Lace and Lies

by Nancy Warren

  “How?” Vinod asked. “How did it happen?”

  I didn’t think he’d answer but then, looking slowly around the table, he said, “It appears she was stabbed. With steel knitting needles.”

  There was stunned silence. Then Helen said, jerkily, “Knitting is supposed to be relaxing. Calming. It is not, normally, a murderous occupation.”

  Ian resumed. “We’d like to interview each of you separately.”

  Gunnar spoke up now. “But we barely knew the woman.” The stress seemed to have made his Norwegian accent more pronounced. “I only met her the day before yesterday. I barely spoke to her.”

  “Nevertheless, sir. We do need to ask you some questions.”

  He looked at Molly. “Must I? There was nothing about this in the contract I signed with your production company.”

  Molly looked surprised at his vehemence. I think we all were. She said, “I can call our company lawyer, if you’d like.”

  Perhaps Gunnar realized that not wanting to be interviewed by police and demanding lawyers made him look guilty, so he shook his head. “No. It’s all right. I have nothing to hide.”

  “What about the crew?” Ryan asked. “Why aren’t they here to be interviewed?”

  “We’ll be talking to each of them once we finish here,” Ian said. “We’ll get started right away then.” He glanced around the table as though carefully choosing his first victim. Everyone dropped their gazes to the table as though they could avoid being chosen first. I might’ve done the same, except that I knew he wouldn’t choose me, as I’d already been interviewed. At the murder scene, which I could’ve done without.

  Ian had the most updated list from Molly. He glanced at it now. “Teddy Lamont? Let’s begin with you.”

  “Me?” Teddy squeaked. “Can Douglas come with me?”

  “No. But he can be interviewed at the same time. Douglas, you’ll be interviewed by my colleague, Inspector Lee.”

  Ian led the way, Teddy following, and then Inspector Lee, and finally Douglas. As Douglas passed my chair, he leaned down and whispered into my ear, “You know I was joking about what I said earlier on the phone, right?”

  “Yes,” I whispered back. I hadn’t passed on what he’d said, and I had no intention of doing so. We exchanged glances, and he seemed to understand that I wouldn’t run to Ian to report what he’d said.

  Once they’d gone, a horrible hush fell over the rest of us. I stood up looking for something to do. “Would anyone like some tea?”

  “I’d like a martini,” Annabel said. I understood how she felt.

  Molly said, “Becks, why don’t you go out and get some coffees and pastries or something. It’s bad enough we have to sit here in this ghoulish way. At least we could have something to eat.”

  Becks seemed only too happy to leave, but she came back in a few moments looking frazzled. “There’s a police officer at the back door. He says no one can leave without DI Chisholm’s permission.”

  “But that’s ridiculous—”

  “They’re just doing their job,” I said. “I can phone Elderflower Café, next door to my shop. I’m sure they’ll deliver whatever we want.”

  Molly nodded, still looking upset. “Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I had a job offer, you know, on Antiques Roadshow. I should’ve taken it. Nobody ever gets murdered on Antiques Roadshow.”

  Helen said, “I wouldn’t have thought knitting was a particularly murderous occupation.” She seemed obsessed with this notion.

  I barely suppressed a bitter laugh. She had no idea.

  While Becks collected food orders, the knitters all took up their knitting. However, it all looked rather halfhearted. Finally, Ryan threw down his knitting. “I can’t believe I said that about wishing she wouldn’t show up today.” He glanced up. “They won’t hold that against me, will they?”

  “Of course not,” Annabel said, soothing.

  “But what will they ask us? What do they want to know? None of us knew her.” He glanced around. “Did we?”

  “Of course not,” Gunnar said. “I come from Norway. I live in London. Very far from this Toad in the Hole place where she lived.”

  I bit back a smile. I completely understood how complicated he found English place names. “I think it was Stow-on-the-Wold.”

  He shook his head. “Incomprehensible English naming.”

  Helen looked at him. “That depends quite a bit on language, surely? Not everyone would find Preikestolen simple to say.”

