“I sort of came across him on the rocks,” I said. “I was there when the paramedics took him away and I talked to the police about what happened.”
“Police?” PJ said. “I thought you said it was an accident—that he fell. What were the police doing there?”
Lucinda put her hand on my shoulder and took over. “When anything like that happens the police investigate. But you don’t have to worry about it. Casey is on the case,” she said with a smile at her pun. “You probably don’t know this, but she was an assistant private investigator in Chicago. Getting to the bottom of something in a place like Cadbury is nothing for her after dealing with the mean streets of the big city. Just go ahead and enjoy your weekend. I’m sure if there’s anything to find out, she’ll do it.”
The four of them examined me with new interest. Lucinda had laid it on a little thick. It was debatable what my position at Frank’s agency had been. I called myself an assistant detective, but detective’s assistant was probably more accurate. “I did do some work for a PI,” I said, trying to downplay it.
“A private investigator,” Aileen said with a smile. “It sounds romantic. Was he one of those renegade bad-boy types? You know, always fussing with the cops and bettering them. Handsome in a world-weary way?”
I had to contain a laugh. Frank was none of that—well, maybe fussing with the cops. But handsome in a world-weary way? Not exactly.
“If anyone is bettering the cops, it’s Casey,” Lucinda said. “She’s far too modest to say it, but she’s solved a number of local cases that stumped the cops.”
Madison chuckled. “I guess then we can rest easy knowing that Sherlock Feldstein is on the case.” She announced that it was time for Operation Pink Hair and she pushed away her plate.
“So then no knit-together this evening?” Deani asked.
“We don’t have to hang together all the time,” Aileen said. “I’m looking forward to putting my feet up and reading in my room.”
“I’m in for a knit-together,” PJ said. “I’ll see if Iola wants to join us.” They bid Lucinda and me a good night and all headed for the exit.
The two of us sat down at the empty table. She found the coffeepot and poured us each a cup before asking me if I was going to get food.
“I lost my appetite,” I said. “Too much going on.”
“At least they’re more resourceful than your usual groups. You didn’t even have to suggest the knit-together.” Lucinda smiled. “I like that term. You’re still coming to the Blue Door later, right? We need your desserts for the weekend. And the Saturday-morning coffee crowd will be expecting your muffins.”
I nodded and she patted my hand.
“You’re like the postman, what’s the saying—neither rain nor storm nor dead of night can keep you from your rounds.”
“I’m not sure that’s the way it goes, but I certainly do my best to make sure Cadburians have their carbs.”
Just then Kevin St. John came into the dining hall. His moon-shaped face was placid as usual, but his eyes appeared frantic. He looked over the area and then walked directly to the table with his retreat group. His back was to me and all I could see was their reaction to what he said. I watched as their expressions changed from concern to shock.
“That’s not good news,” I said. “I wonder if they’ll still want the mindful knitting workshop tonight.”
“They probably need it now more than ever,” Lucinda said.
Chapter 10
Whenever I put on a retreat the days were epic, but this one seemed even longer than usual. It seemed like eternity since I’d had the meeting with the Delacorte sisters and their new relatives. I felt bad about not telling Lucinda about the situation, especially after telling Dane. Actually I regretted spilling the beans to him, but I couldn’t undo it now.
It felt a little strange to be free of my group. But I’d never had such an independent group before. Normally, I’d be hanging around to make sure their evening plans were going smoothly, but they’d made plans on their own.
I still had the Silicon Valley group to deal with. If I’d known one of them was going to die I never would have agreed to help them out with their retreat. The last thing I needed was to be involved with another death in the area. I was sure it had just been an accident. Elex had said Tim wasn’t that well-coordinated and leather-soled boots were just asking for trouble. I had my doubts if they would even show up for the workshop, or maybe it was wishful thinking. Even so, I headed for the Cypress meeting room ready for whatever happened.
