Free Mulch Ado About Nothing by Jill Churchill Page B

private interests or their business needs. Ursula Appledorn is a frequent visitor. She apparently doesn't have a very good computer at home, or doesn't want to pay for a provider. She comes to the library to use ours and prints a lot of stuff out. Overall, it's more expensive for her to do it that way."
    “Conspiracy stuff?" Jane asked. "Has she told you about the Denver airport?"
    “Endlessly," Miss Winstead said. "It's her favorite one. The actual books she takes out on loan are usually about herbal cures, gardening, or dogs, and for fiction, she reads romances."
    “Romances? That doesn't seem in character, somehow.”
    Miss Winstead shrugged. "Few people are really as one-sided as you think on slight acquaintance, I guess."
    “What does she live on?" Shelley asked. "Does she have a job?"
    “I have no idea," Miss Winstead said.
    “Maybe she still baby-sits the elderly," Jane contributed. "And she said something about one of her old ladies leaving her a legacy. Maybe it was a really big one."
    “What about Arnold Waring?" Shelley moved down the list.
    “I don't know much about him. His wife was a dear, helpless little woman who came to the library at least once a week. She read practically every mystery story that came in. She especially liked anything to do with firefighters."
    “why?" "Her husband had been one before he retired.
    They had no children, she said, and really appeared to live for each other. He'd drive her every week, would carry her books she was returning, and stand by the door to wait, and carry the new ones out. As if she were a delicate flower who couldn't carry them herself. It really was nice. Such a surly-looking, hulking man, taking such good care of his wife."
    “When did she die? He mentioned her in class in the past tense," Jane said.
    Miss Winstead thought for a while. "Maybe five years ago. Possibly four. I imagine he was devastated."
    “And Stefan Eckert?" Jane asked.
    “I know very little about him, although we've worked together over the years. He's an assistant to the man who runs the community relations at the junior college, and always full of ideas to pull the public into taking an interest and supporting the school. He often consults with me when he bags a big name, so the librarycan get the author's books in before the activity.
    Jane said, "He told us he was the head of community relations."
    “Wishful thinking, perhaps," Miss Winstead said.
    “You sound a bit like you're damning with faint praise," Shelley said.
    “I must be more transparent than I thought," Miss Winstead said with a chagrined smile. "Ste-fan's charming, but can be a bit aggressive about soliciting funds and grants. But he gets speakers for next to nothing that other, richer schools can't get to speak. I shouldn't say this, but I don't think Stefan is above a couple little white lies if it suits his aim. Ms. Jackson was one of the speakers he got, and I've tried to get her to speak at the library many times and she always said she didn't feel comfortable giving talks. But he got around her somehow. It's a pity she was injured. I was looking forward to hearing about her job."
    “Do you know anything about Julie Jackson's life?" Jane asked.
    “I see notices in the paper about high-society fund-raising parties, and she is always there on the arm of some rich, eligible man. Always a different one. I suppose it's because it's the 'done thing' in those circles to have an escort."
    “Do you know anything about the investigation of the attack on her?" Shelley asked.
    “Not a thing. It seems to me an example of a random act of violence.”
    Jane and Shelley exchanged looks. When Jane nodded, Shelley said, "I'm not sure how much you know about the attack. There are aspects of it that weren't in the papers. The person who attacked her came through the house, where there were plenty of things to steal, but took nothing, and went straight to the basement she had set up as an office.”
    Miss Winstead thought this