A Killer Stitch

by Maggie Sefton

  Kelly sat up straighter at that. She glanced at Jennifer, but Jennifer had already zeroed in on Nina’s comment.

  “You mean because he had a fight with Derek here in the bar?” Jennifer asked.

  Nina nodded. “Yeah, I guess. I don’t know why that would bother Gary, though. After all, he and I were together the night that Derek was killed. He called me from the bar and asked if he could come over. So it’s not like he had anything to hide.”

  Jennifer’s shock was evident. She sat back and stared at Nina with wide eyes. It wasn’t hard for Kelly to read the disappointment in her friend’s expression.

  “You were with Gary the rest of the night?” Jennifer asked, voice subdued.

  Again, Nina nodded. “Yep, the rest of the night and into the morning.” She gave a devilish grin. “Believe me, I kept him busy.”

  Kelly drained her glass, then toyed with the coaster while Nina chattered away and Jennifer made halfhearted comments. Might as well throw in the towel, she thought, purposely glancing at her watch. “I’d better go, Jen. Early day at work,” she said, hoping to make a speedy exit.

  “Me, too.” Jennifer followed her lead, placing some bills on the bar top. “I’ll get this, Kelly.”

  “Hey, thanks,” Kelly said as she eagerly relinquished the bar stool. Jennifer was already donning her coat.

  “See you, Nina,” Jennifer said over her shoulder as she and Kelly waved their goodbyes and headed out. Nina gave a distracted wave, scanning a new male arrival already.

  Kelly slipped on her winter jacket. “I’m sorry, Jen,” she said as they pushed through the exit door.

  “Damn,” was all Jennifer said before they stepped out into the cold night.

  Seventeen

  “Tell Eduardo I want his Breakfast Supreme. Scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, the works,” Kelly said to Jennifer as she sat at a window table. “I ran double distance this morning. Not only am I starving, I’m exhausted. I need fuel.”

  “I don’t know how you run outside in this weather,” Jennifer said as she poured coffee into Kelly’s waiting mug. “It’s all I can do to race from my condo to the car each morning. Brrrr!” She gave an exaggerated shudder.

  Kelly took a sip, then another. Ahhhh. Warmth began flooding through her. “Actually, it’s invigorating,” she said with a mischievous grin. “And it feels so good when you come inside and jump into a hot shower.”

  Jennifer made a face before she returned to the kitchen. Kelly relaxed at the cozy corner table and drank her coffee as she stared outside at the brilliant Colorado sun doing its best to raise the frigid temperature. The bare tree limbs allowed an unobstructed view of the frosted foothills, snow-covered Rockies rising behind.

  Maybe she could find time to drive out to the canyon today, she mused. Roads were cleared. If she went in the early afternoon, the sun would still be out. The image of Geri Norbert’s canyon ranch beckoned. Kelly closed her eyes. She could picture those gorgeous mountain views now. Snowcapped high peaks glistening in the distance, evergreens coated with snow. Would the roads still be icy? she wondered. Perhaps she should take a drive up there. See how tricky those roads could be. She needed to know if the canyon roads were as treacherous as she’d heard tell.

  “Jennifer, bring that whole pot of coffee over here and leave it, would you, please?” Jayleen’s tired voice chased away Kelly’s mountain dreaming.

  “Been working late?” Kelly asked when Jayleen sank into the chair across from her. She noticed Jayleen lacked her usual spark today. She was moving in uncharacteristically slow motion.

  “Lordy, I wish I had been working.” Jayleen rubbed her hand across her face. Dark shadows rimmed her eyes.

  “I’m sorry I forgot to return your call, Jayleen,” Kelly apologized, suddenly remembering. “My phone ran out right as I was dialing yesterday, and I was going nonstop all night.”

  “That’s okay, I figured I’d better come in and talk to you folks anyway,” Jayleen said.

  “Boy, you look as tired as I feel, Jayleen. What’s up?” Jennifer asked as she poured a dark stream of coffee into Jayleen’s cup then set the pot on the table.

  Jayleen raised the cup and drank deep, several times. “Okay, that’s better. Now, I think I’ve got the strength to tell you gals what’s happened.”

  Jennifer shot Kelly a concerned glance and sank into a chair beside them. “What is it, Jayleen? Is it Diane?”

