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spite of the situation, the mother part of Jane was still working, consulting a mental file cabinet of everyday responsibilities. “Mike will get himself home, and Katie is supposed to be staying for a pep rally and coming home with a friend. But Todd—”
    Keeping an eye on Shelley, who looked shaky, she picked up the phone, thought for a minute, then dialed Dorothy Wallenberg’s number.
    “Dorothy! Thank goodness you’re home. I need a couple favors. Something awful has happened. Shelley’s cleaning lady has—has died. Yes, it’s terrible. Yes, just now. I’ll tell her you said that. Just at the moment, I’m the one who needs some help. Please, would you pick up Todd for me and take him home with you? And call everybody who’s supposed to be coming tonight to the meeting at Shelley’s house and tell them it’s been canceled. No, I’m not sure—”
    She glanced at Shelley, who had balanced the cigarette on the edge of the table and was leaning over with her head between her knees, breathing deeply. “I can’t ask her, Dorothy. Just call anybody you think might have been coming. I think Laura Stapler has a list of the committee members. Start with her. Thanks, Dorothy.”
    Shelley stood up and went to the window, swaying slightly. The wail of the first siren stopped abruptly, and through Jane’s kitchen window they could see that there was one officer sprinting around the far side of Shelley’s house and another coming around the near corner. They had their guns drawn. Another, having apparently parked on the next street, vaulted nimbly over the back fence and headed, crouching, toward the basement door that opened out of the back of the house. Jane could hear at least two other sirens. “Dorothy says if there’s anything you need or want, just call her.”
    Shelley turned away from the window, sat down, and pushed her hair back from her face. “That’s nice of her,“ she said with mechanical courtesy.
    Jane’s phone rang and she answered curtly. “Yes?“
    “Jane! This is Mary Ellen. I just looked out the front window. What’s wrong at Shelley’s?“
    “The cleaning lady’s been killed. The killer may still be in the house.“
    “Edith? Killed?“
    “Yes—no, not Edith. It was a substitute. Somebody strangled her.“
    “Oh, my God,“ Mary Ellen said, sounding nearly as bad as Shelley did. “What can I do? Is Shelley all right?“
    “She’s not hurt. You can’t do anything. Just stay in the house until it’s over. I’ll talk to you later.”
    Shelley was rummaging in the cabinet for Jane’s jar of instant coffee. Meow jumped onto the counter to see what was going on that might provide nibbles for her. There was no sign of Willard. Probably hiding in the basement. Hands shaking, Jane turned on a burner and started some water boiling. They didn’t speak. Jane had a strange nightmarish sense of reality and horror interwoven. Next door, a dead woman lay in the guest bedroom and police searched the house. Here, they were silently making coffee, as if that were a solution to something.
    Shelley sat trembling at the table, sipping her coffee. Jane watched out the window. More emergency vehicles arrived, and somebody put up white-and-orange-striped sawhorses several doors down to stop traffic. Dear God, it would scare the kids to death if they came home and found the neighborhood seemingly under martial law. Todd would be at Dorothy’s house, but Mike and Katie...
    Hating to do it, Jane picked up the phone again and called her mother-in-law. “Thelma? Jane. I can only talk a second. Something awful has happened next door and the police have the block cordoned off. No, I’m fine. I’m not in any danger. But I’m worried about Mike and Katie trying to come home and thinking something has happened to me. I can’t get out. Would you please call their schools and order them to stay there until you or Ted can pick them up? Thanks, Thelma. I’ll come over to get them just as soon as I