Once again, she felt some sympathy for his situation. “Thanks again for talking to me, Mr. Tolbert. As I said, I just took over the board, so I’ve been playing catch up. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
She walked away without waiting for any further response from him. Zeke lagged behind her. It was impossible to know if he was getting tired or if the big guy was still in protection mode and wanted to stay between her and any perceived danger. At the end of the block, she used the pretense of adjusting his collar to glance back down the street. Just as she feared, Troy Tolbert was standing right where she’d left him, watching her every move. When he realized she’d caught him staring, he turned away and stalked into his house.
“You’re so smart, Zeke. I think you’re right about that guy. I’m just sorry that I’m on his radar now. I’ll have to find some tactful way to warn the ladies to stay away from him.” She leaned down to kiss Zeke on the head. “He’s not somebody I’d want mad at me.”
The dog whined as he stared up at her with his soulful eyes.
“You’re right, boy. It might be too late for that.”
With that unhappy thought, she headed back home.
* * *
Dinner wasn’t anything to brag about, but that was her fault. It wasn’t as if she’d put any effort into it. Cooking for one had gotten old within weeks of leaving Chad behind, but she usually did better than a grilled cheese sandwich and a handful of potato chips. Not exactly a balanced diet, but she’d do better tomorrow. Maybe. She’d have to go to the store again since pickings in the pantry had gotten pretty slim.
Right now she didn’t have the energy to even think about it. She’d had a headache by the time she and Zeke returned home from their walk. No surprise there, considering how that particular expedition had gone. What made it all especially frustrating was the fact that she had remarkably little to show for all the aggravation. Maybe she’d feel better about it if she made a list of what she’d learned. If nothing else, it might spawn some idea of where she could go next in her two investigations: Dolly’s death and the missing quilts.
She’d met Dolly’s heir and learned enough that she no longer included her on the suspect list. Allison had seemed clearly surprised by the sudden windfall from her aunt’s death, and Abby was inclined to believe her. She also now had firsthand knowledge that the old woman’s closest friends were both angry and unhappy.
Then there was her conversation with Troy Tolbert. He claimed to have never seen the quilts at all. She might have believed him, but the ladies of the guild were adamant that all twelve had been delivered to his wife at their house. If she had to choose who to believe, the ladies of the guild would win hands down. Not only that, she’d seen the sample pictures Julie had taken of Louise’s quilt at a meeting. Why would Troy think his wife’s camera was packed away if she’d been using it? That was definitely a puzzle, one she was too tired to solve right now.
Abby ate the last bite of her sandwich and then set her plate in the sink along with the small skillet she’d used. Her aunt wouldn’t have approved of leaving dirty dishes overnight. Too bad.
Now that she was done eating, the rest of the evening stretched out ahead of her with nothing to fill the lonely hours. Normally, she’d call her mother for a quick chat, but she’d gone out of town with two of her friends. Something about a girls’ weekend at a nearby casino and hotel. She’d been excited about the trip, making it sound as if they were planning to have a really wild time of it. Considering her mom’s two-drink limit and preference for the nickel slots, her idea of getting crazy wasn’t actually a call for concern.
That didn’t mean Abby wasn’t a bit jealous. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone out on a date or even just hung out with friends. Of course, somehow the majority of their friends had been something else Chad had ended up getting in the divorce. She was starting to rebuild her life, but most of the ladies she’d spent time with since moving to Snowberry Creek were from her aunt’s generation. They were lovely, but she missed spending time with people her own age. She had met some women here in Snowberry Creek who might eventually become the kinds of friends she could call at the last minute to see if they wanted to go out for drinks, but they weren’t quite there yet.
And wasn’t this the most pathetic self-pity party she’d ever been to?
The chime of the doorbell gave her hope. Maybe whoever was out there would save her from herself. Zeke beat her into the foyer, his tail going a mile a minute. Good, that meant it was a friend, not a stranger.
But when she opened the door, she knew it wasn’t going to be good news, even though Gage was wearing jeans and a sports shirt instead of his uniform.
“Hi, Gage. Come on in.”
He stepped inside but made no effort to go any farther than the foyer. His actions didn’t bode well at all. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to be a good hostess.
“I could make coffee if you would like a cup.”
“Sorry, but my daughter, Sydney, is waiting out in the car. I’m taking her and a couple of her friends to the mall.”
He shifted from one foot to the other, clearly not happy to be there. “Listen, I got a call from Troy Tolbert this afternoon. He said you’d been there asking him questions about his wife.” Then he grinned just a little. “Actually, he said it was someone named Abby, although he didn’t remember her last name. All things considered, I figured it had to be you.”
Once again, here she was, having to confess her sins to Gage. “Yes, it was. I didn’t mean to upset him. Heck, I didn’t want to bother him in the first place.”
“I’ve heard his side of the story. Now I want to hear yours. Why were you there?”
She didn’t much appreciate Troy calling Gage in the first place, especially when she’d already promised not to bother the man again. Regardless, he had made the call, so she was going to have to deal with the fallout.
