Murder in a Basket (An India Hayes Mystery) by Amanda Flower Page A

now. There’s one here at the festival,” I said.
    She nodded.
    I thanked the rest of the group and suggested the library quad, which was right in the middle of campus, for their campaign. Hopefully, it wouldn’t get back to Lasha that I was the one who sent them there. I wasn’t sure whether the SOEC kids or the corn hole tournament would have been worse.
    “ She’ll catch up with you guys later,” I said and led Raka back to the festival.
    As luck would have it, Office Habash was walking by. I waved her over. “Raka, tell her what you told me.”
    Habash listened carefully. “This is very important information you have. I’m going to need to take you to the Justice Center for a statement.”
    Raka ’s dark brown eyes became huge. “I don’t know.”
    “ It’s no big deal,” I said. “My parents are there at least once a week.”
    Habash smiled. “It will take a half hour at most.”
    “ Oh, okay.”
    Habash looked at me. Her black eyes were questioning. “Should I tell Detective Mains you were the one who brought Raka to our attention?”
    “ Please don’t.”
    “ No problem.”
    I smiled. Was I wrong, or were Officer Habash and I becoming friends? Now, if I could just win Knute over, I thought.
    Back at my booth, Ina waited impatiently. I blinked when I saw her ensemble. She wore a green gingham dress and buckle shoes as well as her shamrock-laden pillbox hat. If she wanted to be historically accurate, Ina needed to replace the pillbox hat with a mobcap. Not that I was surprised. Even on a normal day, Ina was a walking anachronism.
    “ Where’d you find that getup?”
    “ I have my sources.” She wiggled her brows.
    I let it go. I hoped there wasn’t a naked crafter running around the premises because Ina had swiped her dress.
    She held two cups of fresh-squeezed lemonade. She handed me one. Zach half-rose to sniff my drink but snorted, returning to his bone.
    “ Where’ve you been?” I asked.
    “ Investigating.” She squirmed in the folding chair.
    “ How did your talk with Lynette go?”
    “ Just fine. She had a lot to say about the investigation.”
    “ You told her you were investigating?” Lemonade sloshed onto my jeans. I grabbed a paper towel from the supply I kept under the table. Between the students’ rumors on campus and Ina’s big mouth, the whole world would know I was interested in Tess’s murder before the day was over.
    “ No, I told her you were investigating, and I was helping out.”
    More lemonade splashed.
    “When she goes on break at one o’clock, I’m having lunch with her to talk about the case.”
    I gulped the lemonade to avoid saying anything I’d regret later. My cell phone rang . . . well, it croaked. I’d found this great frog ringtone online.
    Ina looked at me curiously. “There’s a frog in your purse.”
    “ It’s my phone.” I pulled the flip phone out of my shoulder bag and looked at the caller ID. It was a Martin College number but not from the library. “Hello?”
    “ Is this India Hayes?” a prim female voice asked over the line.
    “ Yes.”
    “ This is Deena Beaton in Provost Lepcheck’s office. The provost would like to have a meeting with you.”
    “ With me ?”
    “ Yes,” she replied coolly.
    “ How did you get this number?”
    She sniffed as if offended. “Your colleague from the library, Robert McNally, was gracious enough to share it with me. He said you wouldn’t mind under the circumstances.”
    I’ll bet he did.
    “Why does Dr. Lepcheck want to meet with me?” I tried to soften my tone. It was never a good idea to irritate the provost’s administrative assistant since she was the one who mailed the faculty contracts in the spring. There was always a chance she might misplace mine.
    “ Well, umm, he didn’t say exactly.” She sounded disappointed with herself for not knowing.
    “ I’m working at the Founders’ Festival today. Could I meet with him another time?”
    “ Ah, yes, I remember now that Dr.