by Cia Leah
“No, I can’t blame Linda either and that explains why when Helen arrived home, the back seat was full of afghan’s. She must have been delivering them personally.”
“Did she catch you in the house?”
“No, I heard her car and got out just in the nick of time. Several people had left notes at the door, demanding their afghan’s though and what was odd, was Helen had a how to book on crocheting. I asked her about it, but she just said Sadie didn’t have patience to teach her and told her to get an instruction booklet.”
“If Sadie didn’t have patience, she couldn’t sit and crochet all day, nor could she have taught several ladies that I know how to do basic crochet.”
Rich sipped the hot coffee. “It’s sure is a mystery. When I was in Sadie’s house, I never saw any yarn lying around, no afghan’s that looked like they were being worked on. Nothing at all to show that Sadie crocheted at all except for the beautiful things she made for her home.”
“That is odd, then. Sadie has big baskets all over her house stuffed full of yarn and one just for crochet needles. She even has embroidery and needles for that also. She does tablecloths and all kinds of nifty things.”
“Nothing like that there and in the medicine cabinet was two prescriptions in Helen’s name. One is a pain med and one is Motrin.”
“Arthritis and pain medicine. That would make one sleepy, so maybe that is why you saw Sadie sleeping, but why would she take Helen’s medication?”
Rich finished his coffee. “I don’t know and another odd thing is the mound of dirt in the backyard. Someone planted flowers on it, but there’s no grass. Sort of odd don’t you think?”
“Where at in the backyard?”
“Towards the right of the back patio against the side of the house.”
“Why would Sadie put dirt and plant flowers against her outside cellar door?”
“What?” Rich asked, leaning forward.
“Sadie’s house is an older one and it has an old cellar door leading down to the basement from the outside. Even though Sadie has an entrance from the kitchen inside the house to the basement, she always let the furnace repairman or hot water tank repairman use the outside door so they wouldn’t have to come in her house and track up her floors.”
“I didn’t notice another door when I was in the kitchen.”
“Well, you wouldn’t if you didn’t know it was there. One time I stopped to pick up an afghan and Sadie had one more row to go before it was finished, so she invited me in for tea. We sat at the kitchen table, and since it was almost winter and the temperatures were dipping enough that you’d want some heat in the house, Sadie had the furnace repair man checking the filters and things. He used the outside entrance to the basement, but when he called up for Sadie to turn the furnace on to make sure it worked ok, she opened the door to the right of the table to ask him how high to turn it up to. I thought it was a closet, and was surprised it led to the basement.”
Rich shook his head. “This gets more complicated by the minute,” he said, thinking for a few seconds. “The afghan you ordered isn’t an easy one to make, is it?”
“No, it’s done in strips, then has to be sewn together or crocheted together however Sadie does it. My crocheting expertise never advanced beyond the granny stitch afghan.”
Rich grinned. “I love the granny afghan you made me for my chair. I think it’s the pretties one I’ve ever seen.” He loved the way Brenda’s eyes lit up at his compliment and the smile she bestowed on him.
“I love you honey,” she said, leaning over and kissing him. “Now, run upstairs and get showered. I made cream of potato soup and it’s simmering on the stove, and I’ll make the grilled ham and cheese to go with it while you get ready.”
Rich kissed her back, and then ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs. “Now, he was looking forward to having to go back to Sadie’s on Friday to get the afghan and if he didn’t miss his guess, he was going to find out what was going on.”
***
Rich left work two hours early on Friday and arrived at Sadie’s by three in the afternoon. Helen’s car was gone, as he had expected it to be. He walked up to the door and knocked. It was a warm day and the sun was bright and the wind just a wisp of a breeze. It was certainly a better day for snooping than it was on Wednesday.
As he expected, no one answered the door. He tried the knob, only to find it locked. Just his luck, he thought, and ran around to the back patio. He tried the kitchen door to find it unlocked. He pushed it open a little and yelled, “Sadie! You home?”
Rich stepped into the kitchen and checked out the house. Sadie was nowhere to be found, but the crochet instruction booklet lay on the sofa with a needle. He picked up the piece of thread and even he could tell the mistakes in the crochet stitches. It didn’t look like Helen was doing a very good job at learning how.
He set the piece of work back down and walked back into the kitchen. He saw the door Brenda had told him about and walked over and opened it. For a moment, he held his breath at seeing a light down in the basement. He listened. “Hello, down there! Sadie!” He called, thinking it better to let his presence known if anyone were there and then maybe they wouldn’t be so upset at him for being in their house. When no one answered, he walked down the steps.