  “Yeah, I spent all last night at the hospital.”

  Kelly leaned forward over the table. “Did Diane fall off the wagon again? I told Jen what happened Sunday at Curt’s. Did she slip out and head to town or something?”

  Jayleen shook her head. “Naw. If she had, then I could have handled it. But this time, I needed help.”

  “God, Jayleen, what happened?” Jennifer pressed.

  Jayleen took another big gulp of coffee. “Lieutenant Peterson called yesterday. He told Diane they wanted her to come to the police department and answer some more questions. He also told her she could bring an attorney with her if she wanted.”

  Jennifer closed her eyes. “I knew it, I knew it. Did Diane freak out? Start yelling and screaming like she did when I was with her?”

  “Nope, not at all,” Jayleen said, draining the last of her coffee. “In fact, she got real quiet and scared-looking. I told her I’d go with her to the police station. But maybe it would be a good idea to talk to a lawyer. Just in case.”

  “What’d she say to that?” Kelly asked.

  Jayleen shook her head. “Nothing. She just sat and stared out the window, looking scared. I figured she needed some time alone, so I went back out to the stables and barns, thinking maybe she’d join me. After an hour passed and she didn’t come out, I went back inside the ranch house, and that’s when I found her. She was lying in the bathroom with pills scattered all around the floor—”

  “Oh, God, no,” Jennifer whispered.

  “I tell you, it scared the hell out of me. I thought she was dead,” Jayleen continued. “But she was just groggy. Couldn’t stand up or anything. That’s when I knew she needed more help than I could give her. So I loaded her into the truck and tore out of the canyon like a bat outta hell. The hospital emergency room was able to pump her stomach or whatever they do with overdoses nowadays.”

  “Were they sleeping pills or something?”

  Jayleen shrugged. “I don’t know, Kelly. I’d never seen them. They’re sure not mine. I don’t need anything to put me to sleep at night.” She gave a good-natured smile. “Maybe they were hers. Who knows.”

  Jennifer shook her head. “Stupid, stupid, stupid. Now the police will be certain that Diane killed Derek. I mean, she’s just attempted suicide and is in the hospital treatment center. It almost screams ‘I’m guilty.’ It can’t look any worse than that.”

  “I know,” Jayleen said with a sad nod. “But she clearly needs a lot of help. The counselors and psychologists will be talking with her today. Diane will stay there for a couple of days, they told me.”

  “Have you had a chance to talk with her?” Kelly asked.

  Jayleen nodded. “Yeah, I told her don’t worry about anything except getting healthy. Straightening out. They’ve got a good group of people at the treatment center there. I’ve heard from others that it’s excellent. Diane will get the help she needs. I told her again that I couldn’t have straightened out without help from folks like that. And AA, of course.” She shook her head as she poured more coffee for herself. “Lord, I hope she pays attention to them.”

  “Maybe this was good that it happened, Jayleen,” Kelly volunteered. “I mean, some people have to hit bottom to make a change, right?”

  Jayleen nodded. “Oh, yeah.”

  Eduardo appeared then and set Kelly’s huge breakfast platter in the midst of the somber table. “Enjoy,” he said with a smile.

  “Hey, Eduardo, that looks pretty good,” Jayleen spoke up. “Could you rustle up one of those breakfasts for me, too?”

  “
Sure thing,” he said, heading back to the kitchen. “Oh, Jennifer, your table around the corner is looking for you.”

  Jennifer jerked up, as if awakening. “Oh, my gosh, all this made me forget my customers. Talk to you later, guys.”

  “Later, Jen,” Kelly said, watching her friend hurry away. Kelly stared at her breakfast. Suddenly, she’d lost her appetite.

  “Hi, Kelly, how are you?” Mimi asked as Kelly meandered through the yarn room, touching and feeling as she went along. “Are you looking for another project?”

  “No, I’m still working on my own alpaca scarf.” Kelly trailed her fingers across the soft skeins as she slowly made her way to the library table. After hearing Jayleen’s disturbing news, Kelly felt like she was moving in slow motion, too.

  “What’s the matter?” Mimi asked as she draped two knitted sweaters over the antique cupboard. “You look worried.”

  Kelly set her bag and mug on the table and sat down. “Well, I guess I am, Mimi. The police asked Diane Perkins to come in for questioning again, and this time, she may need a lawyer.”

