Kelly screwed up her face. “What? That sounds like a whole lot of conjecture to me, Burt. What do you think?”
Burt shrugged. “I don’t know, Kelly. I confess I thought it was a lot of speculating, too. I mean, people’s bodies turn and twist when they fall. But my friend said the examiner’s real concern was that maybe Cal Everett was standing at the railing looking out and someone pushed him from behind. He thinks that would explain why Everett flipped over the railing and fell headfirst.”
A cold chill ran up Kelly’s spine. Was that possible? Did someone “help” Cal Everett over the railing? Who would do that?
Remembered images from the weekend retreat swirled through her head now. Jennifer confessing to the women on the deck that Friday afternoon, and Dr. Norcross revealing Cal’s identity. The explosive angry outbursts that followed. Jane’s angry threats to “beat the snot out of him.” Dawn’s repeated desire for Everett “to be held accountable.” Edie saying he should “pay for what he’d done.”
Faces came into focus along with angry voices and threats. Dr. Norcross telling how she’d confronted Everett earlier that day. Jane saying how she’d “called” him out.
Then another face appeared. The angry neighboring rancher named Bill, accusing Cal Everett of defaulting on his loan as he stormed away. Bill’s departing threatening words: “I’m coming back, and we’ll settle this once and for all!”
Was that who Cal was yelling at over the phone? Did Bill make a quiet late night visit to Everett’s ranch? Did he lose patience with Cal’s cheating ways and shove him in anger? Or, did Bill wait until Everett’s back was turned to push him over the railing?
That scenario vibrated in Kelly’s head, albeit because she’d witnessed the angry exchange between the two men earlier that day. Still . . . Rancher Bill seemed to have built up a considerable load of resentment against Cal Everett. Was it enough to push Bill over the edge . . . and Everett over the rail?
If, indeed, this was not an accidental death, then Rancher Bill looked to be the prime suspect to Kelly. After all, he had a reason to be angry at Everett, and he’d already threatened him. It had to be Rancher Bill, she decided. After all, who else had reason to kill Cal Everett? There was no one else there who had reason to—
Kelly’s racing thoughts—and their conclusions—came to a screeching halt. Another face appeared before her eyes. A familiar face. Jennifer had reason to hate Cal Everett. More reason than Rancher Bill. And Jennifer took a walk alone that night before coming to bed. No one was with her.
A cold feeling settled in Kelly’s gut. No. Impossible. Jennifer couldn’t kill anyone. She knew her. But . . . this entire weekend was one huge emotional roller coaster for Jen. What if she momentarily lost her balance? What if she saw Cal Everett standing on the deck, drunk and oblivious? What if she walked up behind him and . . . pushed Everett? Just pushed him over the railing. Thinking he’d fall and hurt himself. Jennifer had acted stunned ever since Everett’s body was discovered. Had she done anything? Was . . .
Kelly snapped out of the twisted scene scripting before her eyes like some bad soap opera. That was impossible. Jennifer couldn’t hurt anyone. Even Cal Everett.
“Kelly? Are you okay? You kind of drifted away for a moment,” Burt said.
“Sorry, Burt . . . I . . . I was lost in thought, I guess.”
“Do you remember seeing Everett have an argument with some visitor named Bill? Apparently this Bill held a loan on Everett’s property and Everett had been missing payments. According to Peterson, several women at the retreat witnessed this Bill threatening Cal Everett. Saying something like ‘I’ll be back and—’ ”
“ ‘We’ll settle this once and for all,’ ” Kelly supplied.
“Then you witnessed it, too. How mad was this guy Bill?”
“He was really hot. Sounded like Everett had been jerking him around for months by not paying the loan, and the guy was threatening to put a lien on Everett’s property.”
Burt’s eyebrows shot up. “Hmmmm, that’s interesting. Money makes people do crazy things.” He looked to the side. “How many people saw this argument?”
“Almost everyone at the retreat. We’d just left a fiber session on the deck and were going to our cabins before dinner. Cal Everett’s truck roared up into the barnyard, spitting gravel, and this guy was right behind. We all stood there watching. It really got our attention, for sure.”
