Touch-Me-Not by Cynthia Riggs Page B

Very realistic. You seem to be coming along nicely.”
    “Thanks.”
    “Let’s keep up the good work, everyone. We’ve got eight or nine different corals, several anemones, sea stars, sea urchins, squid, and half a dozen sponges. And kelp, of course.”
    “These phone calls . . .” Roberta began.
    “We can’t let those phone calls distract us,” said Fran somewhat testily. “Our deadline is only three weeks away. We have work to do.”
    “Whoever is calling knows all of us,” said Jessica. “He’s not calling Elizabeth.”
    “He’d better not,” Elizabeth said. “My grandmother would take care of him.”
    “Obviously he knows that,” Jessica said. “He’s not calling Fran or Reverend Judy, either, our senior members. What about you, Alyssa? You’ve been awfully quiet.”
    Alyssa tossed her knitting aside. “I went to see Mrs. Trumbull after last Thursday’s meeting.” She looked down at the brown-and-green woolen kelp on the seat next to her.
    “Mrs. Trumbull?” asked Jessica.
    Alyssa took a deep breath. “I’m getting calls, too.”
    Several pairs of eyes turned to her.
    “That’s why you were upset on Thursday,” said Jessica.
    Alyssa nodded.
    “You should have said something. We told you someone’s calling Maron and me.”
    Alyssa didn’t answer.
    “And we just found out that Roberta and Cherry are getting calls, too.”
    “Why Mrs. Trumbull?” asked Maron.
    “She has a lawyer friend who specializes in women’s issues.” After a few moments, Alyssa added in a small voice, “I know who’s making the phone calls.”
    Needles stopped clicking.
    “Who?”
    “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
    “Casper or Jim?”
    “Who?”
    “It’s not Casper or Jim.”
    “Who is it, then?” asked Maron.
    “The guy who works for Watts Electrical Supply, Jerry Sparks. I got a heavy-breathing call today, just before I got paged for the moped accident.”
    “I know Jerry,” said Maron, nodding. “He’s whacked-out on drugs half the time.”
    “He’s done electrical work for me,” said Jessica.
    “Me, too,” said Cherry, looking around at the others.
    Roberta nodded.
    “Are you sure it’s Jerry Sparks?” asked Reverend Judy.
    Alyssa looked down at her work. “I’m pretty sure.”
    “The creep.”
    “Slimeball!”
    “Sicko.”
    “What do you say we track him down and give him a taste of his own medicine?” said Maron.
    “A lesson or two,” added Roberta.
    Fran held up a hand for silence. “Please, girls. We don’t have time for this.”
    “What made you decide Jerry Sparks is the caller, Alyssa?” asked Reverend Judy.
    Alyssa told them about her movie date with Jerry Sparks and his follow-up calls.
    “He’s been going with Emily Cameron for the past couple of weeks,” said Maron. “Why would he hassle us?”
    “Girls, the quilt,” said Fran. “The quilt!”
    Jessica stood up. “Let’s find him, right now.”
    Reverend Judy pushed her glasses back into place and continued to knit. “Don’t do anything rash.”
    “Rash!” said Jessica, heading toward the back door. “I’m simply going to take my scissors with me and . . .”
    Reverend Judy stood up, holding her knitting.
    “Five of us against one puny little geek,” said Cherry.
    “We’re coming with you,” said Maron, setting her knitting aside.
    The five headed out the library’s back door, followed by Reverend Judy and Fran.
    “Girls! Come back, right now!” Fran called to them.
    “It’s too late,” said Jessica. “Does anybody know where he lives?”
    “We can take my car,” said Cherry.
    “Tar and feather him!” said Maron.
    “Girls! Girls! Stop!” Fran called to them, but they piled into Cherry’s red Jeep.
    “Let’s go!” someone shouted, and the Jeep took off in a swirl of dust, long hair flying around eager faces.
    Fran hurried back into the library, her hands pressing on either side of her head as though she were trying to hold it together.
    Reverend Judy followed more