  “Oh, no,” Mimi exclaimed. “I’m so sorry. I was hoping things would clear up for her. She’s such a nice person.”

  “I know.” Kelly sighed, pulling out the alpaca yarn. “I wish there was something we could do, but Jennifer and I keep running into brick walls. Last night, we went to that favorite bar of hers and Diane’s, asking questions. Jennifer was convinced some guy over there might be the culprit because he attacked Derek one night. Derek cheated him in some business deal. Jennifer was there when it happened and said the guy looked like he could kill Derek, he was so mad.”

  “Really?” Mimi asked, clearly concerned. “Did you learn anything?”

  Kelly gave a rueful shake of her head. “Yeah, we did. We learned the guy, Gary, spent the whole night with some girl from the bar, so he definitely couldn’t be guilty. Jennifer was so disappointed. She’s trying hard to find something that’ll prove Diane’s innocent.”

  “That’s hard to do, Kelly. Proving someone’s innocence. It’s often perception,” Mimi said in a thoughtful voice. “At least, that’s what Burt tells me.”

  Kelly smiled. “Burt giving you detective lessons, Mimi?” She wondered what other lessons Burt and Mimi might be engaged in.

  Mimi’s cheeks tinged pink. “Of course not.” She gave a disparaging wave. “He simply tells me about some of the cases he’s worked. It sounds awfully complicated to me. And to think, people’s lives hang in the balance, depending on what evidence the police detectives find.”

  Rosa popped around the corner and beckoned to Mimi. “I finally reached that vendor, Mimi. Do you want to talk with her now or later?”

  “Right now. I’ve been trying to reach her for days,” Mimi said, dashing from the room. “Talk to you later, Kelly.”

  Kelly welcomed the quiet that settled over the room now, December morning sun shining through the windows. Kelly couldn’t shake the melancholy feeling that had clung to her ever since Jayleen brought her the sad news. They had tried so hard to find something, anything that could help Diane, and failed. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Diane chose this time to “freak out,” as Jennifer put it, and attempt suicide. It didn’t look good. Not good at all.

  “Ah, Kelly, I’m so glad to find you here alone,” Lizzie’s voice announced as she bustled into the room. “I looked for you all day yesterday, I was so anxious to speak with you.” She slipped off her cherry red winter coat with the fur collar, then plopped her oversized knitting bag on the table and sat in the chair beside Kelly.

  “I’m sorry, Lizzie, I was out yesterday doing holiday shopping. What did you want to tell me?”

  Lizzie leaned closer. “I wanted to talk to you about Lucy. I took her to see Father Riley on Monday, remember?”

  In the hectic last couple of days, Kelly had forgotten. “Oh, yes, yes, how did that go?”

  Lizzie’s eyes widened like saucers. “Kelly, I’m concerned about Lucy, I truly am. I took her in and introduced her to Father Riley. He’s such a dear, kind man. He invited Lucy to sit with him and talk in his office. He even brought her a cup of tea. I waited in the outer offices, of course.”

  Kelly watched Lizzie pause before continuing. “Did Lucy seem comfortable talking with him? Did she look scared? I mean, she runs like a rabbit whenever any of us tries to talk with her.”

  “Actually, Kelly, she seemed anxious to talk to Father Riley. She was asking me all sorts of questions about him and the church all the way over in the car. And she was quiet as a mouse when we entered the rectory. She simply stared about with those huge blue eyes of hers. Then, she went docile as a lamb following after Father Riley into his office.”

  “Lizzie, that sounds good. I mean, we were all hoping Lucy would find someone to talk to, and it looks like this Father Riley is the one. So what’s got you so concerned?”

  “Well, dear, it’s what happened next that bothered me. After Lucy finished talking with Father, she came out of his office, face all streaked with tears, red from weeping. And Father, well, he was standing in the doorway of his office with such a worried expression, it took me by surprise. I caught his gaze for a second, and he shook his head, the way he does when he’s deeply concerned about something. That captured my attention, Kelly.”

  She fixed Kelly with a solemn gaze. “Lucy was more upset after talking with Father Riley than before. That and Father’s reaction made me very curious. It made me wonder what on earth the poor child told Father that had him looking so concerned and sent Lucy into tears. She did not say one word on the way home. She simply sat, crying softly into tissues, despite my efforts to console her.”