  He looked at her blankly. It was Annabel who answered. “Oh, yes. Pulpit Rock. I hiked there once. Beautiful scenery.”

  Gunnar dropped his gaze back to his knitting. “I am no hiker.”

  There was a moment of silence. He seemed as though he didn’t recognize the name of a famous hiking destination in his own rather small country. Helen looked as though she was going to say more but shook her head slightly and went back to her knitting. I’d found that when murder entered a room, everyone suddenly looked suspicious.

  Making a food order gave us something to do. Since I knew the Watt sisters who ran Elderflower, I offered to phone them with our order. I asked them if they had someone who could bring it over, knowing I was asking a big favor. Mary Watt said, “We saw an ambulance and a police car outside Cardinal Woolsey’s this morning. Is everything all right?”

  Florence and Mary Watt were lovely women who’d been great friends of Gran and treated me like a favorite niece. “I’m fine,” I assured her. “I’ll explain it all later.”

  Becks pulled out her cell phone, her tablet computer, and notepad and paper. She glanced up at Molly. “Do you want me to run the numbers on how much it will cost if we have to cancel this show? And should I draft a message to the people at Larch Wools?”

  Molly shook her head quite violently. “Don’t do anything yet. I’ll make some calls and see what I can do.” She sighed. “See what I can do.”

  A worry frown marred her forehead as she took her phone and headed into the stockroom and toward the back entrance. No doubt a police officer would be able to overhear her conversations, but we wouldn’t.

  The knitters all kept working, and the rhythmic clicking and clacking of needles should’ve been soothing, but right now, knitting needles and soothing did not correlate in my brain.

  Someone who’d kill a person in that fashion would need physical strength and probably some background in medicine in order to get through the ribs and pierce the heart. I watched each of the knitters wielding those needles with such expertise.

  Gunnar’s big hands were surprisingly adept with needles and wool. He’d definitely have the strength necessary. Vinod was a radiologist. He wasn’t as physically strong as Gunnar, but he must know the human body quite well. Ryan was probably strong enough. I doubted Annabel had done it; same with Becks, Molly and Teddy. Douglas, though, he was big, strong and very protective of Teddy.

  I noticed that while four of the knitters were going along quite smoothly, Helen’s knitting was jerky and uneven. When I looked more closely, I could see that her hands were shaking badly. She was a science teacher. I bet she knew her way around a ribcage.

  A welcome interruption from my dark thoughts occurred when the police officer brought in a dark green plastic crate. In it was a large thermos jug of coffee and plastic-wrapped plates of assorted pastries, cakes and sandwiches.

  I wasn’t hungry after my breakfast, but we all helped ourselves to coffee and food. I took a piece of lemon cake for comfort. About ten minutes later, Teddy returned with Ian Chisholm behind him. We all looked up, but Teddy didn’t look particularly distraught.

  Before Ian could pick another person to be interviewed, Helen spoke up. “Do you think I could go next?” she asked in a jerky voice. “I have a nervous condition, you see. Stress isn’t good for me. If I could be interviewed now, then perhaps I could go home. I didn’t bring my pills with me. So stupid.”

  “Yes, of course,” Ian said. “Should I bring in a doctor?” I n
oticed he hadn’t offered to send her home without being interviewed.

  She shook her head. “No. I’ll be fine.”

  “Very well.” She got up, saying she was sorry to the table in general, though I didn’t think anyone particularly minded not having to go next. She was barely out of the room when Ryan asked Teddy how it had gone. The knitting guru shrugged his shoulders. “It was kind of exciting, really. He asked me if I had any reason to want Enid Selfe dead.” He threw his arms up in a dramatic gesture. “What was I supposed to say? My mother always told me never to lie to the police. Of course I told him it was the best news I’d heard since culottes went out of fashion. I’m surprised he didn’t arrest me then and there.”

  Somehow this brought a sense of humor and balance back to us. And it was a welcome relief. Ryan leaned forward. “What did he ask you? What do they want to know?”

  Teddy opened his eyes wide. “I think they want to know whether you killed that woman or not. And if you did, one of you, for goodness’ sake, tell the man so we can get on with this. I have a televised class to teach. And you know what they say. The show must go on.” He looked at the silver thermos jug. “Is that coffee?”