I met Cloris just as we reached the Cypress building. She was pushing a cart and stopped, looking at the two doors.
“We’re using my room,” I said. I felt a little guilty about using my group’s room for the Silicon Valley bunch, but they had no workshop planned and it was much more cheerful than the room on the other side.
I opened the door, flipped on the light and went inside with Cloris right behind me. I was surprised by the rattle of bottles as she pushed the cart in and wheeled it to the counter. I’d expected her to bring the coffee and tea service like my group got, but I saw she had a bunch of dark-colored bottles. I thanked her again for helping with the arrangements and keeping it on the down low.
“It’s my pleasure,” she said, going to light the fire. I looked over the cart of drinks and checked the labels. “I wasn’t sure which they’d want so I brought enough so they could have a bottle of each.” I made a face when I saw there were two kinds of kombucha. The drink was made from fermented yeast, bacteria, black tea, sugar and other ingredients and was supposed to have health properties, but the smell had been enough to keep me from wanting to try it. She was closer to them in age and I guessed that she’d used her own judgment when picking the drinks.
The fireplace came to life with a warm glow and Cloris began to set up the drinks. “I suppose you heard what happened,” I said. I made a last sweep of the table to make sure all of my group’s supplies and swatches were in the bin with their tote bags.
She nodded. “But orders are to keep it quiet. Mr. St. John doesn’t want anything that will reflect badly on Vista Del Mar.” She dropped her voice. “What he really means is he wants to keep it quiet that someone died on the retreat he organized. I suppose if it had been like a heart attack or something he wouldn’t have been so freaked. But someone dying from an accident related to an activity he set up . . .” She put up her hands in capitulation. “Of course, he’s blaming it on Sky.”
Crystal rushed in and seemed a little breathless. She and Cloris exchanged nods of greeting as Cloris pushed the empty cart toward the door. “Well, I think you’re all set. Good luck.”
Crystal put the wheeled bin against the wall and took the lid off. She looked at the counter with the refreshment setup. “Good choice about the kombucha.”
I chuckled. “It was all Cloris. She’s the best.”
Crystal nodded in agreement and began to lay out supplies on the long table. “Cory brought everything over earlier.” Her smile had faded and I was surprised how distressed she seemed. “I’m beginning to regret that we had that face-to-face with the Delacorte sisters. My mother is too. They’re never going to agree to give up anything. Corey loves Vista Del Mar and now they’re treating him like he’s the enemy. Poor kid didn’t know why, but he said the sisters gave him odd looks when he dropped off the bin, like they thought he was up to something.”
“Ugh, sorry,” I said, feeling like it was all my fault. “I know that Madeleine is very fond of Cory. They’re probably just in shock. Once they get used to the idea maybe they’ll come around.”
“I hope so. He wondered if he’d done something wrong. How could I tell him the only thing wrong was who his great-grandfather was.” Crystal, with all her colorful clothes and mismatched earrings and socks, seemed so young and fun, and I had to remind myself that she was also the mother of two teenage kids. And seemingly a very good mother at that.
She looked at the tote bags she’d set o
ut and checked her watch. The door to the outside was open and it was obvious no one was coming up the path. “I hope they didn’t change their mind,” she said.
“About that,” I began. “There’s been an accident. And now there’s only four.” I grabbed the fifth tote bag and put it on a chair. I gave her the details of what happened and my involvement.
“How awful. Kevin St. John must be frantic. The first retreat he organizes all by himself and someone dies.” She shook her head. “It was just an accident, right?”
“As far as I could tell,” I said.
“All I can say is that they’re sure dressed for the occasion. What’s with all the black clothes, anyway?” I shrugged as an answer.
Just then there was the sound of voices coming up the path. “It looks like it’s showtime,” I said and we both put on friendly smiles.
“There are five of them after all,” Crystal whispered as Sky came in with the group.
