Kelly pondered that new information as she turned her car into the mall parking entrance. “A big truck, huh? Sounds like Rancher Bill, but it couldn’t be him because he was with his girlfriend all night.”
“Yeah, well, I have a feeling that Peterson is going to go back and interview Rancher Bill again, given Dr. Norcross’s statement.”
Kelly remembered something. “Speaking of Dr. Norcross, I recall her saying that she had her own discussion with Everett. After she learned he was the one who assaulted Jennifer. According to Jen, Dr. Norcross warned Everett to stay away from all of her retreat attendees that weekend. She told him to ‘stay out of sight.’ Yeah, I think that’s what she said.”
“Hmmmm, my friend didn’t mention that. Maybe I’ll call him and find out if Dr. Norcross told Peterson about that conversation.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Burt. I really admire Dr. Norcross,” Kelly backtracked, feeling slightly guilty. “She’s really great. I had a chance to see her in action. But, we’re trying to make sure all confrontations with Cal Everett are accounted for, right?”
Burt chuckled. “Right you are, Junior Detective Flynn. I’ll get on it and report back to you. Meanwhile, enjoy your shopping excursion.”
Kelly nosed her car into a parking space as she flipped her phone closed. Somehow springtime colors didn’t seem as bright. Not with her friend Jennifer still at the top of Detective Peterson’s Most Likely list.
She flipped the car’s electronic lock as she crossed the mall parking lot and was about to shove her phone into the pocket of her new summer cropped pants when she remembered something. She punched in Lisa’s number.
“Hey, do we have practice tonight?” Kelly asked when Lisa’s voice came on the line.
“We sure do. You’d better not be late again, or Megan will kick your butt.”
“As Marty says, she’ll have to catch me first,” Kelly teased as she entered the air-conditioned chill of the sprawling mall. “I’ve got Pete pretty well trained to the routine after three days, so I could leave before he’s finished. Jennifer’s another story, of course.”
“Of course,” Lisa chuckled. “I still can’t believe she’s actually running with you and Pete.”
“Well, running would be an exaggeration. Slow jogging is more like it, but that’s okay. It’s a start. I’m hoping Jen will actually get used to it and keep doing it every day. I’ve pretty much convinced Pete that we’ll all swoop down on him like avenging Mother Hens if he stops working out.”
“Avenging Mother Hens? Aren’t you mixing your metaphors, there? Mother Hens are supposed to nurture, not avenge. That’s for eagles or angels or somesuch.”
“Whatever. I usually slept during Lit classes. They were too early in the morning,” Kelly said before turning serious. “I just had a phone call from Burt. He told me Jennifer’s still alone at the top of Peterson’s list. It seems Jane bragged about confronting Everett, but she’s got an alibi. She and her roommate played cards all night, then fell asleep.”
“Darn. I was kind of hoping she could deflect attention from Jen.”
“Me, too. But there is some good news, I guess. Apparently Dr. Norcross said she heard a truck engine late at night when she got up. She saw a big truck pull into the barnyard and Cal Everett went out to meet it.”
“Whoa, that’s interesting.”
“Yeah, I thought so. Let’s hope it leads to something. Burt thinks Peterson will go back to Rancher Bill for more interviews.”
“I thought that guy Bill had an alibi, though.”
“He does. According to Burt, Bill says he was with his girlfriend all night. But we all remember Everett arguing on the phone that night. Not once, but several times. Maybe he was arguing with Bill. Maybe Bill came back to settle the score like he promised. Who knows?”
“You’re right. Say, what’s that noise?”
“It’s the mall announcement,” Kelly said, pausing in front of a boutique she particularly liked. “I’m doing my Megan-authorized spring bouquet dress purchase. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck, and thanks for reminding me. I’d better shop tomorrow night. No practice. Listen, gotta go. Client coming in.”
Kelly clicked off and scanned the shopwindows again. Where-oh-where had all the spring flowers gone?
Fourteen
Kelly fingered the bamboo and silk yarns as they tumbled from the bins. Soft and smooth. She noticed the pretty lacy vest that hung above the bins. Maybe she should have used that pattern for her vest. She could picture herself wearing it over a white shirt. She’d seen that lacy, open pattern in countless magazine pictures.
