A Crafter Quilts a Crime

by Holly Quinn

  Sammy didn’t know the first thing about running a recreational vehicle. What she did know was that, if the propane ran out, she’d be up a creek, looking at a long, cold night ahead. The barn would offer some protection from the cold and biting wind; however, as cold as it was, it wouldn’t take long to dip below freezing inside too. She’d always dreamed of going on a camping trip in an RV. This wasn’t exactly the way she’d planned it. After this experience, I might just take that idea off my bucket list, she thought with a roll of her eyes. The muted gray walls seemed to close in on her, and she knew the feeling of claustrophobia could easily take over if she allowed it.

  Sammy resigned herself to the fact that she wasn’t going anywhere and decided the best thing she could do was try to settle down for the night. The idea of sleeping in a strange bed inside a strange camper didn’t sit well with her, but she tried to push away the negative thoughts clouding her mind and instead began to search for items to make her stay as comfortable as possible. She took a few steps deeper into the space and began to rifle through drawers and cabinets. With unbound hands, the task was much easier. There was nothing worth eating besides the can of peanuts Marty had found earlier. She surmised that he’d at least done a good job of removing food to keep rodents at bay.

  Sammy stepped into the bedroom area, and when she sat on the edge of the bed, she knew she couldn’t do it. She’d have to sleep by the door in case Marty returned. She had to remain vigilant and ready for anything, like a soldier prepared for battle. She rolled the army-green sleeping bag off the bed, bundled it into her arms, and stuffed it onto the gray pleather kitchen seat. After reclosing all the cabinet doors and drawers that she had randomly left ajar, she sank into the seat and wrapped up in the sleeping bag. Her nose curled along with her stomach when she noted that the sleeping bag was in desperate need of a wash. After trying without success to get a little water from the frozen bottle, she closed her eyes, and before long the weariness took over and she succumbed to it.

  * * *

  The next morning, Sammy awoke with a stiff neck and a runny nose inside a cold camper. She shivered, even with the sleeping bag tucked tight around her. Her only hope of survival was finding someone with a phone, because there was no way she’d last long under these circumstances. Not helping to alleviate her fears, she realized the camper must’ve officially run out of propane overnight. She pushed the musty-smelling sleeping bag aside and took a sip of water from the frozen bottle. The ice had melted a bit overnight, giving her at least a quarter of a cup.

  When she attempted to stand upright, her ankle buckled, vertigo kicked in, and she thought she might suddenly fall. The stress from the previous day and having little to eat made her feel lousy. The lack of coffee, and no hope for a cup in her near future, made her grunt in frustration. She breathed in deep, centered herself by placing her hand on the nearby table, and then brushed her tangled hair from her eyes.

  When the vertigo subsided, she flung open the metal door of the camper and limped into the dim barn. A beam of sunlight peeked through the cracks, giving her the ability to see the interior of the barn better than she had the previous night. The faded gray boards had protected her overnight, and she touched a center beam with reverence as she stepped past. She wouldn’t have survived the night outdoors—not a chance. This barn had been her refuge.

  The space inside the barn was unnervingly quiet. No trapped flapping birds this morning, and Sammy missed the comfort of her dog. She hoped Bara was tucked in somewhere warm.

  She felt as if she were helpless and alone on a desolate glacier, not knowing which way to turn, and she suddenly felt a desperate need to reach out in prayer. As she was pleading with her Maker to help her out of this mess, something reflected a beam of sunshine, catching her attention. A crack in the faded gray wooden walls allowed the light to penetrate. She tented her eyes with her hands to follow the shiny object. Something behind one of the large beams was reflecting the light. Sammy’s curiosity won out, and she abandoned her prayer and went to investigate. What she came upon caused her mouth to drop in surprise. A shiny silver key was nailed to the beam, along with a few others. Her heart leapt in excitement, and she looked up to her Maker with a smile of thanksgiving.

  Sammy plucked the keys off the wooden beam one by one, tucked them inside her jeans pocket for safekeeping, and turned to exit the barn. One of these keys had to be the key to the farmhouse next door.

