All of the Queen Bees were there, having worked feverishly all month to finish the quilt. Max Elliott came, and the whole street of Elderberry merchants and spouses. Ambrose and Jesse provided the champagne, and Andy Haynes played his guitar in the background. When Picasso pulled the sheet down and revealed the French Quarter quilt, its boiling pot a shiny blue-black image at the bottom, and the brilliant, colorful fish soaring across the pieced background, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
“It is perfect,” Picasso declared, lifting his glass of champagne. “And you are friends like none other.”
The toasts echoed around the room, cheers and hoots and sighs of relief.
Janna Hathaway had disappeared from town, scooped up by another domineering father. Selma wasn’t going to press charges for the damaged quilt—it was such a minor thing, done out of fear for a man not worthy of her love. And Janna had suffered tremendously in the process.
Billy had felt nothing for Janna, the Bees had conjectured. She was a stepping-stone for him. And that was just another sad, cruel piece of the whole horrible story.
“Po, what will you do with your quilt?” Picasso asked as the happy crowd milled around them.
“A perfect solution, Picasso. The one good thing to come out of all of this is SafeHome. They made a hunk of money at the gala, and donations are still coming in, so it will become a reality. Meredith Mellon has taken over the whole project, so you know it will happen. I suggested she call it Laurel’s Place—and the quilt will hang in the entry.”
Picasso leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Tears glistened in his eyes, but his face was full of happiness. Waiters appeared then, as if by magic, carrying colorful bowls heaped full of steaming bouillabaisse, and people moved toward the white-clothed tables.
“Where’s Kate?” Po asked as Max took her elbow and directed her to a table by the window?” Po knew that Kate had had nightmares following Bill McKay’s arrest, and she was filled with an anger that Po knew would take her awhile to shake. But as Kate would do, she was purging it in an appropriate way—using her summer photography class to focus on images of strong women, taking charge of their lives. They’d have a show at the end of summer, and sell the framed photos to benefit Laurel’s Place. P.J. had found it difficult to be apart from Kate for more than a few minutes at a time after the events of the past weeks. And Po knew that she would no longer be the only one looking out for her best friend’s daughter.
“I saw her near the kitchen door earlier,” Phoebe said, as she scooped Emma up in her arms. Jimmy followed close behind with little Jude toddling beside him.
Po smiled at the twins, then moved around the room, searching for the bright red blouse Kate had worn that night. As she wove her way through the crowd toward the back of the restaurant, a flash of red through a rear window caught her eye. Po walked over to the back door and looked out into the dark night. “Kate?” she said softly.
There was no answer, and Po stood there for a minute, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. And then a sound drew her eyes to the flowering crab that Picasso had planted out in the alley. A touch of beauty, he called it.
And that it was, Po thought, as she saw the two figures beneath its branches. She stood there for just a brief moment, watching P.J. and Kate. They were wrapped in one another’s arms, shadowed from moonlight by the branches of the tree. The nightmares had stopped for Kate, Po thought, and she nodded at the sight that filled her heart to overflowing.
I told you it would be okay, Liz, she whispered to her best friend. Have I ever let you down? And with a lighter step, Po joined her friends over a heaping bowl of bouillabaisse, some laughter, and bonds of friendship that lit the small restaurant from within.
Table of Contents
Cover
Copyright
Title Page
Cast of Characters
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Epilogue
A Murder of Taste: A Queen Bees Quilt Mystery Page 17