Of course, most of those patterns were a lot more complicated than the simple one Mimi had recommended for Kelly. But then, Mimi knew Kelly’s propensity for making nearly fatal fiber errors. Mimi never used the word mistake. She called those knitting missteps “learning experiences.” After two and a half years of working with yarns, Kelly had learned and experienced a lot. Ohhhh, yeah.
Shifting her empty mug to her other hand, Kelly sank her free hand deep into a bin of seductively soft yarns, letting their silky fibers caress her fingers. Kid mohair—lavender, yellow, and pink balls of fluff. Skeins of merino wool, silk, and cashmere. Sinfully soft.
Burt’s voice broke through the fiber trance. “Hey, Kelly, good to see you early in the morning.”
Kelly glanced up. Burt was holding his coffee mug as he leaned against the archway that led into the adjacent yarn room dominated by the Mother Loom. That was the large loom Mimi and her most advanced weavers used. Shelves of novelty yarns, spools of embroidery floss, and sewing thread lined two of the walls.
“Actually, I came over for my morning coffee fill-up, but got sidetracked by these new yarns Mimi put out. They are scrumptiously soft.”
“Aren’t they now?” Burt said with a smile.
“How does Mimi expect us to finish projects when she keeps distracting us with new yarns? Some of us have short attention spans, you know. I’m struggling with my crocheted place mat.”
Burt chuckled. “You know Mimi. She can’t help sharing everything new she finds.” His smile faded. “Why don’t we head into the café, Kelly? We can chat while you load up with caffeine.”
Kelly left the yarn temptations and followed Burt down the hallway leading to the café. She could tell he had something to tell her, and from the expression on his face, Kelly sensed it wasn’t good news.
She plopped her bag on a table and sat down, then lifted her mug to the waitress in a silent signal. “You’ve got something on your mind, Burt, I can tell. Somehow I sense I won’t be happy to hear it.”
Burt settled into a chair across the table and leaned forward over his folded arms. “Your instincts are as good as ever, Kelly.”
“What have you heard, Burt?”
He took a sip of coffee before starting. Not a good sign. “I got a call from my friend, Vern. He said Peterson went to Jennifer’s favorite bar, The Empire Room, and started interviewing to see if anyone remembered seeing her with Everett.”
Kelly’s stomach tightened. “And did they?”
“It seems Ted, the regular bartender, didn’t remember the night Jennifer met Everett, but he does recall his coming into the bar a couple of months ago. Apparently, Everett sat at the bar one night and told Ted that he’d ‘had’ Jennifer the month before in what he described as a bout of rough sex. Ted recalled Everett saying Jennifer liked it ‘rough.’ But when he got rougher than she wanted, she got mad and . . .” Burt paused. “And Everett claimed Jennifer threatened to kill him.”
Kelly felt every muscle in her body tense. If Cal Everett wasn’t already dead, she’d go after him right now. Damn him. “That lying bastard. If he wasn’t dead, I swear—” Her threat went unfinished when Julie appeared to fill her mug.
Once the young waitress moved to another table, Burt continued, “I know, Kelly. I feel the same way.” He wagged his head in the way he always did when he was perturbed about something. “B
ut our feelings about Jennifer don’t count, and you know it. It’s Peterson who makes the call. And this new information gives him even more reason to suspect Jennifer. Everett’s assault gave her reason to hate him. Now, there’s a witness who can testify that Everett claimed Jennifer threatened his life.”
“But, Burt, that’s a crock, and you know it,” Kelly protested.
“Remember, Kelly, it doesn’t matter what we think.”
“I know, I know, it’s Peterson who decides.” Kelly expelled an exasperated breath. “It’s just the idea of his showing up at that bar and saying all those things about Jennifer. Bastard.”
“I don’t think it’s necessary to tell Jennifer about this, Kelly.”