Rich stood at the bottom and stared at Sadie as she sat tied to an overstuffed chair that had seen better days. Her mouth was taped shut with duct tape, and a rope was tied around her chest and upper arms, and her feet seemed to be tied to the legs in the front. Her hands were free but she only had enough room to manage to hold the crochet thread and afghan.
“My God,” Rich said, running to her side. “Are you all right, Sadie?” He saw her shake her head and tears ran down her cheeks. “I’m going to get you out of here, all right?” At her nod, Rich grasped the tape at her mouth. “This is going to hurt.” When she nodded, he pulled the tape off as fast as he could, knowing it was the easiest way.
“Thank God someone found me! I thought I was going to be down here forever!”
Rich heard her raspy voice, dry and parched from being taped up. “Let me get you untied.” He said and quickly released her. “Can you get up?”
“Yes, if you’ll give me a little assistance. I am so stiff and sore from sitting here for so long!”
Rich helped her to stand and waited a few minutes, then assisted her up the stairs. He pulled out a chair for her and brought her a glass of water. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Yes, just so sore from being in that chair for so long! What day is it?”
“Friday.”
“Good Lord, I’ve been down there for almost a week! That woman is nuts!”
“I agree,” Rich said, moving to the phone on the wall. He called the police and explained what had happened, then hung up and joined Sadie at the table again. “Can you tell me what happened and who that woman is?”
“Yes, and while I tell you, would you be kind enough to make me a cup of hot tea?”
Rich grinned. “Sadie, I’ll make you anything your heart desires and I won’t leave your side until the police get here.”
Sadie smiled. “That’s the best thing I’ve heard in a week.”
Rich put the kettle of water on to boil and leaned against the sink as Sadie began her story.
“Helen is my half sister. She is seven years younger than I am and for the past twenty years, she has been in a mental institution. When she showed up on my doorstep on Sunday evening, I was shocked to say the least. She said she had been released and had no where to go and had no money or a home and I was the only one she could turn to, since my brother wouldn’t have anything to do with her.” She said, slightly out of breath.
Rich made her tea and set it down on the table in front of her. “Take your time, Sadie. You’ve been through a lot.”
Sadie nodded and picked up the teaspoon in her cup and blew on the hot tea and sipped it. “That feels so good on my parched throat,” she said, and then contin
ued. “Well, since Helen is my sister and I took her at her word, I took her into my home. She was fascinated that I was making money at crocheting and the next day, when she made me a cup of tea and brought it to me on the porch, I drank it, then became awful drowsy. That’s all I remember, except for Helen helping me down the steps to the basement. After that, I woke up tied to that old chair. Helen left me have enough room to crochet and eat and drink a little, but nothing more. She even brought a portable potty down there and held a knife on me while I tended to my needs. It was very demeaning but I was so weak from being drugged, there wasn’t much I could do about it.”
“I’m sorry, Sadie,” Rich said.
“It was awful. The drug she gave me, made me sleepy, and she expected me to crochet the afghan’s people had ordered. I done what I could and I know some had mistakes, and I feel bad about that. With your wife’s, though, I couldn’t do it the way my arms were tied and I know you need it tomorrow. I will work on it tonight and tomorrow. I think Brenda said she needed it by seven tomorrow night for a housewarming party for her sister.”
“Don’t worry about it, Sadie. Brenda will understand. She can give it to her sister a little late and we’ll get her something else for tomorrow night.”
Sadie laughed. “You know, for the first time in my life, since I learned to crochet, I feel like I have been almost crocheted to death!”
Rich grinned as police sirens announced the arrival of the police. When he went to the door to let them in, Helen drove by the house. He yelled at one officer in another squad car to get her, and watched as in seconds, they had Helen pulled over, out of the car, and handcuffed.
He led the other officer into the kitchen where Sadie sat drinking her tea, a crochet needle and afghan in her hands. “Brenda’s?”
Sadie nodded. “I always keep my promises to my customers, crocheted to death or not!”
Rich laughed. “Five o’clock ok to pick it up?”
“Yup!” Sadie said, turning to the police officer and relaying what had happened to her, her fingers plying the thread in record time.
Rich knew that when he came to pick it up tomorrow, Brenda’s afghan would be finished this time.
The End