  It has to be.

  The trek through the crusty snow was arduous, as the bitter cold the previous night had caused a sheet of ice to form on top. Sammy pushed her feet hard to penetrate the glaze as she made a path toward the house. Steam rose from her breath, and she tucked her hands into her jacket like a turtle as she trudged across the frozen tundra. When she arrived at the front door, she had to blow on her hands several times to get her frozen fingers to cooperate. She desperately attempted each of the keys in the lock until one finally made the door pop open. Sammy sighed with relief and held a hand to her fluttering heart.

  The door opened with a creak, and natural light flooded the interior of the farmhouse. Sammy noted that the furniture was covered in white sheets, as if the owner was keeping the dust at bay while absent. Whoever owned this home wasn’t planning on returning anytime soon. The house would probably be cold, but not nearly as cold as it was outdoors. She doubted the heat was turned off completely; otherwise the pipes would’ve burst long ago.

  Sammy tentatively stepped inside the entryway and wondered if the water was turned off, as she desperately wanted a drink. She followed the aged hardwood floor to the back of the house until she found a deep porcelain farm sink in the kitchen. She flicked on the faucet, and after a few sputters, the water shot out full stream. She sighed in relief, cupping her hands beneath it to take a drink. Then, turning her head sideways, Sammy put her mouth directly in the water flow until she was satisfied. After wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she turned the faucet to hot, and when the water began to steam, she plunged her cold, aching hands into the stream to relieve the pain. She held them there until she could move her fingers with ease. But it wasn’t just the cold that had caused her hands to ache. As she studied her fingers, she remembered how tightly her hands had been woven together the previous day. By day’s end, a few fingers were sure to show a bruise.

  Sammy looked over her shoulder for a towel or even a sheet of paper towel but found none. Instead she wiped her wet hands on her jeans and then tucked them beneath her armpits to keep them warm.

  The search for a landline began. She moved out of the kitchen and stepped into a formal room, where she located a telephone beneath a dust sheet covering a long mahogany desk. Unfortunately, when she picked up the receiver, the lack of a dial tone confirmed that there was no service.

  Defeat settled in as she pondered her next move.

  Sammy didn’t ponder long. As she was placing the bedsheet back atop the long desk and adjusting it neatly back into place, her eyes caught sight of a trash can beneath the desk. Prickles moved up her spine. On top of the receptacle lay a magazine with letters cut out of it. Letters that had most likely created the note Jackson had received asking for $100,000— Marty’s ransom note.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Finding the cut-up magazine with letters removed led Sammy to one conclusion: either Marty had been inside the farmhouse, or the owner of the property somehow had something to do with Wanda’s death and her husband’s so-called kidnapping. Was it just a ruse? Had he faked his own kidnapping? There was just no other explanation. Was there? Why would Marty bring her to the very place his captors had created that note, though? The mere thought made her shiver as she realized how narrowly she had escaped death.

  A roaring noise booming from outside the quiet farmhouse caught Sammy’s attention, and it took a few moments for the sound to register. Her eyes widened like silver dollars.

  A snowplow!

  Despite the pain coursing through her ankle, Sammy turned on her
heel and sprinted for the front window, tore open the heavy, dated drapes, and watched as a large county snowplow made its way down the country road. She tried to gauge how far the house was from the road, and it wasn’t close, a few hundred yards. But she’d have to at least try. She bolted out the front door and waved her hands frantically over her head just as the plow was passing the front of the house. She cupped her hands to her mouth and screamed for the plow to stop, but the sound only boomeranged off the trees across the street to echo in her own ears. The roaring of the snow’s heaving and pushing deafened her cry for help. After taking a few more steps forward, she realized her ankle wouldn’t allow her to run and catch it. Her shoulders sank in defeat as she watched the truck grow smaller. Her body began to tremble from the cold. In her effort to rush outside, she’d tripped through a deep snowdrift. The snow had seeped into her winter boots, causing a stinging chill to creep up her legs and feet. She needed to hurry indoors and remove her wet footwear or potentially suffer frostbite.

