"Back to Bitsy again. Do you really think she didn't do it herself?"

"I've never liked Bitsy much, but I just can't imagine her killing someone. Can you?"

"I really don't know her well enough to guess,"

Shelley admitted. "I guess we're going to have to let Mel figure it out. After all, it is his job."

"But we could help him out a little," Jane said. "The workers think of us as just other people who had to put up with both Bitsy and Sandra. They'd be more gossipy with us than with Mel."

Thirteen

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The police department had closed the renova- tion house the next day to complete their physical search of the premises, which left Jane and Shelley free to catch up with real life. They each made heavy hits at the grocery store, paid and mailed bills, and did cleaning, and in the early afternoon, they joined back up to go to the library and check out a lot of expensive decorating books. Jane didn't hear from Mel and didn't try to call him when he was in such a bad mood.

They spent the afternoon poring over the books, gleaning many good ideas, especially for bathrooms and kitchens. Shelley had her copy of the measurements and took copious notes of what might fit where. Jane's notes were about styles and terms she was learning.

"This is the fun part," Jane said. "I'm feeling a little better about the possibility of actually doing this."

"It depends on a lot of things," Shelley reminded her. "What sort of contract Bitsy comes

up with. And I'm sure she's not even thinking about it now. Not to mention what the police might be discovering. You don't want to just give Mel a call, do you?"

"I'm keeping a low profile until he's over his snit," Jane said. "It's not in my best interest to irritate him further when he's been so overworked."