the museum atmosphere that made it seem unlikely.
    Her thoughts focused on one person and, like dominoes falling in a neat line, everything clicked. It was, as she had suspected, obvious how everything fitted.
    “I don’t want to leave Heidi and I can hardly sneak her out of the building,“ she told Shelley a few minutes later, when she found her friend critically studying a diorama of a hog-butchering event at the turn of the century—a gruesome favorite of visiting school groups. “So you’re going to have to go outside for lunch and call Mel from wherever you won’t be overheard. Once he picks up the cat and the ledger, we have to have a private talk with him.“
    “Jane, what’s wrong? You look really frazzled.”
    “Shelley, I know who did it and why. I’m certain of it. But we can’t talk here.“
    “Who?“ Shelley yelped.
    Jane whispered in Shelley’s ear.
    “No, that can’t be,“ Shelley said.
    “It can and is. And it was something you said about Whitney and a comment Babs made about sex that brought it all together. We have to get out of here to talk to Mel about it.”

    Mel accepted the stuffed cat and the ledger with much better grace than Jane had expected. Shelley was severely disappointed. As soon as he’d gone, Sharlene came into the boardroom. “Jane, your friend the detective just asked me to sign a paper releasing Heidi and a book to the police. I was too stunned to even ask why. What’s this about?”
    Jane shrugged and lied. “I have no idea. Sharlene, I must leave for a couple hours to take my son to the’ doctor for his college physical. I don’t know if I’ll be back today. And Shelley’s new crown is loose and she has to see the dentist. I didn’t want you to worry what had become of us,“ she finished, picking up her purse and delving into it for car keys.
    Mel was already waiting at Jane’s house when they arrived. “You were right,“ he said as Jane led them inside and started the coffeemaker. “The cat is full of peas.“
    “I wonder if they’ll sprout,“ Shelley said. “And who they belong to.“
    “As far as I’m concerned, they belong to the museum,“ Mel said. “That’s who released them to me. Jane, Shelley says you have a theory.“
    “It’s more than a theory. I’m certain I’m right.”
    She talked for a long time, ticking off items on her fingers as she went. Mel and Shelley made no comments until she was done, then asked a few questions and nodded at her answers. Mel paced the kitchen, frowning. “I’ve got to admit it does account for everything that’s happened. But where’s the proof? We can’t make an arrest on a good guess.“
    “Well...“ Jane said hesitantly, “I have an idea about that, too. But it would involve persuading at least one person to put on a good act and take some risks. I think the individual I have in mind would do it. The museum is going to be closed to the public after the funeral tomorrow, but open to the whole staff for an early supper. That would be the time. Here’s what I have in mind...”

Twenty-five

    Funerals are usually dismal. And Regina’s was more upsetting than most. She’d been young, attractive, bright, successful, and facing what would probably have been the best of what life had to offer when she was cut down. Added to that, someone among the mourners had caused her death, and everyone was aware of it. While people had been doing their jobs and having their meetings at the museum, the brutal fact of Regina’s death had been dampened slightly. But