  Kelly didn’t respond, letting all of Lizzie’s concerns and observations sift through her mind. Lucy was determined to see Lizzie’s priest and insisted on an appointment. If she was so anxious to speak with him, why then was she so distraught afterward?

  “I admit, Lizzie, that does sound strange. Not that I’m an expert on confessional behavior,” Kelly admitted with a wry smile. “Do you think Father Riley came on too strong and rebuked or scolded Lucy? I mean, he wouldn’t have reprimanded her for having a child out of wedlock, would he?”

  Lizzie stared at Kelly with a shocked expression. “Good heavens, no! Father would never do that. Why, he’s a veritable pussycat of a man. Kind and gentle. It’s more likely he would offer to take her to the weekly meetings of the young mothers’ group.”

  “Forgive me, Lizzie, but I was simply trying to find a reason for Lucy’s reaction. Do you think he made her feel guilty because she hasn’t been to see the doctor? Maybe that’s what upset her so.”

  “No, Kelly, he wouldn’t have done that either. And I had already offered to take her to the doctor this week.” Lizzie frowned as she pulled the pale peach yarn from her bag and began to knit. “No, no, it’s nothing simple like that. I sense there’s something else bothering Lucy. And it’s something very painful, judging from the expression on her face. I’ve seen the ravages of guilt before. It is unmistakable, and that’s what bothers me, Kelly. The guilt and shame I saw on Lucy’s face as she ran weeping from Father Riley’s office.”

  Kelly pondered everything Lizzie had just said while they both knitted in silence. She didn’t doubt Lizzie’s veracity for a moment. Lizzie had a keen eye.

  What on earth would Lucy be feeling guilty about? Perhaps she came from a very strict family where bearing a child out of wedlock was considered a shameful and terrible stain upon a family’s reputation. Ellen had mentioned that Lucy’s mother had died and her father remarried, and Lucy had been estranged from them for several years. So it didn’t make sense that she would be scared of an absent family’s judgment of her, did it? What, then? Certainly not her friends’ opinions. Everyone at the shop loved Lucy and had been nothing but supportive of her since Derek’s death. Kelly had no doubt they would be even more kind and solicitous when they learned that Lucy was pregnant. What, then?

  Kelly pondered a
nd came up with nothing. She continued knitting, the tweed alpaca scarf lengthening slowly as she sorted through possibilities. Shame. Was Lucy ashamed to tell her friends about the baby? That didn’t seem likely either. What then? Stitches continued, row upon row, meditative. Lizzie had ceased speaking as well, quietly working her frothy yarn, worried frown still in place.

  Why did people feel guilty? Because they’d done something to make them feel ashamed? What could sweet inoffensive Lucy ever do that would make her feel guilty? What could she possibly do?

  A fragmented memory floated by, elusive. Something Lucy’s friend Ellen had said when they were in the knitting shop talking about Derek’s death. What was it? Something about Lucy. Lucy was expecting Derek’s child…and she hadn’t told him yet.

  Suddenly the elusive fragment surfaced in Kelly’s mind. She remembered now. Ellen said Lucy had planned to tell Derek that night, the very night he was killed. She tried to call him but couldn’t get through. She couldn’t tell him…or so she said. What if Lucy was lying? What if she really did go see Derek that night? What if it was Lucy in the car Diane saw driving up to Derek’s?

  Another wisp floated by. Burt’s mention of a lot of messages from women on Derek’s cell phone. One of the messages was garbled, but police made out the words “need to see you.” What if that was Lucy calling? What if she drove up to see Derek that night and told him about the baby? What if he rejected her? Spurned her and the baby. Derek Cooper certainly didn’t sound like a man who was ready to settle down and be a father.

  Kelly let all the disparate thoughts swirl around her mind, jumbling into one another. Did Lucy kill Derek? Was that possible? Was she crazy to even imagine it? Kelly wondered. How could sweet, shy, quiet Lucy kill Derek Cooper? How was that possible? It didn’t make sense, did it? No, a little voice whispered from the back of her mind.

  Then another part of Kelly’s brain spoke up, louder this time, joining the argument raging inside her head. Not necessarily. Remember how Derek Cooper was killed.