Thank God, Kelly thought. “Exactly. That’s why I’m asking you, Lisa, instead of trying to talk to Lucy myself—”
“In your usual Rottweiler-style, right?”
Kelly grinned. “I promise, I’ll be a pussycat. I’ll sit quietly while you two talk—”
“That’ll be the day.”
“If anyone can get Lucy to open up and talk about Derek, you can.”
“I hope so. But there’s someone else who could help, too. Someone who will make Lucy feel absolutely safe. Mimi.”
Kelly sat up. That was a brilliant suggestion. No one was as warm and reassuring and comforting as Mother Mimi. “Lisa, that’s positively brilliant!” Kelly enthused. “See why I asked you to take the lead?”
“Yeah, well, let’s hope this works. I’ll call Mimi right now. She can call Lucy and ask her to come to the shop this afternoon. Mimi will have a better chance of getting Lucy to show up. I’m also going to check with some doctors and counselors to get information I can share with Lucy. I want to be able to take her to see someone immediately if she’ll let me.”
“Lisa, you’re wonderful.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen, I’ll call you back. Talk to you later.” Lisa hung up before Kelly could even say goodbye.
“Thanks, Lisa,” Kelly said out loud as she watched wind-whipped snowflakes swirl outside.
“Go ahead and sit down. We want to look relaxed when Lucy comes in,” Lisa said, pointing Kelly toward one of the two leather armchairs tucked in Mimi’s cozy corner office.
Kelly did as she was directed. This was Lisa’s show, and she was going to let Lisa run it. Kelly knew her dictatorial friend would toss her out if she noticed any interference. “Yes, ma’am,” she said and sank into the comfy leather, afternoon sunshine pouring over her shoulder.
“Got your coffee, right?” Lisa asked as she sat in the other armchair. “We don’t want you having a caffeine attack in the midst of everything.”
“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” Kelly gave her friend a sardonic smile. “I’ll disappear into the upholstery.”
Lisa gave a skeptical look, then pointed to the doorway. “Shhhh, here they come.”
Kelly relaxed into the chair, even though she felt anything but relaxed as she heard Mimi and Lucy’s voices drift toward the office. Her heart was racing, and she felt anxious, wondering if Lucy would respond to Mimi and Lisa and open up at last. Whatever was festering inside Lucy needed to be brought out into the light for healing.
Shapes were starting to come into focus. She sensed Lucy would provide key pieces to this puzzle. If Diane was telling the truth about seeing a car, then Lucy had to be the one driving up to Derek’s that night. Kelly was convinced of it.
“Why don’t we sit in my office and relax for a few minutes?” Mimi said as she held the office door open for Lucy. “We can have a nice cup of tea.”
“Thank you, Mimi, that would be nice—,” Lucy said as she entered. Her smile quickly disappeared, however, when she spotted Kelly and Lisa already seated.
“Hello, girls,” Mimi said nonchalantly as she ushered Lucy inside the office, then closed the door.
“Hey, Lucy, how are you?” Lisa greeted warmly.
Kelly raised her mug and gave Lucy her friendliest grin. “Lucy, I’ve got some bags of wool in a barn in Wyoming that need spinning. I’m hoping you can help me after the holidays.”
“Lisa, why don’t you pour Lucy a nice cup of tea? And add some milk to cool it down,” Mimi suggested.
Lucy looked at Lisa and Kelly, blue eyes widening in obvious concern. “You already have visitors, Mimi. I can come back later.”
“Nonsense, dear, Lisa and Kelly are part of our Lambspun family, too. Just like you are.” Mimi gestured to the love seat against the windows. “Come, sit beside me, why don’t you?” Mimi settled into the love seat and patted the leather beside her.
Lucy hesitated for a few seconds then sank into the love seat, placing her extra-large yarn bag on the floor at her feet. She glanced around apprehensively once more.
Mimi reached over and patted Lucy’s arm, her voice warm and soothing. “Lucy, you know how much I care about you, don’t you?”
Lucy nodded, eyes getting wider.
“Well, Lisa and Kelly and everyone here in the Lambspun family love and care about you, too. And we’re worried about you. You’ve been keeping this grief to yourself for too long. We think you need some help. You need to talk to someone. Someone who can help, like a counselor.”
A panicked look darted across Lucy’s delicate features. “I-I-I spoke with a priest Monday,” she said in a breathy voice. “Lizzie took me. I’ve already talked to someone.”