“Well, I’m sure Peterson’s gotten plenty of reports about this guy and is probably following up on them right now. So, I’ll tell my friend to keep me posted.” He rose from his chair. Giving Kelly a smile, he said, “I could tell your antennae were buzzing a few minutes ago, am I right, Sherlock?”
Kelly had to grin. “Yeah, you’re right. I started sorting through faces at the retreat, wondering who might be responsible. Some of those women got almost as hot as Rancher Bill after hearing Jennifer’s story.”
Burt nodded. “Interesting. Well, it still sounds like this Bill guy is the most likely to have a serious grudge against Everett.”
“That’s what I think. Make sure you keep me in the loop, Burt,” Kelly said as she opened her laptop computer.
“Will do. I’ve gotta go finish those errands,” he said as he walked away, then added, “Don’t forget to check with Mimi up front.”
“Check on what?” Kelly called over her shoulder, but Burt was gone. She clicked on her document icon and watched the list of client folders come into view, then paused before opening one.
Maybe she’d better go up front and see what Mimi and Burt bought the other day. After all, Burt kept hinting at something. If it was not for the shop, what could it be?
Kelly grabbed her ever-present mug and headed for the front room, where the customers and cash registers came together. Trailing her fingers through the yarn bins on the way to the front, she spotted Rosa, one of the shop clerks. Rosa was winding a skein of yarn into an easier-to-use ball for a customer. Kelly walked down the two steps into what used to be the family room of Uncle Jim and Aunt Helen’s farmhouse. That was years ago, when the pastures held sheep instead of golfers.
Lots of childhood memories were captured in this room. Uncle Jim always put up a tall Christmas tree in front of the double bay windows. Kelly remembered sitting on the ledge of the Spanish tile fireplace in the corner, opening presents, laughing with her father and Helen and Jim. Kelly’s father, Jack Flynn, had grown up in Fort Connor along with his sister, Helen. Their parents had owned and worked a sugar beet farm, back in the days when sugar beets were a commercial mainstay for northern Colorado farmers. Unfortunately, their farm wasn’t very big and couldn’t survive when the sugar beet business began to slide. Jack Flynn had gone to the local state university and majored in business, striving to provide a successful life for himself and his daughter. Kelly’s mother, Alicia, had left them when Kelly was still a baby.
The past slipped away as Kelly deliberately focused on the family room as it looked now, an integral part of the knitting shop. Two bags of dyed fibers, waiting to be spun into yarn, sat beside the fireplace. Mimi and Burt couldn’t keep up with the spinning that needed to be done, so hired spinners were necessary to keep Lambspun stocked with yarns. The wooden table had winding spools on each corner. Behind the high wooden counter Mimi and the other shop clerk, Connie, took care of customers.
On the walls surrounding them was a forest of knitting, spinning, weaving, and crocheting accessories. Needles, hooks, buttons, jewelry, and other assorted items packed shelves and were stacked on tables. The upper walls were covered by hanging garments, from woven shawls and stoles to sweaters and felted purses. Felting was one of Mimi’s favorite art forms.
Kelly scrutinized everything, and saw all sorts of new items. But they were all shop-related. She scanned the shop again slowly, checking to make sure she hadn’t overlooked something. If this new item wasn’t for the shop, why would Burt tell her to come to the front room to see it?
Giving up, Kelly approached
Rosa, who was still winding a variegated green merino wool yarn into a big ball. “Okay, Rosa, I give up. Burt told me to come up front and see what he and Mimi bought on their shopping trip the other day. But I’ve looked all over the room twice, and I can’t figure out what it is. Burt said it wasn’t anything for the shop. Can you give me a hint, please?”
Rosa looked up at Kelly with a devilish grin. “You’re not looking in the right place. Go over closer to Mimi. Stand beside her, and you’ll see it.”
“Okaaaay,” Kelly said, ambling over to the counter. Mimi was finishing up with a customer. Kelly inched closer to the back of the counter. Sipping her coffee, she scanned the shelves behind the counter and saw them filled with the usual office items—sales slips, pens, shopping bags, and file boxes. Kelly waited until Mimi had handed the customer her purchase before slipping beside her.
