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said.
    “I guess so. But she really needs to be here.“
    “Who needs to be here, Sandy?“ Bitsy asked, approaching the two.
    Jane got as far from them as fast as she could. “Shelley, let’s hide out for a bit,“ she said, grabbing Shelley’s arm. “Sandra and Bitsy are trying to figure out how they can shove the responsibility for taking those two women to the hospital on us.“
    “I’m not letting strangers I didn’t invite over here, and probably stink for a number of reasons, ride in my van,“ Shelley said. Jane’s first thought was how callous this sounded, but she realized that quite honestly, she’d feel the same way.
    “Let’s go and have breakfast somewhere if you’re up to it. I need a cup of coffee to get the smell out of my head.“
    There was a pricey coffeehouse a block or two away, and as they sat down with their cups and the pastries they couldn’t resist, Shelley said, “I guess we’d better wait awhile to hit Bitsy with more bad news.“
    “I don’t know,“ Jane said with a wicked grin. “It might be interesting to see how much she can take before she crumbles.“
    Shelley laughed so hard, she almost snorted coffee up her nose.
    When she’d recovered, Jane asked, “What do you think caused that odor?“
    “One thing it isn’t is a body,“ Shelley said. “It wouldn’t fit in a furnace or a duct. It could be just a dead animal that already was awfully ripe, and turning on the blower created a crisis.“
    They dawdled just long enough to be present at the renovation site when Wesley, in protective gear and what looked like a World War I-era gas mask unearthed from Mrs. Stanley’s attic, reappeared with a heavyweight plastic bag at the front door. He removed the gas mask.
    “Someone shoved a wad of frozen shrimp way back into one of the ducts,“ he shouted across the yard at Bitsy. “You’re going to have to find a way of disposing of it.“
    “Put it in the Dumpster,“ Bitsy yelled back. She had already either delivered her friends home or forced someone else to do so. Come to think of it, Jane decided, the ambulance people should have taken them along to the hospital. Apparently the women didn’t want to make any more fuss.
    “No, the bag will probably explode.“ Wesley set it down on the lawn and came over to them. Jane and Shelley got close enough to overhear the conversation, but not so close that they could smell him. Sandra and Bitsy moved around a bit to get Wesley downwind of them.
    “I had to tear a lot of the duct work out to find it,“ Wesley complained. “And the smell is just as bad as ever. You’ll have to call in someone to deodorize the whole house.“
    “There are people who do that?“ Bitsy said with awe. “What will that cost?“
    “I have no idea,“ Wesley said. This time the contempt in his voice was clear. “And those fans that are coming off that truck next door aren’t strong enough. You must air the house out thoroughly first. The stench is in the wood and the Sheetrock. It’ll all have to be treated. While it’s being done, you need to secure the property.“
    “Secure the property?“ Bitsy was at sea. Apparently she thought this was a financial term. “What will that cost me?“
    “It means put new locks on the doors and replace the crumbling plywood in the open windows.“ Wesley was openly sneering now. “Anyone could, and has, gotten in here to commit this act of vandalism.“
    Standing where they were on the sidewalk, Jane and Shelley heard the purr of a car and turned to see an enormous black stretch limo stop in front with no regard to the fact that it was blocking traffic. The chauffeur came around and opened the back door, and an extremely well-dressed middle-aged man with a full and beautifully cut head of pure white hair stepped out.
    He approached, saying, “Bitsy, dear, I was doing some business in the neighborhood and saw everyone standing outside. What’s going on?“ He would have been quite handsome if he