“We did see him yesterday when he asked us about the dog, but then he was gone for more than an hour before he came back by.”
Joyce let the implications settle before she continued.
“I’ll ask the rest when they get back from doing their laundry,” she promised and then visibly brightened. “Do you have time to tell me about this quilt event you’re all going to?”
Jessica stood up once the Loose Threads had, each in turn, given their rendition of their crazy quilt classes.
“This camp is amazing. When I was still a nun, I worked with a number of homeless people, but none of them lived in such a nice community.”
“We’ve gotten a lot of help from the people of Foggy Point,” Joyce said and smiled. “Your friends here have done a lot for us, making quilts and tarps and bringing us nutritious food. Their friend Tom is quite a handyman, as you can see from all our outdoor furniture.”
Harriet crumpled her empty sandwich wrapper.
“What you’re seeing is the difference between big city and small town homelessness.” She smiled at Joyce. “We consider Joyce and the other people here an integral part of our community.”
“Joyce does volunteer work at the grade school with the reading program,” Connie added.
“I’m able to do that because here I don’t have to worry about the security of my belongings, and Robin convinced the city to add a bus stop near us and give us free passes so we don’t have to spend so much time walking in the weather.”
“That’s amazing,” Jessica told her.
Mavis checked her watch and looked around; everyone had finished their sandwich.
“We should probably head back,” she announced.
Harriet stood up.
“I’ll swing back by tomorrow and see if you learned anything.”
“I’ll look forward to your visit,” Joyce said. “We’ll go to the other side of the park and talk to the people camping there, too. Since we don’t condone drug and alcohol use in our community, those people tend to stay on the other side of the forest from us. Rest assured, we’ll find out who called your young man if he’s anywhere around here.”
“That’s all I can ask,” Harriet told her. “Thanks.”
“And thank you all for the wonderful lunch.”
With that, the quilters went back up the trail to Harriet’s car for the drive back to their classes.
Harriet carefully arranged her three class blocks in a flat plastic box then began gathering piles of ribbon and thread and sorting them into small plastic bags. Connie was doing the same at the table to her left.
“I feel like there’s hope after today’s class,” Harriet said.
“Me, too.” Connie finished packing her bags and began helping Harriet. “Have you heard from Aiden?”
“He texted me this afternoon and wants to meet for coffee or dinner. I told him I’d have to check our schedule here first. I know there isn’t a planned event tonight, but at afternoon break, Aunt Beth was organizing something with some of the out-of-town people.”
Connie put her arm around Harriet’s shoulders.
“Querida, I think everyone will understand if you need to be with that boy. He must be a wreck. He’s such a tender soul. He was all teared up the other day when Rod and I saw him after an animal had died at the clinic. I know that girl gave him a lot of grief in the past, but it must have been just awful for him, finding her like that.”
“You’re right. Originally, I was planning to quilt with Lainie this afternoon, but Michelle had Marcel pick up her kids and sent the nanny and tutor away so Aiden didn’t have to deal with a house full of people. I’ll have to check with Cookie to see what they think is happening.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll call Marcel, and if they were planning on Lainie being with you, I’ll go get her and take her home with me. Carla and I can work with her.”
“Won’t she be going to whatever event Aunt Beth is cooking up?”
“She’s planning on staying home with Wendy tonight.”
Harriet felt some of the tension leave her shoulders.
“Thank you so much. I’ll feel better when I can talk to Aiden without everyone around and see how he’s really doing. Even though he didn’t have anything to do with that woman, I know him—I’d guarantee he’s blaming himself.”
“You go take care of him, and I’ll talk to Beth and Mavis and call Marcel and deal with the kids, if need be.”
Harriet slung her tote over her shoulder and picked up her purse.
“Thanks again for doing this. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
Chapter 15
Harriet scooped food from two different cans into her pets’ dishes. Her cat Fred wove between her legs meowing while Scooter danced on his back legs, falling forward onto Fred when he overbalanced and earning himself a well-placed swat on the rear from the cat.
“How about the Alder Wood Bistro in Sequim?” she asked Aiden.
“You need to teach your pets some manners,” he told her. He was perched on one of the wooden bar stools pulled up to the kitchen island. “Fred’s probably a lost cause, but Scooter could learn to sit and wait while you prepare his food.”
“Thanks for the assessment of my animal wrangling skills, O great one. Don’t forget I’ve seen your dog in action.”
His mouth turned up in a brief smile.
“Randy’s a special case. She’s still learning English.”
Aiden’s dog was a stray he’d rescued and brought home with him when he’d returned from Uganda the year before.
“So, what do you think? Alder Wood?”
He was silent, his perfect face a mixture of anger and hurt.
“Or we could get takeout and stay home,” she offered.
“I’d like to take you to Sequim or Port Angeles or anywhere but here. The only problem is, I’ve been told not to leave town.”
“You can’t be serious. They didn’t say that, did they?”
The set of his jaw told her he was. He stood and started pacing, his back to her.