“Well, hi, Kelly,” Mimi said. “Are you looking for something?”
“Uhhhh, actually I am. But I don’t know what it is.”
Rosa giggled from the winding table. Connie glanced over from the end of the counter where she was rearranging some custom-designed pins. “That’s going to make it kind of hard to find, Kelly,” Connie said.
Mimi leaned on the side of the counter. “Are you starting a new project?”
“Actually, I’m going to continue with the knitted vest pattern that you showed me. So far, so good. I probably need to do another washcloth before attempting a crochet project.”
“Are you looking for a different yarn or something?” Mimi continued to probe.
Kelly exhaled a sigh. “I’m looking for the mystery item that you and Burt bought the other day. I asked him what it was, but he wouldn’t answer. He said it wasn’t for the shop. Then he told me to come up front, and you’d show me.” She drained her mug and placed it on the counter. “I gotta tell you, Mimi, I’ve looked all over this room twice, and all I see is shop stuff. Beautiful shop stuff, of course, but no mystery items in sight. Burt said I would see it, and I don’t.”
Mimi’s eyes danced. “Oh, did he now?” Her smile spread. Connie was grinning at Kelly from the corner.
“What’s so funny?” Kelly asked. “Is Burt playing a joke on me or something?”
Mimi leaned on the counter and rested her chin on her hand. Her left hand. “There’s no joke, Kelly. Actually it’s something really beautiful.”
Kelly frowned and glanced around the room again. “Then where is it? Would somebody please tell me?”
Connie guffawed. “Oh, Kelly, it’s right in front of your eyes.”
Kelly frowned, thoroughly annoyed now. “Where? I don’t see anything different!”
Rosa walked over to the counter, the wound green yarn ball in hand. “You’d better show her, Mimi, before she explodes.”
Mimi extended her left hand and wiggled her fingers. Kelly stared and for the first time saw the diamond ring that now graced Mimi’s hand. A lovely solitaire surrounded by diamond clusters on each side. Kelly’s eyes popped wide.
“Oh my gosh! It’s . . . it’s beautiful, Mimi,” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it right away.”
“Thank you, Kelly. Burt and I both loved the ring the moment we saw it.”
Kelly’s smile claimed her face. “Oh, Mimi, I’m so happy,” she said as she enfolded Mimi in a big hug. “You and Burt belong together.”
Mimi squeezed Kelly tightly before releasing her. “Well, both Burt and I are kind of old school, so we thought it was time we made it official, so to speak.”
Kelly chuckled at Mimi’s description of her relationship with Burt. With the exception of Jennifer, Kelly and her friends were each living with their boyfriends in intimate relationships. No rings in sight. Mimi and Burt were definitely following tradition.
“Usually a ring means you’re officially engaged,” Kelly teased. “Does that mean there’s a wedding in the future?”
“Sometime.” Mimi smiled slyly as a customer approached the counter.
Kelly backed away from the counter so Mimi and staff could take care of business. She retrieved her mug and headed for the back hallway which led to the café. Client accounts required caffeine. She noticed Jennifer, knitting bag over her shoulder, coming from the other direction. Kelly decided now would be a perfect time for a quiet chat.
“Hey, Jen, let me get a fill-up, and I’ll join you on your break,” she said.
Jennifer gave her a smile, which Kelly took as a good sign. “Let me get that for you, Kelly. Julie’s busy in the other section.” She took Kelly’s mug and sped to the coffee counter, returning in less than a minute with a full mug.
“Wow, you’re fast. I always forget how fast you can move around this café. Too bad you can’t do it on the ball field,” Kelly teased.
This time Jennifer smiled wider. “Yeah, I remember when you guys were trying to recruit me for spring training. Like that would ever happen.”
Kelly laughed softly, then sipped from the mug as they headed toward the shop again. Now, that sounded like the old Jennifer. She was coming back slowly, Kelly could tell.
Jennifer plopped her knitting bag beside Kelly’s laptop and pulled out a chair. “Pete’s pacing outside again,” she said quietly, shaking her head. “He’d stopped last month. But now, after he heard about last weekend, he’s started up again.” She sank into her chair and poured a cup of tea from Mimi’s floral teapot in the middle of the knitting table. “I wish he wouldn’t do that.”
