Knit to Be Tied

by Maggie Sefton

  Jimmy smiled Kelly’s way. “Hey there, Kelly. I wish I made enough money to need a CPA,” he said with a laugh.

  Now that Kelly was up this close, she could tell that Jimmy the bartender wasn’t as young as she thought at first. It made sense since he knew Jennifer from her barhopping days. “That’s okay, Jimmy. I’m an equal opportunity CPA. You don’t have to be rich to afford my services. But it helps.” She gave Jimmy her brightest meet-the-client smile.

  “Kelly and I are trying to help out a friend,” Jennifer said. “She’s a young college student and got mixed up with a real sleazeball. She met him here at the Halftime a few months ago. The guy’s name is Neil. Our friend thought he was serious about her, but . . .” Jennifer gave Jimmy a world-weary look. “He was just stringing her along these last few months. Anyway, now she’s pregnant.”

  Jimmy shook his head with a sardonic expression. “An old familiar story,” he said, wiping down the bar again.

  “Yeah. Well, she said she came into the Halftime and told this Neil about the baby. Then that bastard basically dumped her right here at the bar in front of lots of people. Told everyone that he couldn’t be sure the baby was his. And then he turned his back on her. Cut her off.”

  “You know, I think I remember that little scene. It wasn’t pretty. The girl was crying and everything. I don’t remember names or anything. But those barroom dramas are hard to forget.”

  “That sounds right,” Jennifer said.

  “Why are you two asking questions about it? Is the girl trying to sue for child support or something?”

  Kelly couldn’t even imagine how humiliating that barroom confrontation must have been for Nancy. “It turns out Neil Smith was a hit-and-run victim a couple of weeks ago in Old Town one night,” she said.

  “Whoa! That was him?” Jimmy said, clearly surprised.

  “Yeah, that was Neil Smith. And it turns out, our friend wasn’t the only one looking for him. She told her father what happened, and he went looking for Smith later that night.”

  “Uh-oh. I think I know where this is going,” Jimmy said. “I do remember an older man coming in here one night and getting in a fight with a younger guy. He looked like he wanted to punch that guy’s lights out. Me and another bartender had to hold him back.”

  “That sounds like our friend’s father. Was it a couple of weeks ago when this all happened?” Kelly asked.

  Jimmy shrugged. “That sounds about right.”

  “Have police come in to talk to you, Jimmy?” Jennifer asked.

  “They’ve tried to catch me here at the bar, but my boss keeps changing my schedule. He told me the cops stopped in a few days ago and asked him questions. But Dave didn’t see anything. He’s too busy at the front to watch the bar. That’s our job.” He flicked the white towel over the bar once more. “I told the cops that later tonight would be a good time. Another backup bartender is coming in. Back-to-school crunch time.” He gave them a wry smile.

  “Oh, yeah. I remember that well,” Jennifer said with a knowing nod.

  Jimmy peered at both Jennifer and Kelly. “Are you two thinking maybe the older guy was the one who drove his car into this Neil Smith?”

  “We don’t know, Jimmy,” Jennifer said. “That’s why we’re asking questions. Our friend is too scared, as you can imagine.”

  Kelly continued, embroidering the story. “She says her father would never do anything like that. But a father will definitely try to protect his daughter.” Kelly knew this was true from experience. Her dad always stood up for her, no matter what.

  “You’re right about that,” Jimmy said, glancing down the bar.

  Just then two college-aged guys walked up to the bar and grabbed a couple of stools. Jimmy glanced their way. “Gotta go. Oh, yeah, I just remembered. One night another guy came into the bar and said he saw a guy lying on the street about a block away. And a girl was kneeling beside him.”

  Kelly stared at him. “Really?”

  “Yeah, I remember that. Gotta go. Good to see you, Jennifer. Drop in again.” Jimmy started walking toward the new customers.

  Jennifer looked at Kelly. “Well, what do you make of that, Sherlock?”

  Kelly shrugged. “I don’t know. But it sure makes me curious. I’m going to call Burt when I get back. Tell him all this.”

