Yes, and I also knew that he was one of the legion of men who were smitten by Rose Noire—that was the main reason I delegated the sheep roundup to her.

“And bring a few of our chickens in,” I said. “Whichever ones you think are likely to behave during the pageant.”

“Of course!”

Okay, so there would be sheep and chickens for the rehearsal. Maybe I should rest on my laurels. Though it would be nice to find someone to bring a few cows, goats, and maybe even a donkey. And surely with all the ducks that seemed to be popping up all over town, I could find one or two to grace the stables.

It occurred to me that Grandfather had all of those in his petting zoo. I called him.

“The boys are fine,” he said, before I even asked. “James is making sure they don’t go near any of the carnivores.”

“That’s good,” I said. “I was calling to ask if the Methodists could borrow some animals for the live Nativity scene.”

“Hmmm,” he said. “I’ve only got the two camels right now, but I suppose it’s better than none.”

Camels! Mrs. Dahlgren certainly wouldn’t be expecting the camels. I began to feel almost smug, imagining the look on her face.

“That would be excellent,” I said. “And is there any chance you could bring a few docile barnyard animals from the petting zoo? A donkey, a cow or two, and perhaps a few goats.”

“Yes, yes,” he said. “But why stop there? Let’s make this thing impressive!”

I liked his enthusiasm, but I wasn’t sure what he had in mind.

“I could bring the wolves,” he said. “They make quite an impression, especially the Arctic Wolf.”

“I’m not sure wolves are quite what people are expecting at the Nativity,” I said. “It’s not really biblical.”

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid,” Grandfather quoted.

“Yes, but not at the Nativity,” I said. “I know you find wild animals a lot more interesting, but people will be expecting domestic animals. It’s tradition.”

“I’ve even got a fairly tame leopard,” he said.

“‘Fairly tame’?” I repeated.

“You’re missing a wonderful opportunity to put a whole new multicultural spin on this thing.” I could almost see him pouting.

“Cows. Goats. Donkeys.”

“Oh, all right. When and where do you need them?”

I gave him the time and place of the pageant rehearsal, thanked him, and hung up. Then I took a couple of deep, calming breaths.

“You okay?”

I looked up to see Randall Shiffley peering into my window. I nodded, grabbed my purse, and opened the door.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Just settling my temper before going inside, because I figure on general principles you should never be thinking murderous thoughts when walking into a police station.”