She nodded. “I agree. She doesn’t need to hear this ugly gossip and Cal Everett’s lies. She’s gone through enough, thanks to him.” Kelly sniffed the dark rich aroma, then took a sip and felt the coffee’s burn as it slid down her throat. “But I am going to tell Lisa and Megan. We can vent in private.”
“I think that’s a good idea. No need to spread this ugliness around.”
Kelly glanced at her watch. She had a full morning’s work on her clients’ accounts. Then, perhaps she could meet Lisa for coffee or something. See if she had some time between physical therapy clients.
“I’ll see if Lisa has some free time this afternoon. Meanwhile, I’ve gotta get back to my clients.” She scraped back her chair. So much for the mellowing yarn effect of a few minutes ago. Her mood had turned considerably darker now.
“See you later, Kelly. Take care,” Burt said as he held up his mug for Julie to refill.
Kelly was about to head toward the café’s back door and walk through the garden to her cottage when she paused. She wanted something to dissipate the bad taste of Cal Everett in her mouth. Even dead, he seemed to be tormenting Jennifer.
“Has Megan given you your daily list yet?” she teased.
Burt’s smile finally reappeared. “Mimi said it’s waiting for me up front. So, I guess I’d better get to it.”
Kelly gave a low laugh. “I’d say so, Burt. Megan’s a tough taskmaster. Coffee break is over.”
“Do you want me to wait till you get home for dinner?”
“Naw, you don’t need to wait,” Steve’s voice came over the phone. “That meeting could run late.”
Kelly steered into the parking lot adjacent to the Sports Health facility. “That’s okay. I can wait. We can meet at the Wine Bar and have tapas and wine for dinner.”
“That’ll work.”
“Okay, give me a call when you’ve finished, and I’ll go over and grab a table.”
“Sounds good. See you later.” He clicked off.
Kelly quickly parked her car and walked toward the ever-opening glass entry doors to the sports facility. Heading toward the patient waiting area, she found a chair and pulled out her daytimer. Lisa wouldn’t be finished with her last appointment for a few minutes, so Kelly might as well make some business calls. Then a woman’s voice sounded close by.
“Hi, Kelly. Are you waiting for Lisa?” Greta Baldwin asked.
“I sure am. How’re you doing, Greta? I haven’t seen you since the retreat.”
Greta shrugged. “I’m doing okay. Professors want longer and longer papers, and we have shorter and shorter amounts of time to do them.”
“That brings back memories of university life,” Kelly said with a wry smile.
Greta’s smile faded. “How’s your friend Jennifer doing? I hoped the retreat would help her start to put her life back on track.”
Kelly looked over at the huge indoor swimming pool where therapists were working with patients. “Well, she was making progress on that, until Cal Everett came back to life, so to speak.”
Greta stared at Kelly, clearly confused. “What do you mean?”
“You know. The medical examiner’s suspicions about Everett’s death. That’s why Peterson came back to question us again, remember?”
“I remember.”
“Yeah, that,” Kelly said. “Well, it was during that second round of questions that Detective Peterson learned about Jennifer’s assault. So, naturally, that makes her the number one suspect on Peterson’s list.”
“No!” Greta exclaimed, looking shocked.
“Oh, yeah.” Kelly nodded. “And Jennifer has no way to prove she didn’t do it, because she went out for a walk after we left the campfire that night. Lisa and I were back in the cabin, sound asleep. So, we can’t give her an alibi.” She shook her head disconsolately. “I wish I hadn’t let her go walking alone that night.”
Greta stared at Kelly for a few seconds. “You can’t blame yourself, Kelly. Jennifer probably wanted some time alone that night. It was a pretty intense weekend for her . . . you know, sharing and all.”
“Yeah, I hear you. I simply worry about her,” Kelly said, still staring off.
“Have you been waiting long?” Lisa called as she hurried down the wide hallway, which was filled with clients and therapists standing and talking.
“Only a few minutes. Greta and I were chatting.”
Lisa gave Greta a warm smile. “Hey, Greta, Kelly and I were going for coffee. Would you like to join us?”
Greta shifted her backpack over her shoulder and shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ve got to finish a paper for that other Psychology professor. Maybe another time,” she said, backing away.
“Okay, I’ll hold you to that,” Lisa said.