  “You do that. We want to stay on the good side of the law.” Jennifer gave her a crooked smile. “Now, why don’t we try out that new café on Mountain.”

  “Definitely. I think I just felt my stomach growl,” Kelly said jokingly.

  • • •

  “So there you go, Burt,” Kelly said, relaxing back into a lawn chair in the cottage backyard. Carl was snuffling through the few shrubs Kelly had planted along the chain-link fence. “Bartender Jimmy said police were coming to ask him questions later tonight. He’s had scheduling problems apparently. Hard to meet with the cops, I guess.”

  “Or unwilling,” Burt’s voice came over the phone. “A lot of young guys don’t like to talk to police about other guys they know. It feels like snitching to them.”

  “I have to admit his story really makes the picture of Nancy’s father a lot more damning.”

  “Yeah, it sure does. By now, Dan and the guys will probably be talking with that bartender. I’ll wait until morning to give Dan a call.”

  “You should go to bed, Burt. You sound really tired.”

  “Right you are, Sherlock. Talk to you tomorrow.” Burt’s phone clicked off.

  Seventeen

  “Hey there, Kelly,” Geraldine said as Kelly walked into Lambspun’s main room. Glancing up from the lemon yellow wool she was casting onto her knitting needles, Geraldine asked, “Have you finished that sweater yet?”

  Kelly plopped her knitting bag on the library table and pulled out a chair. “I’m getting closer. It all depends on how much uninterrupted knitting time I have.”

  “Isn’t that always the truth,” Geraldine said, shaking her head as her fingers worked quickly. “The problem is there are so many other things we have to take care of, our knitting gets shoved to the bottom of our to-do lists.”

  Kelly pulled out the white alpaca wool sweater. She had an hour before she had to make a client phone call. She slid another soft white alpaca wool stitch off the needle in her left hand and onto the needle in her right hand. She was in the home stretch of finishing this sweater finally. Kelly had just settled into a knitting rhythm when Geraldine spoke again.

  “I heard some good news, Kelly. About my cousin’s son Reggie. He told me he actually found a friend who was at that party the same night Neil Smith was hit by a car. And his friend will tell police that Reggie was at the party with him.”

  Surprised, Kelly looked over at Geraldine. “Really? Oh, that’s wonderful news, Geraldine. His friend’s statement should definitely take Reggie off the police radar screen.”

  Geraldine let out a big sigh. “I can’t tell you the relief I feel. I was so worried about Reggie.”

  “I could tell. You had this worried expression all the time. And with good reason.” Kelly caught a glimpse of Burt walking through the central yarn room and called out, “Hey, Burt. Come on in and hear Geraldine’s good news.” When Burt turned around, Kelly beckoned him over.

  Geraldine gave a short laugh. “You’re reading my mind, Kelly. Burt was next on my list to share the good news.”

  “What news is that, Geraldine?” Burt asked as he approached the knitting table.

  She looked up at Burt with a wide grin. “Reggie found a friend who was at the same party he was that night when Neil Smith was killed. And Reggie’s friend remembers seeing Reggie there.”

  Burt’s face lit up. “That’s great news. And the friend is willing to talk to police?”

  Geraldine nodded. “Reggie said they were going there today. Thank goodness. I was so worried.”


  “I know you were,” Burt said solicitously. “You should go up front and tell Mimi.”

  “I’ll do that right now,” Geraldine said, jumping up from her chair. “I’m so relieved. I’m going to call all my friends.” She dropped her lemon yellow yarn onto the chair and scurried out of the room. Her excitement was palpable.

  Watching Geraldine hurry off, Kelly said, “I bet we’ll see her an hour from now, sitting in the shady front patio making calls.”

  “It’s certainly good news for Geraldine,” Burt said as he settled back into the wooden chair. “But now police are back to the second guy who got into an argument with Neil Smith at the Halftime Bar.”

  Nancy’s father, Felix, Kelly thought to herself. She glanced up at Burt. “You mean the guy who works at AA?”

