Free Grime and Punishment: A Jane Jeffry Mystery by Jill Churchill Page B

why would some random thief come in my house, ignore the silver, the home computer, the stereo, the other jewelry — all that stuff they usually steal — and go straight to my underwear drawer to steal a string of highly questionable pearls?"
    “Of course it's odd. But what do you think it means?"
    “I have no idea.”
    Further discussion was cut short by the clanging of the final bell. Within seconds they were buffeted by kids escaping the building. "There's Paul, parked up the street. I've got to go."
    “But we haven't settled anything." Jane raised her voice over the sounds of chaos around her.
    “No, but I'll figure out what to do. Don't worry," Shelley said. "See you later.”
    Jane went back to the relative safety of her car to wait for Katie to emerge from school. She lit a cigarette and sat staring sightlessly at the crowd of kids swarming past. The whole situation was very strange. Why
would
someone ignore all the other obviously valuable things in Shelley's home and go straight to the possibly fake string of pearls? She had said Paul's family all lived somewhere else, but suppose one of them had slipped into town and taken the necklace? Still, even if that were true, how would anybody know where she kept them? Shelley certainly hadn't sat around after the funeral and said to Paul's family that she thought she'd just take the pearls home and put them in with her slips and bras.
    The house hadn't shown any overt signs of ransacking. Even a subtle search would have been apparent to Shelley, considering the kind of meticulous housekeeper she was. No, it would seem that somebody knew exactly where to look. And nobody but Shelley herself knew where they were. Even Paul thought they were safely in the bank.
    A nasty little thought was flitting around the back of her mind. If Shelley was the only one who knew where they were, could she be faking a theft? Jane shook her head as if to physically dispel the notion. Why in the world would Shelley do that, and what kind of friend would suspect her?
    “What were you doing in the school?" Katie asked, flinging the door open and startling Jane.
    “Wasting time. Inadvertently volunteering to work at the carnival," Jane replied sourly.
    “Oh, Mother! Do you have to come?”
    No,
Jane thought,
with any luck I'll die before then.
Of course, that woman in charge would probably just prop her up behind the cotton candy booth and expect her to do her job anyway.
     

Eight
     
    Shelley
phoned as
Jane
was running in the door. She explained that Paul didn't want her to be frightened by staying in the house until the killer was found. They were going to a hotel ten miles away.
    “I don't like hotels, and I don't mind in the least staying in the house as long as he's home, so I'll talk him out of this tomorrow, but.. dinner out and a night alone will be nice," she added in a husky whisper. "I've got a beautiful nightgown that Suzie talked me into buying months ago—"
    “Have you told him?"
    “No."
    “Or the police?"
    “Detective VanDyne called, but they don't seem to know anything. Either they're blundering around in the dark or they're just not telling us about their leads. Gotta go! Paul's rattling the car keys. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. Talk to you then.”
    As Jane was speaking, Edith was putting on her sweater and changing from the carpet slippers she wore to work in to more attractive shoes. The light blue van was already parked at the curb. Jane hadn't had a chance to really look over the house, but planned to do so before the kids could start messing it up again. She handed Edith a five-dollar bill. The Happy Helper people would bill her for Edith's services by mail, but it was customary to give an extra tip.
    Before she could escape to a quiet place to think over all Shelley had said, Katie reminded her that they hadn't gotten their allowances the day before, due to the upheaval next door.
    “But I have to have my money today. Jenny and I are going shopping