Mimi leaned closer, still patting Lucy’s arm. “Lisa knows several wonderful counselors and therapists who could help. She used to be in a group with you, remember? Lisa can help you find the right person, Lucy.”
“I’ll stay with you, Lucy, as long as you need me,” Lisa offered in a soothing voice. “If you don’t like the first counselor you meet, then we’ll try the next one, and the next, until you find exactly the right one for you.”
Lucy’s gaze dropped to her lap, her hands clasped tightly. “I’m okay, I really am,” she whispered. “I don’t need to see anyone else.”
Mimi bent down, clearly attempting to catch Lucy’s eye. “Lucy, we know about the baby. You need to think about what’s best for the baby, too. All this turmoil has tied you in knots inside. That’s not good. Not for you. Not for the baby.”
Lucy’s head jerked up, and Kelly saw real panic in her eyes. “How—how—”
“Ellen told us, dear. Out of concern for you. Don’t be upset with her. She was worried sick for you and for the baby. She said you haven’t seen a doctor yet—is that true?”
Tears welled in Lucy’s eyes now and spilled down her pale cheeks. “No…not yet,” she whispered.
“I can take you to the doctor, dear. And Lizzie can come, too, if you’d like. She’s so worried about you.” Mimi’s rhythmic patting continued.
Lisa leaned forward, offering the teacup. Mimi took it from her and handed it to Lucy. Lucy unclenched her hands long enough to grasp the cup and bring it to her lips.
“Don’t worry about expenses, Lucy,” Lisa continued softly. “I’ve checked with my doctor, and she sees patients on a sliding scale. I’ve already spoken with her, and she’ll make room in her schedule whenever you want.”
“You see, dear?” Mimi comforted. “Everything will work out. You’re not alone, you know. We’re your family, and we’ll take care of you. I promise.” She took the empty cup from Lucy’s shaking hands.
Kelly watched the tears run down Lucy’s cheeks, sensing the dam was about to break.
“I know you must feel alone, what with Derek gone. Losing him was an awful shock. I know how much you loved him, and how he loved you and—”
“But he didn’t!” Lucy burst out suddenly. “He didn’t love me! He lied! He lied! He didn’t want me at all!”
The dam broke at last, and a deluge of tears burst forth. Lucy sank her head in her hands and wept, shoulders shaking. Kelly reached for a nearby box of tissues and handed them to Mimi, who was trying her best to soothe Lucy’s anguish.
“There, now, I’m sure that isn’t true…”
Lucy refused to be consoled. Shaking her head, she wailed, “He didn’t want me or…or the baby. He cursed at me! And then he threw money on the ground! He said that’s all I’d ever get from him.” Another high-pitched wail emerged, as she collapsed in tears again.
Lisa glanced over to Kelly and nodded slightly. Kelly took that as Lisa’s acknowledgment that Kelly had guessed right. Lisa left her chair and sank to the floor beside Mimi and Lucy.
“It’ll be okay, Lucy, it’ll be okay…” Lisa crooned, patting Lucy’s other arm. Mimi had never ceased her stroking. “Did you go to Derek’s to tell him about the baby?” she asked after a moment.
Lucy nodded her head, face still buried in her h
ands. “He—he didn’t answer his phone, so…so I drove up there.”
“Maybe he was simply surprised when you told him about the baby, dear. Maybe that’s why he was so…so…” Mimi was clearly straining to come up with a reason for Derek’s cruelty.
Lucy’s hands slid away from her blotchy, wet face. She shook her head again. “No, no. He laughed when I told him about the baby and about us getting married. He laughed.” Her mouth trembled. “He said he wasn’t about to be trapped into marriage by some dumb little chick who…who was too stupid to keep from getting pregnant. Then he threw money on the barn floor…in the dirt…and told me to take care of it.” Her head sank again as the tears flowed.
Kelly sat spellbound, listening to Lucy’s tale of rejection. Jennifer was right. Derek Cooper was a scumbag. Or he was when alive. It was impossible not to be affected by Lucy’s anguish. It was truly heart-wrenching. To be rejected so cruelly and callously was unconscionable.
But had it driven Lucy to take revenge? Had Derek’s rejection of her and the baby enraged Lucy to the point of murder?
“There, there, now,” Mimi soothed, offering Lucy another cup of tea. Lucy grasped the cup and drank deeply, tea sloshing over the edge this time.