“They did say it, and they were dead serious. I answered every question they had. I mean, what else could I say? I came home, and Marine was lying dead on my couch with a needle sticking out of her arm. They didn’t believe me.”
“Was Detective Morse there?”
“I didn’t see her. It was two guys I’ve never seen before.”
“That’s weird. Have you got an attorney?”
“I talked to a friend of Julio’s on the phone, and the guy’s coming here first thing in the morning. And why is Jane not being there weird?”
“Foggy Point isn’t that big. I think Jane said there are five other detectives besides her. Two are detective sergeants, one is a detective corporal, and then Jane and the two others. They have to cover robbery, drugs, sex crimes and everything. I figured with her success rate on the recent homicides she’d be assigned.”
“Apparently not. Can we not talk about this? I’d like to try to have a normal dinner with my sweetie.”
Harriet smiled. She turned and pulled him into her arms as he paced back in her direction.
“Come here.” She tilted her face up to his, and he didn’t disappoint. He wrapped his arms around her and met her lips with his.
“I wish we could shut the rest of the world out and stay like this, just you and me.”
Fred meowed, holding the last unpleasant note.
Aiden laughed.
“Okay, you, me and our pets.” He reached down and scratched Fred’s ear. Fred head-butted his leg.
Harriet smiled. “See, he has sympathy for you even after you made disparaging remarks about his dinner manners.”
“Speaking of dinner, let’s go see what we can find within the boundaries of Foggy Point.”
Harriet wiped her mouth on her napkin.
“So, how did you find this place?”
“When I couldn’t find the dog or the person w
ho called about it, I did a grid search, spiraling out until I reached water. I didn’t find them, so I decided to drive home along the strait. And…” He spread his arms. “Here we are. With a name like Hot Diggity Dog, how could I not stop and try the fare.”
“I’m surprised I’ve never heard of it.”
“I was here on their first day open. They gave me a free milkshake with my dog.”
“Mine was delicious. I didn’t know sauerkraut could be fermented instead of pickled.”
Aiden smiled at her.
“It’s the little things in life.” He reached across the table and took her hands in his. “Thank you for coming to dinner with me tonight. I know you’re in the middle of your quilt thing.”
She squeezed his hands. “You’re doing me a favor. The quilters are pleasant, and my roommate has turned out better than I feared, but still, it’s good to have a break. Besides, there’s no place I’d rather be than having dinner with you.”
He slid out of his seat and pulled her to her feet.
“Come on, let’s go across the street. There’s a path along the water.”
There weren’t many cars out at this time of night to disrupt their peace. The sound of water washing over the rocky beach helped Harriet relax for the first time in more than a week. Aiden had his arm around her shoulders and walked along lost in his own thoughts.
Down the beach, they came to a large flat rock, and Aiden led Harriet to it, easing her onto his lap when he was seated.
“It’s easy to forget everything that’s happened when we’re out here.”
She turned her face to his. “I was thinking that very thought a minute ago. Do we have to go back?”
Aiden smiled briefly. “Not right away, but eventually, yeah, we do.”
“We can’t run away?”
He laughed. “I love that you would even consider it, especially given our last year, but we both know it wouldn’t fix anything.”
“Does Marine have any friends or family in the area anymore?”
“I don’t know. Her mother was in town when she lived with my mom a few years ago, but who knows now. She was always chasing after some man.” He sighed. “Marine never really had a chance. She had big dreams, but her family was awful. Her mom had a bunch of kids she didn’t want. Their only value was to earn her child support or welfare payments. I think her mom dabbled in prostitution and tried to get Marine to join her.”
“Did she?”
“There were rumors, but I didn’t ask her and she didn’t volunteer the information. At that point in time, I was avoiding her. She’d spread her stories about me being her baby daddy, and I was pretty mad at her. And before you ask, no, I was never mad enough back then to wish her harm. Even when I was angry about what she was doing to me, I still felt more sorry for her than anything.”
Flashing blue lights on the road above the beach caught Harriet’s eye.
“I wonder what’s going on up there?” she said, and pointed.
“They were probably called as backup for something happening at the docks. This road would be faster than going through the neighborhoods.” He turned his attention back to her. “Now, where were we?” he asked and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her in the process.
“Are you sure we can’t run away?” she asked when they came up for air.
“Dr. Jalbert isn’t going anywhere,” said a deep voice from behind them.
Harriet started, dropping her purse. She looked over Aiden’s shoulder as he clutched her tighter. A bright light was shining in her face. She could see several dark forms beyond the light but couldn’t tell who or what they were.
“Ma’am, I need you to slowly move away from Dr. Jalbert. And both of you keep your hands where we can see them.”
She did as she was told, and as she moved out of the glare, she could see the man was a uniformed police officer, and he was holding a large gun pointed in her direction.
“There must be some mistake,” she protested, unable to stop herself from spouting the cliché that most people in this situation said.