Sky noticed me staring at him. “I thought I should stick with the group and, er, look after them,” he said. He seemed nervous and kept glancing back to the open door. “Maybe we should close this. Who knows who might walk by.” He pulled the door shut.
We both knew he meant Kevin St. John.
The four others had stopped inside the doorway. “Come in, come in,” I said. “Help yourself to drinks. They’re some snacks in the tin.” They went over to the counter and followed my suggestion and came back to the table with bottles and cookies and took a seat.
“I’m Casey Feldstein. I put on yarn retreats here,” I said, trying to sound upbeat. “And this is Crystal Smith, yarn teacher extraordinaire. She’s going to lead you through a mindful knitting experience.” I looked to the four of them expecting them to introduce themselves, but I actually had to push them to do it.
Elex took the lead as expected. “We’ve already met, but I’m Elex,” he said and gestured to the woman sitting next to him. “You’re up next.”
This was the first time I was getting a good look at the woman in their group. She had long wavy hair that seemed left to its own devices. If she wore any makeup it was so subtle as to appear nonexistent. Her clothes had a baggy fit, hiding her shape. “Julie,” she said in a nasal tone. She gave Elex a sharp look. “And no matter what some people think I don’t know how to knit just because I’m a female.”
Crystal rushed in to make sure they all knew that sailors had knit nets and it was a unisex hobby. “And you are?” she said to the other two men when she’d finished. Maybe it was because they were both dressed in the black outfits, but they appeared almost like twins. Both had close-cropped dark hair and bland features. They gave their names as Josh and Jackson, but to be honest I wasn’t sure which name went with which guy.
I knew I had to say something to them about Tim. I wanted to say something brief and move on. While I was thinking of what to say, Crystal turned to Sky, who was standing in front of the door while he gazed out the window that was across the room.
“You can join us if you’d like,” she said. He was so focused on staring out the window that it took a moment for what she’d said to sink in and then he shook his head, making his topknot wobble.
“I’m a facilitator, not a participant,” he said. He threw in a Namaste and made a bow before going back to his Kevin St. John watch.
I knew Crystal was about to begin, so it was now or never that I said something about Tim. I went for the basic and said, “I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am about your friend.”
Elex gave me a strange look. “Tim wasn’t exactly a friend. More like a business associate.”
“Well, whatever he was to all of you, I’m sorry for your loss,” I said. I hoped that would be it and Crystal could get on with the program, but one of two other men spoke up.
“What’s going to happen now?” Josh or Jackson asked.
“The manager contacted his next of kin. His wife will be here tomorrow.”
“That’s strange,” Julie said with a furrowed brow.
“Not really,” Elex said. “She’s the one who’ll have to make the arrangements.” It sounded like either Jackson or Josh said something about that being a lucky break for her, which seemed like an odd comment.
“Maybe we should get started,” Crystal said. But it went unheard.
“That’s not what I meant,” the same dark-haired man said who’d made the earlier comment. “I meant what happens to us now.”
“We keep going as planned, Josh,” Elex said. I now realized I could tell them apart. Josh, who’d just spoken, had a big zit on his forehead.
“But what about—”
“Everything is under control,” Elex said, cutting him off before he could finish. The nosy part of me wondered what Josh was about to say and of course why Elex wouldn’t let him say it. But I also wanted to stay out of it.
“You guys are from Silicon Valley, so I’m guessing you’re involved in some kind of start-up,” Crystal said, obviously trying to change the subject. “And I bet you’re going to change the world.” She had a small grin. “But isn’t that the mantra of all the start-ups?”
“I don’t know about the others,” Elex said with a little edge. “But we actually are going to change the world. Our company is called Reborn because the big plan is to bring back old things in a new way. Our first project is all about delivering produce. What’s the one thing people complain about when they get groceries delivered—they’re not happy with the produce. Things like the lettuce is wilted and the apples are mealy. But what if it was like the old days and a truck came to them loaded up with the best fresh produce?” He looked at Crystal and me for our reactions. “All they’d have to do is step outside and pick out what they want.” Elex let out a sigh. “When I went to Stanford this isn’t what I expected to do. I grew up on a peach and almond farm and thought that was all behind me. But then I heard that in the old days trucks used to drive around city neighborhoods with produce. I thought about what I knew and it seemed like the perfect idea to pursue.”