“As you’ve already heard, I took over Aunt Sybil’s position as head of the quilting guild, and I’m doing my best to play catch-up on the status of the organization. When the other board members and I were going over the budget for the coming year, they mentioned a shortfall in the projected income for the guild. They’d planned to make calendars using some of the groups’ favorite quilts as the theme. The cover would’ve been the completed mystery quilt project that they all worked on together.”
When she paused, Gage waved his hand in the air, saying without words that he needed her to pick up speed. Fine. “From what they indicated, Julie Tolbert was a relatively new member to the group. I don’t know how long she belonged, but I could probably find out if you need that information.”
“Good to know, but I don’t need it right now.”
“The ladies said they were discussing getting a professional photographer to do the actual work when Julie offered to take the pictures. She did some sample shots of one of Louise’s quilts to show them what she had in mind. I’ve seen the JPEGs, and they were really good. In fact, Louise liked them so much that she had them framed for her wall at home.”
“So why would that land you on Tolbert’s doorstep?”
She drew a deep breath. “According to the ladies, the plan was to keep the quilts secret until the pictures were done. Each of the twelve members who bought one of the months in the calendar were instructed to wrap their quilts so that they couldn’t be seen. Aunt Sybil and Glenda personally delivered them to Julie at her house. According to Glenda and Louise, Julie said she needed to take the pictures right away and then would return the quilts immediately afterward.”
Gage looked puzzled. “You’re making it sound as if it was a rush job. Did it have to be? You know, to make a deadline?”
“I have no way of knowing that for sure, but I don’t think it was a deadline issue on the part of the guild. Julie apparently led Glenda to think she and Troy were leaving on a trip or something, and she wanted to finish the pictures beforehand. As it turned out, she was the one leaving.”
&nbs
p; Gage checked his watch. “I’m guessing the ladies had already talked to Troy about some of this stuff.”
She nodded. “They asked for their quilts back, but he swears he never saw them. They thought that since I was new to the situation, he wouldn’t mind if I stopped by to see if he had any new contact information for his wife. They were wrong about that. He minded a lot, not that I blame him. I told him I tried to track her down through social media before coming to him, but he didn’t even know Julie had a Facebook page. He said her parents have heard from her, but he doesn’t talk with them very much.”
“Under the circumstances, I can understand that.”
Abby felt the same way. “Anyway, he sounded sincere when he said every time someone asks about Julie, it rips open the wounds all over again. Jean and the others believe he really had no idea that she was unhappy enough to take off with someone else with no warning at all.”
Something she understood all too well. The pain of Chad’s betrayal had all but destroyed her. The memory still had the ability to sucker punch her at the oddest moments. Like now, for instance.
“I also asked him about any possible pictures she might have taken. I thought that, if she’d left in a hurry, she might not have taken the camera with her. However, he insisted Julie had lost interest in photography years ago, and that if she had still had a camera other than the one on her phone, it was probably buried up in their attic somewhere. That, or it might have been among the things she took with her when she left. That’s likely what happened to the quilts, too. We may never know for sure.” Finally, she shrugged. “The bottom line is, I apologized to Troy for bothering him and made it clear that I would tell the guild members that they shouldn’t contact him again. I meant that.”
Gage studied her for a second or two. “Okay, that’s good.”
The sound of a car horn had him grimacing. “Looks like I’m being summoned. Thanks for the information. I needed to know what had set him off.”
She followed Gage out onto the porch. “Do you know if one of the ladies actually reported the missing quilts to the police?”
“You know I can’t answer that.”
“Sorry.”
For the first time, he smiled. “No, you’re not. You’re disappointed. Now, I’d better get moving before Syd comes to drag me back to the car.”
She waited until he was pulling out of the driveway before she locked the door, still thinking about what he’d said—and what he hadn’t. If Gage hadn’t heard about the quilts, wouldn’t he have simply said so? More likely, he’d meant just what he said—that he couldn’t discuss police matters with her. Right now, she didn’t much care either way. The day hadn’t gone well at all, and her reward was a crushing headache. For now, she wasn’t going to think about anything more complicated than what flavor of tea would go best with ibuprofen.
“Come on, Zeke. Let’s grab you a quick snack while I make myself a cup of tea. Then I’ll read while you take your evening nap.”
Considering naps and treats were two of his favorite things in the world, it came as no surprise when he charged past her toward the kitchen with his tail wagging a mile a minute. She stuffed his favorite chew toy with peanut butter and tossed it toward him. He chased it down the hall, slipping and sliding on the wood floor in his haste to enjoy his goodie in the living room.
After washing down two ibuprofen with water, she followed behind with her mug of Earl Grey. The sun was already disappearing to the west, casting the room in deepening shadows. She tried reading, but quickly gave up when the book failed to hold her attention. Her mind kept going back to the missing quilts. What had Julie done with them?
She set her book aside and reached for her laptop. After booting it up, she considered her options. Finally, she checked several online sites to see if anyone had recently posted any quilts for sale. The results were pretty mixed. No one seemed to have more than one or maybe two for sale, but maybe that wasn’t too surprising. Julie had to know the ladies would want their quilts back. Posting them all in one location would make it far more likely that someone might notice. Even listing one or two at a time could be risky if she did so in this same geographical area.