  I was closest, so I poured him a cup.

  Douglas returned then, so I poured him a coffee too. “Thanks. I need this,” he said, helping himself to a Bakewell tart.

  The officer invited Vinod to go next.

  When they’d left, Molly said, “I’m so glad you’re willing to go on with the show.” She sounded dizzy with relief.

  Around a large bite of his tart, Douglas said, “Teddy always fulfills his commitments.”

  “How can you think of your TV show when a woman’s dead?” Annabel asked.

  Teddy reached for a shortbread cookie. “Of course I’d love to solve a murder. Who wouldn’t? But that’s the dishy inspector’s job. Mine is to teach knitting. We’re on a schedule, and I’d like to stay on it. Enid Selfe has caused us enough trouble. I don’t want her derailing the rest of this project.”

  He sounded extremely selfish and cold-blooded, but I couldn’t blame him. Douglas nodded in support.

  Molly came around the table to where he was sitting. “Teddy. I’m so, so sorry.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t wish anyone dead, but you must admit not having another day of filming with that woman will do us all a huge favor.”

  Molly looked delighted at his words. “You’re really willing to continue?”

  “Of course I am. I’m a professional. Besides, I’m launching a book, and this is all part of the promotion. It’s a wonderful opportunity for both Larch Wools and Lamont Enterprises to gain market share. I don’t see why that should change just because of a crime that I certainly didn’t commit.”

  She let out a huge sigh. “That’s wonderful news. I know we can edit around Enid without having to cut out too much. But all our advertising says six knitters. We need another one.”

  She looked to me. “Lucy, do you think you could find someone from your customers? Someone discreet who could slip into Enid’s spot? If they look a little bit like her, then it will be an easier editing job.”

  Someone who wouldn’t mind replacing a dead woman? Before I could say anything, Teddy wiped his mouth and announced, “I have the perfect person. You want another woman of a certain age, don’t you? And I want someone who doesn’t keep talking trash to me. What about that lovely lady I gave the proof of my book to, Lucy? What was her name?”

  “Margot Dodeson?”

  “Yes. The dear lady. She seemed grateful and very happy to learn from me. I think she lives locally—well, she must, as she came to the book signing. What do you think?”

  Molly squinted, concentrating. “You mean that mousy woman who was scared of her own shadow but followed you with worshipful eyes?”

  He chuckled. “Yes. Exactly that one.”

  I couldn’t think of anyone better than Margot Dodeson, and I said so. “You’re exactly right. She’s got similar coloring to Enid, is in the same age bracket, and she’s local. The only problem will be getting her to agree. She’s very shy, as you may have noticed.”

  Teddy sighed. “Believe me, after the ordeal of yesterday, shy is good. Shy is very good.”

  I glanced around the table and then to Molly. “But are you absolutely certain you’re going to continue?”

  “Absolutely.” Then she smiled a very confident producer’s smile at the assembled knitters. “As soon as we wrap this up, we’ll get back to filming. I don’t suppose we’ll even go a minute beyond the time you’ve all agreed to in your contracts.” Oh, that was smooth, the way she edged in that they’d all signed contracts.

  There was some nervous shuffling, and Ryan looked as though he might say something, but it was Annabel who spoke up. “So long as I don’t have to take more time off work, I’m in.” It seemed that once she had spoken, everyone was in agreement. I supposed they all wanted to make sure they didn’t do anything that made them look suspicious.

  “Great. Great,” Molly said. “And we’ll wrap it all up next weekend. Lucy? Could you phone Margot?”

  “And do I tell her why we’re asking her to take over in Enid Selfe’s place?” I did not relish this conversation.

  “No. No. The police wouldn’t want that. Just say that one of the knitters had to drop out suddenly. Tell her that Teddy asked for her specially.”

  He smiled at me. “It’s true. I did ask for her specially. If you have any trouble convincing her, put me on the phone with her.”

