“Somebody killed Stonecipher?" Jane exclaimed.

“It sure looks like it," Mel said grimly.

4

"Mike!" Jane exclaimed. "He can't go back there!"

“What?" Mel asked, disconcerted by the sudden shift in the conversation.

“My son cannot work where somebody is killing people!"

“Hold it, Jane. We have no idea yet what really happened. Someone may have pushed it over without knowing he was behind it or—"

“It doesn't matter."

“Look, Jane, I think you should just cool down a little before you make a snap decision," he said warily.

“Mel's right," Shelley said. "Besides everything else, Stonecipher was a jerk who probably had more enemies than we could guess. Even if someone did kill him, that doesn't mean they'd harm anybody else."

“Jane—" Mel said hesitantly, "you know I'd never butt in on your mothering and I'm not now, but I was once an eighteen-year-old boy myself." He paused, waiting to see how this was going over. When Jane merely stared back at him, he went on, "Boys that age are awfully sensitive about having their mothers tell them what to do. And Mike's a sensible, responsible kid, which would make it even harder for him to take being treated like a child.”

Shelley backed him up. "Jane, I'd feel just like you do, but Mel has a point. Mike thinks he's the one who takes care of you. To be told you've decided he has to quit his job would be really tough on him."

“Not as tough as getting killed," Jane said.

“Jane, think about it," Shelley said. "If some madman killed Stonecipher at random, he's unlikely to keep coming back to the deli. And Mike's hardly ever there anyway except to pick up orders to deliver. It's not as if he's the night watchman or anything. And if Stonecipher was killed by somebody who meant to go after him specifically, Mike's in no danger in that case either.”