Had Glenda or any of the others thought to keep an eye on some of the more popular sites? It was hard to know how tech savvy any of them were. She’d have to ask Glenda the next time she talked to her.
“Zeke, this is so frustrating. While I’d love to get the quilts back for the ladies, the problem is that I have no idea what any of the quilts look like. I don’t suppose you have any great ideas.”
Zeke gave that comment all the attention it deserved—none at all. While she continued to poke around online hoping for inspiration, he kept his toy trapped between his paws and continued to lick the peanut butter. By the time she set the computer aside, he was clearly having trouble staying awake. She understood just how he felt.
Finally, they both drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Fifteen
The sharp stab of Zeke’s teeth on her arm was too real to be a dream. It stung a little, but that didn’t mean Abby was ready to wake up. Then he barked right in her face, blasting her with peanut-scented doggy breath. Her eyes popped open, or at least she thought they had. It was hard to tell if the room was dark or if she was still trapped in a dream.
Zeke’s growl definitely sounded real enough. Something had him upset, and that something had him in full-on protection mode.
She rubbed her arm. There was a hint of slime, making her ask, “Why did you nip me, boy?”
He woofed again and then growled, his attention focused on the front window.
“What’s wrong?”
Like he could actually answer questions. There was only one way to find out what had him all riled up. Night had fallen big time, so it was too dark to see much of anything. Before she could stand up to get a better look, the window behind her chair shattered and sent her diving for the floor. Landing hard on shards of glass hurt like crazy, but she needed to get out of the line of fire.
Zeke went crazy, barking and scrambling to reach the window. She ignored the pain in her hands and knees as she made a grab for his collar. If he tried to jump through the broken window, he could get badly hurt. Even if he succeeded without mishap, he’d be in danger from whoever had just lobbed something through her front window.
“Come on, boy, we need to get to the kitchen.”
It was hard to crawl while dragging an angry dog in her wake, but she managed to reach the relative shelter of the hallway. Once there, she risked standing up and then bolted the rest of the way to where she’d left her cell phone on the counter. Who should she call first? The police or Tripp?
The decision was made for her when the man in question suddenly appeared on the back porch as if she conjured him out of thin air. How had he gotten there so fast? Had the sound of the glass breaking carried all the way to his house?
“Come on, Abby, let me in!”
She almost tripped over Zeke in her rush to reach the door. Her hands were shaking badly enough that she had trouble turning the lock, but finally she managed it. As soon as the door swung open, Tripp charged inside.
“What happened? I was taking out the trash when I heard glass shatter, and then a minute later a car tore off down the street.”
She held up her bleeding palms. “I was napping in the chair by the bay window when Zeke started pitching a fit. Before I could figure out what was going on, the glass broke right behind me. I dove for the floor and then grabbed Zeke to keep him from jumping through the broken window to go after whoever was out there.”
All of that poured out in one breath, leaving her gasping for air. Tripp set something down on the counter and then pulled out a chair at the table and gently shoved her toward it. “Have you called the police yet?”
Abby shook her head. “I was debating whether to call you or them first when you got here.”
“I’ll make the call, and then we’ll see how badly you’re hurt.”<
br />
It would be the second time that he’d stepped up to call the cops on her behalf. While she was appreciative of his willingness to help, this was her problem. “I’ll make the call if you’ll hand me my phone.”
He stared at her for a second and then did as she asked. “Where’s your first aid kit?”
“In the linen closet in the bathroom.”
While she made the call, he disappeared down the hallway, presumably looking for first aid supplies. By the time she hung up, Tripp was back.
“They’re on their way. They reminded me not to touch anything until they get here.”
She started to get up to wash her hands. As soon as she put weight on her right foot, a stabbing pain shot up her leg. “Ow, that really hurts.”
Tripp grabbed her arm to steady her. “Sit back down. You must have gotten glass in your foot. If you insist on walking around on it, you’ll drive the sliver in deeper.”
The pain was only starting to register. “I hadn’t realized I was hurt.”
“Well, I did.” He pointed to the floor. “You left bloody prints on your way in here. Now, are you going to let me assess the damage or would you rather wait for the paramedics to get here?”
Considering she hadn’t told the operator she was hurt, Tripp was her best choice. She plopped back down in the chair and held up her foot. “If you don’t mind.”
He tossed her a warm washcloth. “Clean up your hands. I’ll look at them next.”
Then he knelt in front of her. His big hands were amazingly gentle as he studied her injury and then rooted around in the first aid kit. When he pulled out a pair of tweezers, he grinned. “Your aunt kept this well stocked.”
“How did you know it wasn’t me?”
His answering snort was less than flattering, but he obviously knew her better than she’d thought. She turned her attention to wiping the blood off her hands, once again wincing when she put pressure on a sliver still stuck in her right palm. She pulled it out herself while Tripp was busy slathering antibiotic ointment on her heel and then covering it up with a large bandage.
Death by Committee Page 16