  However, the extra influence wasn’t necessary. Margot Dodeson seemed thrilled to be asked and, apart from saying she was sorry someone had to drop out, asked no difficult questions.

  Like me, Teddy Lamont hadn’t thought to bring his knitting with him. Perhaps he didn’t even have a project on the go. Instead, he fiddled with his cell phone. Occasionally he would toss a nugget of information at Molly. “I’ve got an email from the head of Larch Wools. She’s suggesting that if this goes really well, we might want to do something similar around my next book.”

  Molly stared at him. “If this goes really well?”

  He nodded. “We’ll get through this. And depending on how the show’s received, I’d consider another one.”

  He was flipping from screen to screen and sending rapid-fire texts out with his thumbs like a teenager with ADD. Suddenly, he dropped the phone as though it were a live electric wire and he was standing in water. He went pale. “What the—”

  Chapter 10

  We all stopped what we were doing. Every knitter paused. Molly glanced up from her computer. “What is it?” Becks finally asked him.

  He picked up his phone and pushed a lot of buttons. “Nothing. Sorry, I read that wrong. It was nothing. Nothing at all.”

  But it did not look like nothing at all. He sat there for a few more minutes, clearly agitated, and then he asked, “Has anyone told us when we can go? I’ve got things to do. I’m a busy man.”

  Molly had obviously had a lot of experience soothing frazzled celebrities. She said, “I’m sure they’ll let us go as soon as they can. When that detective comes back, I’ll ask him.”

  Teddy nodded. And he said, “Douglas, I need to talk to you privately.”

  He glanced toward the back door. “Are the cops still guarding the back door? Why are they treating us like criminals? It’s ridiculous. I teach knitting. I don’t go around murdering people.”

  I tried to think of somewhere private, but there were interviews going on in the bookstore and in Charlie’s flat upstairs. The stock room contained the back door where an officer was stationed. Teddy was right. They were treating us, if not like criminals, at least with suspicion.

  Douglas looked concerned by Teddy’s agitation. He turned to Molly. “Is there somewhere in this godforsaken bookshop that we could have some privacy?”

  This was obviously a very new situation to her, as it was to all of us. She said, “I’ll talk to the police officer at the back door. I’m sure he’ll le
t you stand a little way away, out of earshot. That’s probably the best I can do for privacy.”

  He didn’t look happy, but he agreed. The three went out. I’d never seen Teddy look so serious. That sprightly energetic man seemed subdued, and when he walked out of the room, it was as though his shoes were made of cement.

  When they were gone, we all looked at one another.

  “What was that about?” Ryan asked Annabel.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know, but Teddy Lamont looked frightened.”

  Molly came back and sat down again, but she kept looking toward the back as though hoping Teddy would return.

  Douglas and Teddy weren’t gone for long. When they came back, Teddy did not look relieved. If anything, he looked more troubled. Douglas had a very determined expression on his face.

  “We should never have agreed to do this lace teaching. I had a feeling. I had a bad feeling, Douglas.”

  The big man put his hand on Teddy’s shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong. But you have to tell them.”

  “Tell us what?”

  Ian walked in, Helen trailing behind. She reminded me of someone coming out of hospital after a major operation. She looked weak, pale and shaky. Teddy didn’t look thrilled the detective had overheard him and Douglas.

  There was utter silence for a moment, and then Douglas said, “Go on. It’ll be okay.”

  “Easy for you to say. The murderer didn’t use your phone.”

  That got all of our attention. Vinod and his detective came in behind Helen, and Vinod said, “I beg your pardon?”

  Ian asked, “Did I hear you correctly?”

  Teddy obviously enjoyed being the center of attention, but I thought in this instance, he’d have been happier without the audience. His tone was curt. “Yes, you did. I wouldn’t make that up. The murderer used my phone.”

  He flicked back to his texts, and I could see that his hands were unsteady. He read aloud. “This is Teddy. Meet me at Cardinal Woolsey’s at midnight. The door will be unlocked. I want to speak with you privately.” He glanced up. “First, I would never have sent that woman a text. Second, she is the last person I would want to meet in the middle of the night.”