War and Peas (11 page)

Sharlene blushed. "I don't feel gorgeous. I'm exhausted."

“You were here late last night?"

“Until eleven. I got Regina's office straightened up. The policewoman with me helped a lot."

“What was missing?" Shelley asked.

“Nothing that I could tell. The police dusted for fingerprints, which made more of a mess to clean up."

“Did they say whose prints they found?" Jane asked.

“Oh, everyone's. Regina's office was always open to the staff. She didn't consider it all that private and everybody was in and out all the time."

“That board meeting yesterday — what happened?" Shelley asked.

“They appointed Derek acting director. Babs made it clear that it wasn't a permanent appointment," Sharlene answered. "He wasn't at all happy about that. I guess Babs is going to work on finding someone from outside to interview. I wouldn't be surprised if Derek isn't already sending out résumés. I hope he is. I don't know what I'd do if he stayed."

“You couldn't work with him?" Jane asked.

“Oh, I could, I guess. Rather than starve. But I wouldn't like it. He's so — so creepy. I always feel like he can see my underwear. Or is wishing he could. And he's so egotistical. Most men when they make a pass and get rejected are either embarrassed or angry. But Derek can't
be
rejected. He just doesn't see it. He keeps trying again and again. And I'm in no position to be as rude to him as I'd like."

“You could file a sexual harassment suit," Shelley suggested.

“I'm not so sure I could," Sharlene said, and surprised them by adding, "I've looked up the laws and there are too many shades of gray. He's not stupid, you know. Everything could have an innocent interpretation. Like yesterday, when I got upset and he put his arm around me. I knew it was just a grope. He could say he was being sympathetic and supportive. And he does things like suggesting that business conversations be conducted over lunch. I'd call it a date. He could come back and say it was lunchtime anyway and he was only trying to avoid wasting valuable time. Oh, well. Like I say, I don't think he'll be around for long. I can stick it out.”

They'd been heading for the boardroom as they talked. After they had entered and Sharlene turned on the overhead lights, Shelley said, "I think I left that clipboard with the forms in the basement. I'll be right back with it."

“No, turn on the computer and fix me a cup of coffee," Jane said. "I'll get your stuff.”

When she returned a minute later, she didn't have the clipboard. Sharlene was gone and Shelley was waiting patiently. "Jane, what's wrong?”

Jane spoke quietly. "Come back to the basement with me.”

She led the way down the stairs and stood aside for Shelley to enter. "Uh-oh," Shelley said, surveying what she could see of the room. "Another search?”

Cartons were open; boxes were overturned; old files were strewn around the floor.

“Apparently somebody thought whatever they were looking for in Regina's office might be down here instead," Jane said.

Shelley sighed. "Mel isn't going to like this.”

He didn't.

“Could any of you tell if something was missing?" he asked when he was shown into the basement half an hour later.

Sharlene shook her head. "I haven't been down here much lately. I can't understand it. There's nothing of value here. These are rejects and old records and things people have donated that we don't dare get rid of but have no use for.”

Shelley had been picking her way delicately through some of the mess. "I don't think anyone was after an object. The boxes and cartons are all labeled, and the only ones that have been opened are marked 'Books' or 'Files.' And not recent files, either."

“How odd," Jane said. "If somebody's looking for something old, why would they start in Regina's office? And if they're looking for something recent, why bother to come down here? It doesn't make sense."

“Two different people looking for two different things?" Sharlene suggested.

“Maybe, but it seems unlikely," Jane said. "The only common thread seems to be Regina's death. Whoever is doing this presumably couldn't do it before she died. Or maybe they had no need to.”

Mel wasn't interested in this speculation. He turned to Sharlene. "Would there be any way to know what's missing, if anything is?"

“I don't think so," Sharlene said. "Unless Jane and Shelley filled out inventory forms on some of the things down here."

“No, we didn't," Jane said.

“You two were down here yesterday?" Mel asked.

“Yes. We came upstairs when Sharlene discovered the mess in Regina's office and we didn’t come back until this morning," Shelley said.