“Good to see you again,” Kelly called as she watched Greta hurry away.
“Boy, her workload must be way heavier than mine, because she just disappears lately. She’s either in class or in the library studying. We used to always have time for coffee, but no more.”
“Grad school can do that to you,” Kelly said as she shoved her daytimer into her shoulder bag. “Do you still have time for coffee?”
Lisa checked her watch. “Yeah, no clients until five. Where do you want to go?”
“Someplace quieter where we can talk. Burt gave me another update this morning, and it wasn’t good news.”
Lisa ran her finger along the rim of the ceramic coffeehouse mug. “That is so unfair. That bastard is dead, yet he’s still hurting Jennifer. With his lies, this time.”
Kelly took a deep drink of the extra dark roast. This coffeehouse, with its Old Town atmosphere, was one of her favorite boutique coffee shops. Non-chain, non-corporate, and not a speck of chrome in sight. Just warm and intimate and cozy.
The century-old building in Fort Connor’s Old Town still had the architectural details that made it distinctive, like the beaten tin ceiling. Now the walls were painted sunset red and mustard yellow, the better to highlight the constantly changing art displays. On one wall was a mural rendition of van Gogh’s Starry Night, which gave the coffeehouse its name.
She stared at the black brew, choosing her words carefully. They would almost sound like heresy if she spoke them. But she had to. Lisa had been at the retreat with them. No one else would understand like she would.
“Lisa . . . I know this sounds awful, but I keep thinking about Jennifer’s long walk that Saturday night. And how upsetting that whole weekend was for her, you know?”
Lisa exhaled a long sigh. “Yeah . . . I know, Kelly. That worries me, too. Nobody saw her on that walk. Nobody knows when she returned.”
Kelly swirled the coffee in her cup, hating herself for what she was about to say. “Lisa . . . do you think Jen went to confront him that night? Do you think something . . . something happened while she was there? I mean . . . maybe he tried to hit her or . . .”
Lisa put her forehead in her hand and closed her eyes. “I don’t know, Kelly . . . I just don’t know. But it’s been haunting me, too. What if Jen did go to see him? I can’t picture her doing that, but neither of us knows what she did on that walk.”
Kelly stared at the colorful design beneath the table’s laminated surface. “I keep wondering the same thing, Lisa. What if she did? Everett was pret
ty drunk that night. Maybe he tried to force himself on her again. She would fight him. We know she would.”
“For sure.”
“And maybe she pushed him. He was so drunk, he could have fallen over that railing and broken his neck.”
Lisa looked up and met Kelly’s gaze. Kelly saw the same fear there that she felt inside herself. Fear for their friend.
“And Jennifer would never be able to prove it was an accident. No one would believe her,” Lisa said sorrowfully.
Kelly simply nodded. Those were the same words that Jennifer had spoken when Kelly went to comfort her devastated friend three months ago. “No one would believe me.”
She was right, Kelly concluded with regret. No one would.
Kelly speared another bacon-wrapped date and popped the delectable morsel into her mouth. Way too good. She could eat an entire plate of the yummy little appetizers. That was the nice thing about tapas—she could dine like a queen on several different selections without overeating. And the wine flights made it all the more enjoyable.
Kelly looked around the wine bar and café. Booths lined one side, tables were set up in different groupings, and chairs and love seats clustered here and there, creating cozy spots. She and Steve were seated near the fireplace, and no one else was nearby, which gave the setting even more privacy.
Steve glanced around the main room. “Boy, they put a lot of work into this place. Hickory floors, beaten tin ceiling, vintage light fixtures.”
Kelly sipped a smooth pinot noir. “Spoken like a builder with an eye for detail.” She paused. “Would you like to do more remodeling of these older buildings? You enjoyed working on Baker Street so much. You know, preserving the historic details while modernizing the other features.”
Steve leaned back in the upholstered chair beside Kelly and drained his glass of sauvignon blanc. The metal and glass hanging light fixtures sent a soft amber glow around the room. “That’s what brought me the most pleasure at Baker Street. Transforming those special details into something entirely new and distinctive.”
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