Kelly hesitated, then decided to plunge into this conversation in her usual fashion. “He worries about you, Jen. He told me that was his way of handling it.”
Jennifer caught Kelly’s gaze. “Did he really say that?”
“Yep.” Kelly nodded.
Exhaling a sigh, Jennifer sipped her tea. “It makes me feel guilty whenever I see him out there. He worries me.”
Kelly paused. Pete was worrying about Jennifer, and Jennifer was worrying about Pete worrying about her. There had to be some way to sort through this.
“Pete can’t help it, Jen. He cares about you.”
Jennifer closed her eyes. “I know, I know.”
Kelly hesitated, toying with bringing up the subject she’d been dying to broach with Jennifer for the last year—Pete’s feelings for her.
“Pete more than cares for you, Jennifer. He—”
Jennifer’s hand flew up in “stop” mode. “Don’t say it, Kelly,” she said, her voice sharp.
“Say what?” Kelly dodged.
“You know what. The L word.”
“Why?”
Jennifer leaned back into her chair. “Don’t go there, Kelly.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to talk about it, that’s why.”
“Why?”
“Jeez, Kelly! Lisa’s right. You really are a Rottweiler.”
Kelly grinned and relaxed into her chair. Humor was always helpful. It made people relax. “Hey, I live with one. It rubs off.”
Jennifer sipped her tea. “I swear, when you’re focused on something you’re like a dog with a bone. You don’t leave it alone.”
“It’s called tenacity, and I’ve been told it’s an admirable character trait.”
“Ha!”
“Spoken by the Queen of Evasion.”
Jennifer shot her a look. “I beg your pardon.”
“Beg it all you want, Jen, but I’ve watched you ignore, avoid, and pretend not to notice Pete’s obvious affections for you for over a year now. There’s no way someone as savvy as you could miss those looks he throws your way, especially when he thinks no one else is watching. Heck, a blind man could see it with a cane, as Aunt Helen would say.”
Jennifer’s mouth quirked into a smile. “It’s been a long time since I heard that expression. Probably since Helen used it.”
“You couldn’t help noticing how Pete feels about you, Jen. Why are you ignoring him?” She leaned forward over the table between them. “Give me a straight answer, and I swear I’l
l never ask you again.”
Staring out into the yarn room, Jennifer held her teacup to her chest. “A straight answer? Okay. I’ve only had one rule that I follow when it comes to men I get involved with. Or, rather, used to get involved with.” She paused, and took a sip of tea. “And that rule is never date someone from your workplace. No exceptions. Period. I may have pretty lax standards in all other areas, but I pride myself that I’ve followed that rule ever since I left college years ago.”
Kelly stared at her friend, totally surprised by her answer. “You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not. Workplace romances are nothing but trouble, and they always end badly. And . . . and I don’t want to do anything that would ruin our friendship. Sex changes everything.”
Kelly blinked, not sure she’d heard correctly. “Wait a minute, I want to make sure I understand you. You don’t want to get into a serious relationship with Pete even though he cares for you deeply and even though he might be the perfect guy for you and even though you care for him deeply, and all because you’re afraid sex will screw up everything. Is that right?”
“Pretty much.”
“Jeez, Jen . . . do you realize how crazy that sounds? Pete is a fantastic guy, and you’ve known him for years. I can’t believe you’d rather go out with those salsa-dancing sleazeballs than date a wonderful guy like Pete, just because you work with him.”
A real grin spread on Jennifer’s face. “Salsa-dancing sleazeballs, huh? That’s pretty good. I’ve gotta remember that.”
Kelly leaned back in her chair and took a deep drink of her coffee. Another thought had wiggled forward. Maybe in Jennifer’s book the strangers were safer. No commitment necessary. Pete was actually more dangerous. A man like Pete was someone you could build a life with.
“I don’t buy it,” Kelly said at last.
Jennifer shot her an inquisitive look. “Buy what?”
“Your answer. I think there’s something a lot deeper going on there, Jen. You’re not being completely honest with yourself.” She paused. “Have you ever talked about this with Dr. Norcross?”
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