Lisa took the empty cup and offered a huge handful of tissues. Lucy took them and swiped at her face. “Did you leave then?” Lisa asked softly.
Lucy’s mouth trembled. “He—he pushed me out. He grabbed the money and shoved it down my shirt and told me he never wanted to see me again. Then…then he yanked off the necklace I made for him and threw it in my face.” She bent her head and pressed wads of tissues to her face.
“There, there, now, Lucy, you’re better off without that awful man,” Mimi said, a judgmental tone creeping into her voice as she patted.
“But—I took it,” Lucy cried out again, shoulders shaking. “I took the money like…like a whore.” She buried her face in the tissues with an anguished cry.
“You’re no such thing, Lucy, you’re a wonderful girl,” Mimi said defiantly, slipping her arm around Lucy’s shaking shoulders and drawing her closer. “And you’ll be a wonderful mother, too.”
“And you’ll have plenty of help, Lucy. I found where all the child care services are in town, and I’ll take you to register,” Lisa said. “It will be okay.”
Kelly sat watching, not saying a word, but her mind was spinning a mile a minute. Lucy’s tale of her confrontation with Derek Cooper did not resemble the version Kelly had scripted in her imagination. Lucy’s grief and anguish were real. There was no doubt. Kelly could feel it in her gut. Lucy’s words rang true.
Peering at Lucy, Kelly forced her skeptical side to weigh in, but it had nothing to say. All the well-rehearsed scenes Kelly had allowed her imagination to create collapsed now, like punctured balloons. They’d all been created out of thin air, and the air rushed out of them just as quickly. Lucy didn’t kill Derek Cooper.
“Thank goodness you left before that wretched man became violent,” Mimi said. “I’m surprised you could drive out of the canyon in that state. Was it still daytime?”
Lucy shook her head. “No, it was night. But I—I drove slowly.”
Kelly leaned forward and asked in a soft voice, “Lucy, do you recall seeing any other cars when you went to Derek’s?”
She nodded, sniffling. “When I was going up the driveway, someone else was leaving,” she said, wiping her nose. “Probably another one of Derek’s girlfriends.”
“That’s okay, dear,” Mimi soothed. “It’s better forgotten.”
“And when I left, I saw a car parked at the bottom, too. On the side of the road.”
Kelly sat up. Diane said she’d seen a parked car that night. “Did you see anyone in the car?”
“No, it was dark, and the headlights were off.”
Kelly stared at Lucy without saying a word. Diane had lied before. Was she lying again? Maybe it was actually Diane in the parked car. Had she driven away from Derek’s ranch only to return? Did she come back to fight with her old lover one more time or to kill him?
It had to be Diane. There was no one else who hated Derek Cooper enough to kill him. And she lied. She lied to Jayleen. She lied to them all.
Suddenly all the small things that had bothered Kelly about Diane’s version of events crept out of hiding. Why hadn’t she paid attention before? Kelly already knew the answer. She wanted to believe Diane.
“Here, Lucy, drink some more tea, and then you and I can go visit my doctor. She’s really nice, and I think you’ll like her,” Lisa suggested as she offered Lucy another cup.
Lucy accepted and drained the cup in a few seconds, clearly thirsty after all the tears.
“I’d like to come, too, if that’s all right, Lucy,” Mimi offered, reaching for Lucy’s oversized yarn bag. “Here, let me carry this for you.”
Lucy looked up, gratitude glistening in her wet blue eyes. “Thank you, Mimi, I’d like that. And thank you, Lisa.”
“That’s what families are for, Lucy,” Lisa said, helping Lucy from her chair and guiding her to the door.
Mimi started after them then glanced to Kelly. “Kelly, would you please tell Rosa that I won’t be coming back the rest of today? She can close up.”
“Sure thing, Mimi. And you’d better call Burt while you’re at the doctor’s office. Lucy will need to give a statement to the police about all of this.”
Mimi nodded. “Yes, I know. And don’t worry. Burt and I will stay with her the entire time.”
Nineteen
Kelly absentmindedly dragged her hand across the candy-colored fibers as she walked through the yarn room, not paying attention to the softness beneath her fingers. She barely noticed the bustle of customers jostling each other around the bins. She was oblivious to the color and commotion surrounding her. Oblivious to it all. Her mind was still back in Mimi’s office.