  Sammy was just about to retreat toward the farmhouse when she noticed something out of her peripheral vision. She turned her head and saw Heidi’s black Jeep racing behind the plow in her direction like a black stallion. Sammy’s eyes widened to register what she was seeing, and fat tears formed, clouding her vision. She wasn’t sure if the tears were from the cold or instant relief that she was about to be rescued. Heidi’s Jeep pushed through the unplowed driveway, effortlessly kicking up soft powder despite the glaze-topped snow, and came to an abrupt stop. Suddenly, Heidi and Ellie were racing toward her, tripping their way through the snowdrifts with arms open wide.

  “How did you find me?” Sammy murmured as the three held each other in a group hug in front of the farmhouse.

  “Wanda’s quilt! You left it in the front seat of your car, and so we followed the trail map. You mentioned you thought each of her quilt blocks coincided with one of the blocks painted on the sides of these barns, so we got ahold of the trail map and followed it. Each of the quilt-block patterns is printed on the map, with an address written below it. It took us a while, but we finally found you,” Ellie said after the three released each other. She searched Sammy’s eyes and refused to let go of one of her arms. Then she began to shake it hard, as if to see if she was really standing next to her and not a figment of her imagination. “Don’t ever do that again. You had us scared half to death.”

  Sammy’s facade began to crumble, and she started to tear up again. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you guys are here,” she said, wiping her eyes. “To be honest, I was really starting to worry that I’d never get out of here.”

  Heidi’s nursing skills kicked in, “Let’s get you inside out of the cold before those tears turn to icicles. Whose house is this?” Heidi looked up at the farmhouse and then turned to Sammy searchingly.

  “I have no idea,” Sammy admitted, which caused Heidi and Ellie to look at each other with mirrored looks of confusion. Then their eyes flew back to Sammy.

  Sammy summoned them to follow with a wave of her hand. “Let’s just step inside for a few minutes before we get outta here for good. I think I’ve got some explaining to do.”

  The three of them turned toward the front door of the farmhouse, and Ellie asked, “How did you get here? We’re so confused. You abandoned your car and came all the way out here? For what?”

  Sammy turned to them before they crossed the threshold. “Marty brought me here.”

  Ellie and Heidi audibly gasped.

  “What?” Heidi asked, stepping inside the farmhouse after Sammy. “Marty? You found him? Where is he?” Heidi and Ellie each peeked over their shoulders, searching for him.

  “Wait a minute … I’m so confused.” Ellie reached for her sister and took hold of her arm to encourage her to turn and face them.

  “He brought me here against my will.”

  “Noooo.” Ellie shook her head and placed a gloved hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

  “Wait, I have to know. Before I explain one more thing, have you guys seen Bara?” A lump threatened to close Sammy’s throat.

  “Don’t worry, Lynn has him.” Heidi placed a comforting hand on Sammy’s shoulder. “Lynn called Ellie because someone came into Heartsford Credit Union and mentioned that a golden retriever was wandering around outside the bank with a blue tartan scarf around his neck. Lynn instantly knew it was Bara and brought him inside the bank. She knew something was off since you weren’t with him in this bone-chilling cold.”

  Ellie interrupted. “Then Lynn called me, wondering where you were, and that’s how our search for you began. We wouldn’t even be here if Lynn hadn’t called.”

  Sammy held her hand to her heart, and a fat tear fell from her cheek. “So Bara’s fine?”

  Ellie wiped Sammy’s tear with her glove. “He’s more than fine. Lynn took him home after work last night, and she’s keeping him safe until your return. Lynn’s obviously worried about you, though, as no one could find you, and Community Craft was locked up tight.”

  “And you didn’t involve the police?” Sammy asked in complete surprise.

  “Not yet. Of course, we did a drive by Wanda’s house. We found your car. I took the quilt, hoping it would give us a clue as to where you went. Thankfully it did,” Heidi said. “To be clear, it was our last-ditch effort before calling the authorities for help.”

