War and Peas (20 page)

“But what could they have known that nobody else did?" Shelley asked. "It's not as if they were chummy. In fact, they seemed to barely get along. Derek wanted Regina's job; Regina regretted having recommended him as assistant. If Regina knew something to someone's detriment, she'd be much more likely to tell Lisa, who's her friend, or Jumper, who's the museum's lawyer, or Whitney, who's her fiancé. In fact, she'd probably have confided in Babs or even Sharlene before she'd tell Derek an important secret. And Derek, if he revealed anything, might have revealed it to Georgia, although I doubt even that.”

Jane nodded. "Funny. The only person you didn't mention was Caspar.”

Shelley looked surprised. "That's true. But we're assuming that this secret, whatever it might have been, was told voluntarily. Caspar's a great one for snooping around and eavesdropping. That's how he knew about the Little Beauty pea. But to go back to your question about who's better off now. Nobody.”

Jane said, "I guess you're right. Sharlene's lost a good boss. Lisa's lost a best friend. Jumper and Babs have lost their director and will have to spend a lot of time and effort finding a replacement.”

Shelley added, "Georgia's lost a lover. Whitney's lost a fiancée. And Caspar had already lost a fortune he thought was half his, but the murders won't change that."

“And Regina and Derek lost everything," Jane said quietly.

Jane
and Shelley arrived at the museum
early
th next morning, determined to make up for lost time. They found a stranger in the boardroom, a gaunt, pale individual who looked alarmingly like the late Andy Warhol. He was seated at the center table with a lot of file folders spread around him.

“Can I help you ladies?" he asked, glaring at them as if they'd broken in and were planning to steal his files.

Shelley introduced herself and Jane and explained that they were the volunteers entering information in the database preparatory to the move to the new facilities.

As she spoke, his face relaxed. "I'm sorry if I sounded rude. It's just that I had an ugly moment with some gawkers outside when I arrived. There was an article about Derek in this morning's paper, and this couple, whom I assume to be badly disguised reporters, made no bones about the fact that they wanted to get in to pry."

“And you are—?" Jane asked.

He shook her hand. "I'm Eli Bascomb." He said it as if they should recognize his name, then added, "The accountant."

“I thought you were in Alaska or some place," Jane said.

“I was. Due back next week anyway, and my brother's kids were driving me crazy. So I used my frequent-flyer miles and came back for the board meeting today."

“There's a board meeting today?" Jane said, thinking irritably that she'd lose even more time at the computer.

He glanced at his watch. "In about an hour.”

Sharlene bustled into the room with a stack of papers. "You're early, Jane. Hi, Shelley. Eli, have you got your papers ready for the board packet?"

“Yes, right here.”

Sharlene fired up the copier and busied herself making copies and collating them into neat piles. Bascomb rummaged around in his files. Shelley stashed her purse and collected her blank forms and clipboard. Somewhere in the hall outside, a radio was turned on and the sounds of "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" filled the air.

Jane switched on the computer and while it was booting up, she set her purse next to Heidi on the shelf. As she did so, she inadvertently unbalanced the stuffed cat, which tumbled off the shelf. She made a quick grab and caught it as it fell. "Poor Heidi," she said quietly. She'd caught it upside down and turned it uprightgently, hoping the fragile old thing hadn't suffered any damage.

Then she stood and stared into space for a long minute, her mind racing.

Shelley was just leaving the room. Jane spun around and said, "Shelley, wait up. I need to have a quick word with you.”

Holding the cat carefully, she all but pushed Shelley out the door.

“What is it?" Shelley asked.

“Shh. Come with me," Jane said.

They left the staff area, went through the central hallway, and found a quiet place in a corner of a deserted display room. Keeping her voice down, Jane said, "Look at the bottom of the cat."

“I'd just as soon not," Shelley replied.

“No, the wooden thingy it's mounted on," Jane said, turning Heidi over.

On the bottom of the plaque like board on which the cat was mounted, there was a square of a different wood set in level with the base. A yellowed paper was stuck down to the insert and was tattered around the edges. There were a few letters of faded writing on it.