“So anyone in the building yesterday afternoon could have come down here," Mel said.

Jane thought back to the gathering in the boardroom while they had waited for him. Georgia had taken Caspar out of the room. Babs had left with Lisa. Jumper had removed Sharlene. Derek had gone to his office and Shelley had driven Whitney away. "Yes, anyone could have zipped off for a minute," she admitted.

“This took more than a minute," Mel said.

“Not necessarily. Not for the person who knew what they were looking for," Shelley said.

“Or if there were two of them," Jane said, thinking about the pairs of people who'd left the room. "And maybe it wasn't in the afternoon. Could someone have hidden down here and done this overnight?" she asked Sharlene.

“Maybe. We have a janitor who comes in three nights a week, but last night wasn't one of them."

“But, Mel, if someone had stayed here overnight, wouldn't they still be in the building?" Jane asked.

Sharlene cleared her throat and looked upset. "They could have left. What with police coming and going during the evening, I locked the door, but turned off the alarm system so it wouldn't be set off by accident. Nobody could come in, but anyone could have gotten out. I'm awfully sorry.”

Mel sighed. "I'll call in a report.”

Jane rescued Shelley's clipboard and went back to the boardroom. Shelley returned to taking inventory of a second-floor room. Jane greeted Heidi, the stuffed cat, and as she settled in at the computer, Derek Delano came into the room with a file folder. "Oh, I didn't know anyone was here," he said. "Are you going to be long?"

“All day," Jane answered. "Do you need me to leave?"

“No, no! I just have a few papers to copy. No need to disturb you at all," he said.

He sounded so guilty and nervous that Jane smiled to herself and guessed that he was using the museum's copier to run up duplicates of his résumé. Sharlene had underestimated his intelligence — or his cheapness. A bright person would have sprung for the money at a copy shop.

“Can I help you?" she asked with sweet maliciousness.

“No! I'm fine. Just go on with your work," he said, sounding downright panicked.

Jane went on with her data entry as the copier hummed and papers rustled. He must be blanketing the world with job applications, she thought. He finally finished and stacked his copies in a box. Just as he was slipping the lid on, the door opened and Jumper Cable appeared. Today he had on a Stetson hat, lizard-skin cowboy boots, Western-cut tan trousers, and a plaid shirt with pearl buttons.

“Secret stuff going on?" he said cheerfully. "Why was the door closed?"

“Was it?" Derek said, checking the copier to make sure he hadn't left a page in it.

“Is Detective VanDyne around?" Jumper asked. "I told him I'd meet him here."

“I think he's talking to Sharlene," Derek said. Out of the corner of her eye Jane noticed that he'd put his box of résumés on a chair and put a box of blank copy paper on top of it. "Is this about the basement?" he asked Jumper, joining him at the board table.

“Yup," Jumper said.

“It's up to the board and the police, of course, but I wouldn't waste much of anybody's time on trying to figure it out," Derek said. "Seems to me that somebody's just plain nosy. But I think, considering everything, we ought to get some locks changed and make better use of the security system."

“I agree with you," Jumper said, sounding as if he were surprised to find himself in accord with Derek.

“Listen, Cable — about this acting-director position — any idea how long before the board makes a permanent selection?”

Jane kept on working at the computer. Apparently a woman at a keyboard was much like a woman driving kids in a car. She ceased to exist as a hearing human entity.

“I don't know," Jumper answered, seemingly as unaware of Jane's presence as Derek was. "As you must know, we keep a file of applicants for positions here and will probably be asking them to update their material if they're interested. I've suggested putting an ad in trade publications, but Babs disagrees."

“You do know I'm interested in the job, don't you?" Derek's tone was unattractively wheedling.

“Of course," Jumper said pleasantly. "It's always best to promote from within, if possible."

“I've — well, I glanced through that applicant file this morning. As acting director, I think I'm entitled to." He waited a moment to see if Jumper would dispute this, but Jumper said nothing. "I don't think you'll find anyone in there with my credentials," he continued.