“No mistake, ma’am. You aren’t in any trouble. Move over to Officer Nguyen.” He pointed with his free hand.
Why is it always Officer Nguyen? she wondered. There must be two dozen officers on the Foggy Point Police department, but any time she crossed paths with the police it was Officer Nguyen.
She looked at Aiden.
“Do what he says,” he told her as he held his hands away from his sides and in the air where everyone could see them.
When Harriet reached Nguyen, the guy with the gun rushed up to Aiden and grabbed his right wrist, snapping a handcuff onto it in one smooth motion, quickly pulling his left hand down and back and cuffing it, too.
“What’s going on?” Harriet asked Nguyen.
He didn’t answer.
“You have the right to remain silent,” the cop holding Aiden recited. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”
Aiden looked at the man.
“What are you arresting me for?”
“You are under arrest for the murder of Marine Moreau.” The cop’s shoulders sagged a little. “Before we go, I’d just like to say I really appreciate how you saved Peppi last winter when she was hit by a car. I’m sure this is some sort of mix-up, but when we get an order to arrest someone, we have to do it and do it by the book. I’m really sorry about this.”
“Jerry. It is Jerry, right?”
The cop nodded.
“I was doing my job when I saved your dog, and I understand you’re doing yours now. You’re right, this is some sort of mistake, and when I call my lawyer, I’m sure he’ll get it straightened out. Can you give Harriet my keys so she can drive herself home? They’re in my right front pocket.”
Harriet could feel tears filling her eyes as she watched Jerry dig in Aiden’s pocket and toss the keys to Officer Nguyen. She reached for them, but Nguyen held them out of her reach.
“We should be arresting you and squeezing you until you tell us what you know about this. If the past is any indication, your presence here means you know something you haven’t shared with the police.
“You’ve turned up at every major crime we’ve had in the last year, and in every case, you’ve ended up knowing something that solves the crime and makes us cops look incompetent in the process. Not this time. I’m letting my commander know you were here when we arrested the good doctor. You can expect to be hearing from him.”
“I came here with Aiden for dinner. I don’t—”
“Save it,” he interrupted. “And by the way—don’t leave town.”
He turned and walked away, following the cluster of policemen who had been providing backup.
Harriet stood for a minute, digging through her purse for a tissue to wipe her eyes with before she returned to the restaurant parking lot. Her fingers found her smartphone.
Meet me at my house, she texted to Lauren. Aiden’s been arrested. Gather the Threads.
She pressed send and headed for Aiden’s car.
Chapter 16
Most of the Loose Threads were assembled in Harriet’s dining room when she finally got back to her house. Connie met her at the studio door and pulled her into a hug. Harriet inhaled the flowery scent of her friend’s familiar perfume.
“Pobrecita,” Connie soothed. “Come on, take your coat off and get something to drink. Then you can tell us what’s going on.”
Aunt Beth put her arm around Harriet and guided her into the kitchen, where Mavis handed her a cup of tea.
“DeAnn couldn’t come; but she said she’ll be thinking of you, and if you can think of anything she can do, let her know.” She lowered her voice. “Lauren brought her roommate, and yours is in there, too.” Beth nodded toward the dining room.
> “Thanks for coming and getting everyone settled.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Beth told her. “Now, let’s go in and sit down, and you can tell us all what happened.”
Harriet took a seat between Lauren and Beth. She picked up her tea and sipped, then sat back in her chair. The women around the table were all focused on her.
“Aiden and I went to dinner tonight, and afterward, we went for a walk on the beach by the strait. While we were sitting on a rock watching the water, the police appeared, guns drawn, and arrested Aiden for killing Marine.”
Lauren gave a low whistle.
“Whoa. They really drew their guns?”
“Hush,” Connie scolded.
Robin pulled a legal pad from her bag.
“Did they say anything to explain why they were arresting him?”
Harriet stirred her tea.
“No. The arresting officer apologized to Aiden and thanked him for saving his dog. Officer Nguyen was there as backup, and he threatened me. He told me not to leave town, and said he was going to tell his commander I might be involved.”
Carla looked at Robin.
“Can he do that?”
“Not if Harriet isn’t a legitimate suspect. I can’t imagine she could be. Of course, it’s hard to imagine what evidence they have that caused them to arrest Aiden. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”
“We didn’t talk about it a lot, but he was confused by why they were questioning him so long. He said what Robin just said. He already has a criminal lawyer coming to meet with him in the morning.” She raised her mug to her lips and set it down again without taking a sip. “Would someone call Detective Morse and see if she can come over?”
“Oh, honey, don’t you think she’s a little busy right now?” Mavis asked her.
Lauren pulled her phone out and began tapping in a number.
“On it.”
“Aiden told me she’s not assigned to his case,” Harriet told them. “He said two men were the ones questioning him.”
Robin took a pen from her bag and set it on the yellow tablet in front of her.
Crazy as a Quilt (A Harriet Turman/Loose Threads Mystery Book 8) Page 10