  “Yes, it sounds like he was the only other guy who got into an argument with Smith at the Halftime Bar. The bartender wasn’t close by so he couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he could tell the other guy was really angry with Smith. The bartender didn’t recognize him and neither did the waitresses. So he definitely wasn’t a regular.”

  Kelly continued with her stitches, working the row. She felt sorry for Felix. He’d worked hard to turn his life around. But if he deliberately killed Neil Smith, that changed everything.

  From the back of her mind, a forgotten thought wiggled forward. “You know, when Jennifer and I spoke with the bartender, he mentioned that someone at the bar said they saw a young woman kneeling beside a guy who was lying in the middle of the street that night.”

  Burt peered at Kelly. “You mean the night Neil Smith was killed?”

  Kelly nodded. “Yes, that same night. The bartender knew Jennifer so he was certainly comfortable talking with her.”

  “You know, I wonder if that bartender told Dan about seeing a girl,” Burt said. “Dan didn’t say anything about a young woman in the street.”

  “I wonder who she was?” Kelly pondered out loud. “Maybe it was simply someone coming back from a party or some bar in Old Town.”

  “Who knows, Kelly?” Burt said, rising from his chair. “But whoever it was, Dan needs to know about her. I’ll talk to you later.” He started to turn away then glanced back at her. “Thanks, Sherlock. You’ve got a great nose for sniffing out clues.”

  Kelly laughed as she slid a stitch from the left needle onto the right needle. “You make me sound like that hound from a Sherlock Holmes mystery. What was it?”

  “Right again, Sherlock. That was the Hound of the Baskervilles.”

  “That’s right. And if I recall correctly, it was not a nice dog. Not like my sweet Rottie boy, Carl,” Kelly teased.

  “Not at all, Kelly,” Burt said with a laugh as he walked away.

  Kelly relaxed back into her chair. Quiet time again. Excellent. She glanced at her watch. One half hour until she had to return to her cottage and make that business call. Maybe she could finally finish this sweater at last. She slid another stitch from the left needle to the right. Another neat row of stitches formed. One sleeve was done, and she was halfway finished with the other.

  Kelly was still surprised to see how much her knitting had improved over the years of coming to Lambspun. Simply sitting and knitting with her friends while they all relaxed around the table and talked about what was going on in their lives. Stitch after stitch, row after row.

  Julie walked into the room then, her arms filled with skeins of bright red yarns. “Hey, Kelly. It looks like you’re finishing that winter sweater.” Julie dumped the bundle of yarns on the other side of the table.

  “You’re right. I’m in the home stretch. And stop using the word ‘winter,’ please. I don’t like to be reminded that summer will be over,” Kelly joked.

  Julie laughed as she removed some yarn skeins from a bin on the wall opposite Kelly. “Summer girl Kelly,” she teased. “Okay, no mention of the colder weather. Is it okay if I put some new warm weather yarns here? You don’t have to look at them.”

  Kelly glanced over at the yarns Julie was stacking in the bin. Fire-engine red. “Hey, that’s my favorite color. Toss one of them over here, would you?”

  “Sure.” Julie tossed a skein across the table. “You know. Bright red mittens would go great with that white sweater.”

  Kelly picked up the bright red skein. Soft, soft. Eighty percent wool and the rest mohair, the label read. She fingered the red yarn then compared the feel to the white alpaca sweater yarn. Similar but firmer, Kelly decided. That would be good for mittens.

  “You know, you’re right, Julie. I think I’ll make some mittens with this after I’ve finished the sweater. Since I knit slower than you guys, I should have both sweater and mittens finished by the time cold weather arrives.” She smiled at Julie.

  “You are so funny, Kelly,” Julie said with a laugh as she started to walk from the room. Stopping at the archway leading into the central yarn room, Julie turned around. “You know what would look really great? You’re only halfway through that white sweater. Why don’t you make the other half with the red yarn? That’ll be perfect with those red mittens.”

  Kelly immediately pictured herself wearing the red mittens with the half-white, half-red sweater. “Hey, that’s a great idea, Julie. Thanks. Are there enough skeins of the red to do both?”