  “Yeah, when Bara was missing, and then we found your abandoned car … the whole scene made us really scared.” Ellie threw up her hands.

  “And then we stopped by your house, and you weren’t there …” Heidi added. “And you weren’t answering your phone. That’s when we really started to get nervous. We thought if we involved the police, it’d only get the three of us into more trouble. Especially with Tim and I on a break. The last thing we wanted to do was involve the police and have them arrest us without an opportunity to find you ourselves. We had no idea Marty brought you here! We figured you were out somewhere digging for intel, though.” Heidi smirked and placed her hands on slender hips.

  “My phone is in my car,” Sammy said. “I left it in the glove compartment. Stupid move on my part.” She rolled her eyes.

  “We didn’t even think to search your glove compartment,” Heidi admitted, lifting her hands in defeat.

  “Wait a minute, you slept here? Whose house is this anyway?” Ellie asked, finally taking in her surroundings as the three stood in the foyer of the farmhouse.

  “No, I slept in the barn.” Sammy jutted a thumb toward the front door.

  “The barn?” Ellie’s voice elevated a few octaves. “You slept in a barn? In the frigid cold?”

  “To be clear, in Marty’s old motor home inside the barn. And by the way, I think my romanticized idea of a camping trip is officially over. But here’s the thing, you guys, Initially I thought Marty was bringing me out here to do me in. But then he sort of convinced me that he really did escape his captors. I mean, if he killed his wife, what would stop him from killing me? Right?” Sammy paused, and Heidi and Ellie looked at her expectantly.

  “But then I found something.” Sammy pointed in the direction of the trash can. “I mean, I found it long after Marty abandoned me here. Just now, while I was searching for a phone to call for help.”

  Heidi’s eyes narrowed, and she leaned in closer. “What’d you find?”

  Sammy beckoned her sister and cousin to follow and led them to the dust sheet covering the desk. She lifted it up just enough to point at the trash can. “Look there.”

  Ellie gasped and placed her hand to her heart. “Oh dear. Is that what I think it is? Oh no …”

  “What?” Heidi asked, and then it suddenly dawned on her too. “I must admit, it’s a bit unusual, and it looks like only the letters are cut out. Either it’s one weird coincidence or …”

  Sammy stopped her with a lift of her hand. “You know what Nash would say? He doesn’t believe in coincidences. Nor do I, honestly. That’s the magazine that was used to create t
he ransom note. It must be. So, here’s the problem. Who put it there? Marty? Is he that stupid to bring me out here and hope I wouldn’t discover this? Plus, he said someone held a gun to his head. Unless he made the whole thing up and was lying to me. What do you guys think?”

  Heidi’s eyes moved away from the trash can to take in more of her surroundings, and she knit her brows. “Who owns this place? We need to figure that out right now. None of this is making sense.”

  “That’s the thing. I don’t know.” Sammy tugged at her winter coat as if suddenly feeling suffocated. “I literally just came inside here a few minutes ago looking for a phone to call for help, and I haven’t found anything with a name on it yet.”

  “Well, what are we waiting for?” Heidi said, displaying jazz hands. “Let’s find out and then get the heck out of here. You must be starving. Have you eaten anything since yesterday? Besides, Ellie and I’ve been up most of the night again. We could both use a nap.” Heidi yawned and stretched her arms high above her head.

  Ellie nodded in agreement, but Sammy was surprised that, despite her pregnancy, her sister looked more alert and awake than she had the other night. Maybe it was due to the adrenaline of finding her. Maybe Ellie was about to crash.

  “No, I haven’t had anything to eat since yesterday, and I’m dying for a cup of coffee. I can’t remember the last time I woke up without one to start my day,” Sammy admitted. “If I don’t get one soon, I may end up with a headache.” She pressed her fingers to her forehead.

  “Let’s hurry up then, collect our intel, and get out of here,” Heidi said. “Where should we start?”

  “Did you see any paperwork with a name on it in the desk?” Ellie asked.

  “I didn’t get that far.” Sammy opened a drawer.