“What?" Shelley asked.

“It's a little door," Jane said. "An opening. And listen.”

She shook the cat gently. There was a faint, muffled rattling sound.

“Ick. Its stuffing has lumped up," Shelley said. Then her eyes widened and she said, "Or—"

“Or it's hollow and stuffed with something that rattles," Jane said. "Can you read what's on the paper?”

Shelley leaned over and looked closely. "A pea formula. Just like on the bins in the basement.”

They stared at each other for a minute. Jane said, "The cat's name is Heidi."

“Heidi," Shelley said. "Or 'hidey'?"

“Exactly. And somebody told us Auguste Snellen was a secretive man about his pea crosses."

“Jane, do you think the Little Beauty peas are inside this cat?"

“I don't know, but it could be. Jot down the numbers on the paper and we'll check them against that ledger."

“When did Auguste die?" Shelley asked.

“Babs told us, but I don't remember exactly what she said. Sometime in the nineteen-thirties."

“Possibly just after receiving the letter from Arkansas about the way Little Beauty helped the other crops grow," Shelley whispered. "Maybe he saw the potential, intended to pursue it, and hid the peas in the stuffed cat. But maybe he died before he could start a new batch of them for experimentation. Shake it again.”

Jane did so. "It sounds like it could be peas.”

They heard footsteps. Shelley hurriedly placed her forms on the upside-down base of the stuffed cat as if it were a temporary desk surface and said in a normal tone of voice, "Okay, I'll do that room next. I've already got a few itemslisted here, you see, but I'll wait to give them to you until I have the whole room inventoried.”

The lady who ran the gift shop poked her head around the display board they were lurking behind. "You gave me a start. I didn't know anyone was in here. You haven't seen a pair of sunglasses, have you? I put them down somewhere yesterday and can't remember where.”

Jane smiled. "I haven't noticed them. I'll keep an eye out, though."

“Thanks, dear," the gift-shop lady said, wandering away.

“What do we do now?" Shelley whispered.

“I think we better just put the cat back on the shelf in the boardroom for now," Jane said. "I'm the only one who has any interest in it. We'll sneak it out later and see what's really inside. Meanwhile, I'll check out this number in the ledger."

“If it's the same number as the Little Beauty, I guess we ought to give it to the police to safeguard until the murders are solved. Then the museum and Caspar can sort out who the peas actually belong to." Shelley stopped speaking and smiled wickedly. "Please, Jane, oh, please,
please
let me be there when you hand a stuffed cat over to Mel. It'll be the highlight of my life.”

Jane set the cat back upright and started giggling. "I don't know if our relationship can withstand my turning in a stuffed cat for custody.”

Jane went back to the boardroom, trying to carry the cat as if she were mildly perplexed to find it in her possession. She put it back on the shelf, gave it a friendly pat, and pretended to fix her attention on the computer while actually looking around to see where she'd put the old pea ledger. She spotted it under a stack of inventory forms, but didn't risk looking into it.

Sharlene had finished her collating and was setting out tidy piles of paperwork around the board table. Eli Bascomb had put most of his file folders back in his briefcase and was writing on a notepad. Jane would have loved to tell Sharlene what she and Shelley had discovered, but Eli was an unknown factor and she knew better than to say anything until the cat was safely hidden away. Besides, she and Shelley might be jumping to a very silly conclusion and could discover that Heidi was only hiding some clumped-up cotton batting or sawdust. Better that no one else know.

Lisa came into the room just then. Speaking to Sharlene, she said, "I've gotten word from the police that we can bury Regina tomorrow. I'm running her things over to the funeral home now. If you'd call the paper for me to see that a notice is placed, and let her aunt and uncle know, we can both be done in time for the board meeting.”

Eli Bascomb followed Lisa out, telling her how shocked he'd been at the news of Regina's death. Sharlene finished arranging the paperwork and left as well.

Jane focused on the computer, forcing herself to tune out the activities around her. The gift-shop lady came in, made copies of something to add to the packets, and left. Babs followed afew minutes later and repeated the process and departed, muttering to herself about something she'd left in the car.