  Julie pulled out the bin and started counting skeins. “Oh, yeah. There are over ten skeins here. No problem.”

  “Do me a favor, would you? Count up how many skeins I’d need for both mittens and this sweater, and let’s put them on reserve for me right now. I don’t want to risk someone else buying the yarn.”

  “You got it,” Julie said, walking from the room with the yarn bin.

  It was hard to think about winter when it was still August and still hot outside, Kelly thought as she returned to her stitches. The sweater was coming along. Perfect timing for Julie’s great suggestion.

  “Hey, Kelly,” a familiar young girl’s voice sounded from the workroom doorway.

  Kelly looked up and saw Cassie walking into the room, and she was wearing a cute outfit that Kelly didn’t recognize. “Hey, Cassie. Is that some of the new stuff from your back-to-school shopping?”

  “Sure is. You like it?” Cassie held up her hands and spun around. “I love the colors.”

  “It’s adorable. And it’s your favorite blue and green, too. How could it miss?” Kelly teased with a laugh.

  “I know. We also found a couple of other new tops and pants, too. Really cute.” She bounced a little side to side. “I love school shopping.”

  Kelly laughed softly watching her. Cassie’s excitement was contagious. “I think Jennifer enjoyed it, too.”

  “It’s so much fun! And I had a lot of fun with Jennifer, too. We even went out for ice cream afterwards.”

  “I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you’re excited,” Kelly joked.

  “Oh, yeah. Only two more days. Yay!” Another little side step and bounce.

  “Do you have any more outfits you can show me? I’d love to see them. That way I don’t have to go shopping and brave the crowds at the mall.”

  Cassie rolled her eyes dramatically. “Ohhhhh, wow. Kids were everywhere! Moms were digging through piles of clothes. And all the dressing rooms had waiting lines. It was crazed.”

  Kelly wondered if that was a new teenage term, but she didn’t have time to ask. Jayleen strode into the room then.

  “Well, hey there! Good to see two of my favorite girls in one spot,” Jayleen declared, breaking into a grin.

  “Jayleen! Look at my new outfit for school!” Cassie twirled around again while Jayleen made suitable appreciative noises.

  “You’re as pretty as a shiny new penny,” Jayleen said with a short laugh. “Come over here and give me a hug!” She opened her arms wide.

  Cassie headed straight into Jayleen’s embrace. Kelly watched
Jayleen close her eyes and hug Cassie tight. To Kelly’s mind, Jayleen was another grandmother-in-waiting like Mimi who finally got to lavish her affection on a youngster. Different stories. Different lives.

  “Jennifer and Cassie went school shopping with all the hordes and hordes of kids in town. Cassie was about to show me the other things they bought. Join me and enjoy a fashion show with all her new school outfits.”

  “Well, I’ll be happy to do it. Besides, I can use a little sit-down about now.” Jayleen pulled out a chair on the other side of the table from Kelly.

  “Okay, Cassie, what’s next?” Kelly played along.

  Cassie grinned. “I’ll change and show both of you. This will be fun!” She sped from the room.

  Both Kelly and Jayleen laughed lightly. “‘Fun’ is the operative word, you notice,” Kelly said to Jayleen.

  “Bless her heart,” Jayleen said. “I love her to death.”

  “I can tell.” Kelly caught her eye. “Isn’t it amazing how Cassie came into our lives suddenly and brought something we didn’t even know we needed. More love, something.”

  Jayleen nodded, then said simply, “Joy.”

  Cassie bounced back into the room then and spun around to show off another new outfit. “Oh, I like that,” Kelly said in admiration. “And those are new colors for you. Bright red and shamrock green.”

  “I know. I almost didn’t choose them, but Jennifer said to try them on and see what they look like.” Cassie grinned. “Jennifer says the mirror never lies.”

  Kelly laughed. “Well, she’s right about that. Sometimes I wish it would.”

  Jayleen threw back her head and laughed loudly. “Whoooeee! Jennifer said it straight. And that outfit looks real pretty on you, Cassie girl.”

  “Thanks, guys!” she chirped and raced from the knitting room once more.