Julie appeared a little doubtful. “All of us didn’t grow up on a farm, but that doesn’t mean our ideas aren’t valid,” she said.
Elex ignored her comment. “We have proof of concept, now we just have to roll it out bigger.” He glanced at his group. “And we can do it without Tim.”
“I can’t believe that Tim went walking on the beach. He was so fastidious about everything,” Julie said. “And I thought I heard him say he was going to walk up the driveway and do his mindful walk on the street outside the grounds.”
“Well, obviously whatever he said, he did walk on the rocks,” Elex said. “It was a dumb idea to tell us to walk solo.” He turned to Sky.
The man in the yoga pants threw up his hands in exasperation. “I was just following orders. Mr. St. John is the one who said you should walk alone.” He hesitated for a moment. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Mr. St. John said I should let you know that the police want to talk to all of you.”
“What?” Jackson said. “Why? It was an accident, right?”
Crystal looked at me. “Maybe you should tell them.”
“It’s up to the medical examiner to determine the manner of death and there’s always an investigation when someone dies like that.”
“Casey knows her stuff,” Crystal said. “She’s like a local hotter Miss Marple. I’m sure she’ll be keeping up with the investigation, particularly since she’s the one who found your associate.”
Elex already knew, but the other three looked at me with surprise and insisted on knowing the details. Once again I went over the whole thing of finding him sprawled on his back.
“Did he say anything?” Elex asked.
I shrugged. “He was unconscious.” I heard Elex let out a sigh and it was impossible to tell if it was from disappointment or relief.
“Can we get going on the workshop?” Elex said.
“Absolutely.” Crystal looked at her watch. “I was just going to suggest the
same thing.”
She gave them a moment to settle and then began. “The plan is I teach you the basic of knitting. Just making a swatch is boring, so I came up with a simple project.” She pulled out a long strip of knitting that went from shades of orange to shades of blue. They all had blank looks. “It’s a tie. I thought it would jazz up those outfits a little.” She put it around Elex’s neck and he looked down at it and began to fiddle with it.
“I’m not good at tying ties, but you can tie it the traditional way or actually any way you want,” Crystal said. I couldn’t see Elex’s expression because he was still checking out the long thin length of knitting around his neck. He finally looked up and gave her a thumbs-up.
“I like it. We’ll have a souvenir of the weekend.”
She had them look in their tote bags and take out the yarn and needles. “There are six stitches already cast on, so all you have to do is keep knitting across the rows as you lose yourselves in making the stitches.
She gave them a quick lesson on how to do the knit stitch and they began to awkwardly work their way across the short row, looking at each other’s work as they did.
Just as they were settling in the door opened. Sky acted on impulse and blocked it from opening all the way. He appeared panicked as I saw someone poke their head inside. It was not the moon-shaped face of Kevin St. John. Actually, I didn’t even catch the face of the intruder at first. All I saw was a bunch of hair the color of cotton candy. Obviously Operation Pink Hair had been a success.
“It’s okay,” I said to Sky and pushed him away from the door to let Madison in. She looked at the table and the group around it. I muttered something about them being from next door and I was helping them out.
“I wanted to get something from my bag,” she said. I showed her where I’d stowed them. She found hers and extracted the crochet hook. She held it up and waved it at Crystal. “I thought I’d play around with what we learned.” Then she was out the door and Sky took up his position at blocking it. Surprisingly, her entrance and exit had been barely noticed by the Silicon Valley bunch. They had truly become lost in working with all the loops of yarn.
Knot on Your Life Page 8