Caspar, having apparently avoided arrest so far, came in next. Jane had the urge to grab Heidi and the ledger and clutch them to her, but managed to pretend not even to notice him. He sat down at the table and started rummaging through a board packet. Jane resisted the urge to run and tattle on him, only because it would have left the cat and the book unprotected. He flapped pages around and snorted to himself.

Babs returned shortly and said, "What are you doing here, Caspar?"

“Board meetings are open to the public, aren't they?"

“Don't tell me you are grouping yourself with 'the public'?" she said sarcastically.

“Somebody's got to keep an eye on you people," he said too loudly. "Sneaking around here killing each other off and trying to shove the blame on me."

“Not very successfully, it appears," she drawled.

Jumper entered the boardroom before Casper could come up with a reply. Jumper was clothed today in normal clothing, which still managed to look like a costume on him — a dark, three-piece suit, a navy-and-red striped tie, and a white-on-white shirt. His long hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

“Hey, it's a suit!" Caspar said nastily.

“Just for you, Caspar," Jumper said wearily. "Come to snoop on the board meeting?" Not expecting an answer, Jumper sat down and started glancing through the pile of papers Sharlene had prepared.

“What a snotty kid you are," Caspar said. "How you ever got a law degree is a mystery to me. Come to think of it, I might just take a little time and investigate your credentials."

“Oh, give it a rest, Caspar," Jumper said disgustedly.

Babs appeared with Eli Bascomb in tow. "Oh, Jumper, I'm glad you're here," she said. "Eli and I were just discussing a change in the federal withholding and I wanted to consult with you on it. We have a new option on how to compute. .”

They went into a huddle, ignoring Caspar entirely.

Lisa returned a few minutes later, chatting in low tones with Whitney Abbot. Jane caught a few words about music selections and assumed they were finalizing the plans for Regina's funeral. Both the architect and the publicity director appeared to be entirely unaware of or uninterested in Casper's presence. Jane glanced at him. He was looking around, trying to catch someone's eye, hoping for a fight, it seemed.

Shelley came into the room with a wad of paperwork and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you having a meeting?"

“We're about to," Babs said, "but please stay. In fact, I think it would be nice if you and Jane were present.”

Shelley glanced at Jane questioningly, and Jane shrugged her shoulders in ignorance.

An elderly man Jane had never seen before joined the group a minute later, and Babs, Jumper, Lisa, and Whitney greeted him warmly. It seemed, from what they said, that he was one of the honorary members of the board.

Shelley had sidled over to where Jane was and pulled up a chair. "What's going on?" she hissed.

“Board meeting. That's all I know," Jane whispered back.

The room was getting crowded, so Jane turned off the computer and she and Shelley moved their chairs into the corner to make it easier for the others to move around the table. Babs rose and looked out into the hall. "Sharlene? We're about to start. Is Georgia attending the meeting?"

“Yes, she's in the bathroom," Sharlene said, rushing in with her steno pad.

Georgia trailed along a few minutes later, looking downright haggard. There wasn't a chair left at the table and she stood and glared at her brother for a second.

“I'm entitled to be here!" he said defensively. "You're not allowed to sit in my chair, though. Move it," she said harshly.

Caspar looked like he was going to argue the point, but he changed his mind and got up to lounge against the copying machine, sulking.

Babs glanced at her watch and stood up at the head of the table. "The meeting of the board of the Snellen Museum is called to order," she said crisply.

“Move to dispense with the reading of the minutes," Jumper said automatically.

“Second," Eli Bascomb said.

“Objections?" Babs asked. "Passed. Our first order of business is my report on hiring a new director. I'm very glad to say I believe I've found a perfect candidate."

“Already?" Georgia said.

Jane and Shelley exchanged surprised looks.

Babs nodded. "The candidate is within one credit of obtaining the necessary degree, so I'm recommending appointment as acting director, with the permanent appointment to be made upon completion of the remaining credit. The candidate has a comprehensive grasp of the workings of this museum and staff and a superlative employment record. Sharlene, would you be interested in the job?”