approached her desk, trying to walk in a carefree manner and nearly tripping over my own feet in the process.
âYes.â I searched my brain for something smooth and breezy to add, but came up blank.
âSo, youâre gonna help out around here for the rest of the summer, huh?â
âYes,â I said with a smile, knowing it was coming out lopsided, âI am.â
âCool. I can sure use some help. Thereâs no way one person can handle the phones, do the filing,
and
type letters, but they expect me to. I think theyâre so used to computers that they think humans can work at the same speed.â She arched an eyebrow as if to ask what I thought of that but went on before I had time to formulate a comment.
âI hope you know shorthand, though I donât suppose you do. What are you, sixteen, seventeen? You donât take that kinda stuff in high school, do you? I know I didnât. Anyway, no biggie, I can take dictation and give you other things to do. Itâs not like there isnât enough work to go around.â She leaned back in her chair and ran ring-laden fingers through her long blonde-streaked pale brown hair.
âWeâd better get you a chair,â she yawned, holding her hands out and looking them over critically, like you do when youâve just polished your nails. âYou canât stand around all day. By the way, Iâm Janine.â
Iâd gathered that in the first moment there, but I nodded and said, âHi, Janine,â as though I were hearing it for the first time.
âHello?â
I turned to see that the greeting had come from a slender woman with greying hair who looked to be at least a few years older than my mother. She was dressed in a blue suit and short heels that clicked on the floor asshe walked toward me. She held her hand out and I took it awkwardly, feeling a bit silly as she pumped it firmly in a strong handshake.
âDarla Rhule,â she said with a smile that flashed for a second and was gone. âI assume youâre Shelby. Weâre glad to have you here for the rest of the summer. If you have any questions or problems feel free to come and see me. Janine will fill you in on what youâre expected to do.â
Without waiting for me to respond to anything sheâd said, Darla hurried down the hall, tap-tap-tapping all the way to an office on the left. She closed the door as soon as sheâd crossed the threshold.
Voices behind me caught my attention as a man and woman came along. At first I thought it must be the Yaegers, but when they introduced themselves I discovered they were James Rankin and Angi Alexander. Both greeted me in a friendly way but neither stopped to chat before heading to their offices.
âNo oneâs talking much these days,â Janine sighed, looking sad. âEveryoneâs all nerved up because of the robbery. Well, you wouldnât know anything about that, though, would you? âCourse not. You just started here.â
She leaned forward, fluffing her hair for a second time. âI donât suppose thereâs any reason I canât tell you about it. There was a break-in a couple of weeks ago. Or it was made to
look
like a break-in anyway. Me, I think it was an inside job.â
The last sentence was delivered in a secretive tone, which almost made me laugh. From what Mrs. Thompson had told me, everyone was aware of the fact that the window had been broken from the inside. It was one of the strongest pieces of evidence against her, and I figured it would be the one that was the most difficult to explain away. After all, if she was the only person with access to the room and safe, both of which had been opened with apparent ease, it was going to be hard to prove her innocence.
That might have been the first time it occurred to me that maybe she was guilty. As soon as the thought entered my mind, I felt horrible, like Iâd betrayed my best friend by