She needed to talk with Jennifer. Kelly knew Jennifer had been wrestling with her own doubts about Diane. They needed to talk. But not yet. Kelly wanted to fortify herself first. She wondered if there was enough caffeine in the world for this conversation.
“Hey, Kelly, Jayleen dropped off an envelope for you,” Rosa said as she hurried through the room. “You were in Mimi’s office, so she wrote a note and left. I put it on the library table.”
Kelly wound through the shoppers, retrieved the envelope, and retreated to Pete’s café and out of the holiday crush. Welcoming the midafternoon quiet, she signaled the waitress as she found a corner table. Eduardo’s strong brew appeared and Kelly indulged herself, drinking deeply for a few moments before she picked up the manila envelope.
Jayleen’s note was taped to the front. I found this picture when I was sorting through some of those boxes in my barn. It was taken at an alpaca breeders’ dinner. Take a look at who’s sitting next to Derek.
Curious, Kelly opened the envelope and pulled out an eight-by-ten black-and-white photo. It seemed like a typical banquet photo. Smiling faces around a table. Jayleen had drawn an arrow to Derek Cooper. Blond, handsome, grinning. His arm was draped around the woman beside him. Kelly stared at the woman and caught her breath.
It was Ellen Hunter. Or, it looked like Ellen Hunter. She had the same smile, the same wavy blonde hair. And she was snuggled close to Derek. Was Ellen Hunter one of Derek Cooper’s old girlfriends, too?
Kelly sat back, staring at the photo while she sipped her coffee. Ellen had never let on. Never indicated she knew Derek. Not a word, not a gesture, nothing. She talked like she didn’t know him. Why? Why would she keep it a secret? It didn’t make sense.
Maybe it wasn’t really Ellen in the photo, she thought. Well, if it wasn’t, then it was her twin. How could that be, though? Ellen was Lucy’s best friend, her constant companion, watching over Lucy, worrying about her. And Lucy was Derek’s girlfriend. Or one of them, at least. It didn’t make sense.
Kelly continued to stare at the photo while she sipped her coffee. A stray thought drifted through the other
s churning through her mind. Ellen said she and Lucy met several months ago at a neighborhood coffeehouse. Several months ago. Lucy met Derek several months ago at the alpaca banquet. Coincidence? Probably. It didn’t make sense…or did it?
Signaling to the waitress for more coffee, Kelly punched Jennifer’s number into her cell phone. An idea had surfaced suddenly. It was a crazy idea, but she was going to follow it up anyway.
“Hey, Jen, are you going to see Diane today?” she asked when Jennifer answered.
“Actually, I’m picking her up at the hospital. She’s checking out right now. And she wants to drop by the shop before I take her to Jayleen’s ranch.”
“How’s she doing?”
“Real subdued. Calm, almost. I confess I’ve never seen her like this before.” Jennifer’s voice turned somber. “I guess the doctors and counselors must have gotten through. At least, I hope they did.”
“Let’s hope so, Jen. Listen, could you ask Diane a question while you’re driving over? Ask her if she remembers if Derek ever had a girlfriend named Ellen. Blonde, wavy hair.”
“Blonde with wavy hair? That sounds like Ellen at the shop—you know, Lucy’s friend. She never let on that she knew Derek.”
“Well, I’m looking at a photo Jayleen found of Derek sitting at an alpaca breeders’ banquet with his arm around Ellen Hunter. It’s either her or her twin.”
Jennifer took in her breath. “Damn.”
“That’s what I say.” Kelly flipped over the photo to see the photographer’s stamp and date. “It would have been two years ago.”
“We’ll be over in a few minutes.”
Diane Perkins stared at the black-and-white photo, frowning. “You know, I’m not sure, but I think that’s her. Derek called her Elly. Can’t remember the last name.”
Kelly glanced to Jennifer, who was seated at the library table with them. The late afternoon crowd of shoppers had thinned considerably, so they were momentarily alone in the room.
“So she did go with Derek,” Kelly said.
“Ohhh, yeah. And he dumped her like he did every girl.” Diane shook her head. “But apparently this Elly didn’t want to stay dumped. She kept coming back to his ranch. Showing up when he had other girls there. Leaving ugly messages on his answering machine. Stuff like that. At least, that’s what Derek said. I wasn’t around his place all the time.”
A Killer Stitch Page 19
