Most people wouldn t consider the salvage

business a proper occupation for a

woman of a certain age, especially a one-woman

crew working out of a pickup truck and a garage

apartment. But then, Emma Chizzit doesn t

much care what most people think. She likes the

work and the way it keeps her active and inde-

pendent. She s made a good life for herself with-

out much to worry about, except maybe

drumming up more business and keeping her

friend Frannie s head on straight.

Then, while cleaning out an old Queen Anne

house that s scheduled for demolition, Emma

finds a mummifiedbaby and a hand-carved cra-

dle, and the worries descend in full force. Before

she can lift a finger to call a halt--or even decide

whether or not that s what she wants to do

Emma is up to her ears in brake-shrieking car

chases, shady and sinister characters with shady

and sinister motives, an overeager police officer

with an unrequited crush on her, and a twenty-

year-old mystery that is almost as mummified as

the poor little creature from the Queen Anne.

The sensible part of Emma would just as soon

walk away and let somebody else figure out

what s going on here, but people she cares about are in danger of getting hurt. That means a

plunge straight into the mess with both feet for

Emma, whether she likes it or not, and some

amateur sleuthing to get to the Queen Anne

killer before the Queen Anne killer gets to her.

MARY BOWEN HALL plans many more

adventures for Emma Chizzit,who may be near

Miss Marple s age but who is definitely not into

knitting and sitting in front of the fire. Ms. Hall

lives in Santa Rosa, California.