“Possibly not," Jumper said. Jane wondered if Derek could also hear the wary tone creeping into Jumper's voice. "Your academic background is impeccable. Downright impressive, in fact."

“Thanks," Derek said.

There was a long silence and then Jumper spoke again, slowly, choosing his words with great care. "There are other considerations as well."

“Like what?"

“Oh, public-relations aspects of the job—”

Derek sounded relieved. "Right. You saw that television spot I did two weeks ago about the Pea Festival, didn't you? If I do say so myself, I think I did a good presentation on that."

“It was excellent," Jumper said. "But the anchorwoman who interviewed you is a friend of mine. She called me later and said you'd tried to hit on her off camera."

“Hit on her? That's nuts! Why do women think that any good-looking man who's pleasant to them is trying to score? Jeez! Well, let me tell you, your anchorwoman friend is a frigid bitch. It's like Regina, getting all uptight. Of course, she was a lesbo."

"What?"

“Well, it figures, doesn't it? A woman that age who's never been married?"

“I doubt that her fiancé would agree with that," Jumper said coldly. "Derek, this attitude of yours — that everything is sexual and that any woman who doesn't fall for you is frigid or a lesbian or imagining what your motives are — counts against you. Badly. All your academic credits fade away when the board has to consider possible suits against you and the museum."

“What are you saying — cowboy?" he said sarcastically. "That I'm not going to be appointed director?"

“It's not up to me. But you shouldn't count on my vote. And as attorney for the museum, I'll warn the others of the liability."

“
I'm
a liability? Look here, you've got a board with a lawyer who likes to dress funny, an old broad who bumped off her husband — oh, you didn't think I knew about that, did you? — and Georgia out there doing fund-raising and keeping half the money for herself. And you call
me
a liability?”

Jane nearly slid off her chair, but forced herself to pretend she wasn't listening. She fancied that Heidi the cat looked more interested than she did.

Derek got up and grabbed his box of résumés so violently that the lid flew off and papers fluttered everywhere. He snatched them up roughly, jammed them back in the box, and stomped out of the room.

"He said what?" Shelley said, whispering but managing to sound hysterical at the same time.

Jane had found Shelley hunched over a glass case, trying to transcribe the information on the labels of various kitchen tools onto her data forms. There was a school group going through the room. "Come out in the hall," Jane whispered back. When they were alone, Jane said, "Jumper and Derek were having an argument. It started out with Derek trying to find out if he had any chance at being appointed director. Jumper wasn't committing to anything, but said something about Derek's 'way' with women, and Derek made some crack about how some television friend of Jumper's was frigid and Regina must have been a lesbian if they failed to respond to his overtures, and that really pissed Jumper off and he came right out and said he'd oppose Derek's appointment and tell the board he'd get them all sued if he got the job — or something like that. And then Derek said how could Jumper call him a liability when the board had an old lady who killed her husband. And a crack about Georgia raising funds and keeping part of the money."

“Whew!" Shelley said, glancing around furtively to make sure nobody could overhear them. "How did Jumper react?"

“I don't know. I didn't dare look at him. I think they'd both forgotten that I was even in the room. I could see only Derek in my peripheral vision. He got up and dropped his résumés—"

“Résumés?"

“That's what he was doing in there, I think. Copying résumés."

“Georgia playing tricks with the money doesn't surprise me a bit," Shelley said. "But what on earth did he mean about Babs? He was talking about her, wasn't he? There isn't another older woman on the board, I don't think. Didn't Jumper react to that at all? Ask Derek what he meant or anything?"

“I imagine he looked surprised. Derek said, 'You didn't think I knew about that, did you?' But it was all over too fast for Jumper to say anything. Derek blew all this steam and flounced off."

“Didn't Jumper notice you then?"

“I don't know. I just kept typing random nonsense and a minute later, I heard Jumper walk out of the room. I deleted the computer mess I'd made, then came looking for you."