Somebody Else's Music by Jane Haddam

planting the rumors herself, but she’s not a very intelligent old friend. I suppose somebody could be, or maybe it’s just opportunism. The case is there, after all, and she’s been in the public eye a lot lately because of her relationship to Jimmy Card. Maybe it’s just serendipity. Or another friend of mine could be right, and she could be writing something about that night in the park. And that friend ought to know.”
    â€œDo you think Jimmy Card will come here if she does?”
Lisa asked. “That would be interesting. Jimmy Card on Grandview Avenue.”
    â€œI have no idea. You’ll get a chance to find out, though. I just got word that she definitely will be coming, at the end of May. The question is, what are we going to do about her coming?”
    â€œI think we’d be silly not to ask her here to speak. Or even to spend the day. When I was in high school, they used to bring in artists from the local community every year, and they’d spend the day, they’d teach a couple of classes, they’d give a talk, they’d eat in the cafeteria, that kind of thing. Think about all the kids in Honors English.”
    â€œJust in Honors English? We’d get a rash of complaints from the rest of the parents.”
    â€œAll the kids, then. What was she like, do you remember? Was she nice? I suppose people don’t stay the same as they grow older and, you know, as they get more successful, but if she was nice I guess there’s always a chance. I’m dying to see what she looks like in person. On television, I always see her sitting down.”
    Nancy shook her head. “The thing with the murder still bothers me. Not that I think she had anything to do with it, mind you. In fact, I know she couldn’t have. But all the publicity has not been good, even if it has been restricted to the tabloids. That’s the problem with an unsolved crime, really. It hangs around to haunt you. So to speak. I’m not thinking clearly today.”
    â€œMaybe she wouldn’t want to speak because she’d be afraid somebody would ask her about the murder,” Lisa said. “There’s always that. We could, you know, guarantee that that wouldn’t happen.”
    â€œHowever would we guarantee that?”
    â€œWe’d forbid it.”
    Nancy laughed. “I can think of three students we have right this minute who would come armed and ready to ask if we did forbid it. Lord, I think it’s so annoying that they never caught whoever it was—oh, they probably did, in Indiana or Ohio or someplace, and we just don’t know
about it, or he didn’t confess to Michael’s murder along with whatever others he’d done. It happens like that all the time. But it does cause a great deal of difficulty for those of us who have to live with the uncertainty. And the utterly rank stupidity of the general population.”
    â€œRight,” Lisa said.
    â€œI think we ought to at least assume we’re going to invite her,” Nancy said. “I know Laurel at the library is going to invite her there, murder or no murder, because of course she doesn’t have to worry about Dickie Baird having the vapors or some deputation of Full Gospel Christian Mothers marching down the sidewalk accusing her of trying to destroy their children by exposing them to a Satanist and a murderer. God, it’s ridiculous. People can’t keep two ideas in their heads at the same time. They can’t keep even one in their heads. And if we don’t invite her, someone might think—”
    â€œSomeone might think what? That you thought she was a murderer?”
    â€œNo,” Nancy said. “Don’t be stupid. Why don’t you try drafting a letter for me. Something suitably general, that we’d like to talk to her about the possibility of doing something at Hollman High School. Just ‘doing something.’ Nothing more specific than that.