Cast On, Kill Off (A Knitting Mystery)

by Sefton, Maggie

  Now that Leann had mentioned Zoe, Kelly decided to continue. “That was simply awful, wasn’t it?” she ventured in a quiet voice so browsing customers in the adjoining rooms wouldn’t overhear.

  Leann didn’t look up, but kept focusing on the red dress as her fingers moved along the seam line. “It was horrible. I cannot believe someone would do that. Who would want to kill Zoe? Do you think someone tried to rob her?”

  “I don’t know, Leann,” Kelly agreed. “I was shocked when I heard. And Mimi was . . . well, you know Mimi. She’s had a lot of loss in her life.”

  Leann glanced up. “Yes, I heard she’d lost her son in a tragic accident when he was at the university years ago.”

  Kelly tried to think of a circuitous way to ask the question that was bedeviling her, but couldn’t figure out how to obscure her curiosity. So she resorted to her usual manner: forthright and straight to the point.

  “You know, Leann, I wondered if you really did go to see Zoe at her class that night.”

  Leann quickly looked up, and a flush spread across her cheeks. “Yes, yes, I did . . . and . . . and I feel awful about it.” She ducked her head and focused on the red dress again. “It was a stupid thing to do, I know that now. But I was just so angry at her.” Leann’s voice had dropped almost to a whisper. “I wish I hadn’t gone.”

  Kelly could feel Leann’s regret. “We all have done things we regret, Leann. I know I have.”

  “I feel so awful that I yelled at her like that.”

  The sound of a cell phone’s music sounded then, and Leann reached into her large fabric purse on the table. She glanced at the phone’s screen. “Excuse me, Kelly. I have to take this call. Leann O’Hara,” she said crisply into the phone as she rose and walked away.

  Kelly returned to her own stitches. Knitting stitches, but stitches nonetheless. She was glad her stitches were large compared to those small stitches that Leann was ripping out. Sewing had always looked difficult to Kelly. Now that she could see the effort involved in simply removing stitches, Kelly decided she would stay with yarn forever. Unraveling knitting stitches, or frogging as knitters called it, was infinitely easier and faster than Leann’s work.

  “Hi, Kelly,” Mimi said as she walked into the main room, both hands full of magazines. Knitting magazines, crocheting magazines, spinning magazines, weaving magazines . . . and many more subjects than Kelly could keep track of. It always amazed her how many fiber-related topics there were. And how many people were involved with them.

  “Leann was here when I came, so we got to chat for a few minutes. She’s already started on Megan’s sister’s matron of honor dress.”

  “I’m so glad Leann could find the time.” Mimi started removing some magazines and replacing them with the ones she brought. “I think she did it as a favor for me. She could tell we had a very excitable bride-to-be on our hands.”

  Kelly laughed, picturing Megan in the midst of one of her melodramatic moments. “Did we ever. I’ll bet Marty was glad he was out of town at a conference. This way, he got the melodrama over the phone. Much easier to deal with.”

  “Well, Leann understood the situation and was kind enough to push a couple of other projects down the calendar so she could focus on this dress. That was awfully nice of her, especially since she’s been helping Vera catch up with Zoe’s projects. Leann told me some of her old customers have called to get back on her schedule. I’m so glad.”

  Kelly wondered if those people had been Zoe’s customers, but decided not to mention it. Instead, Kelly ventured, “It was nice to talk to Leann when she was . . . you know, acting normal. I’d only seen her when she came storming into the shop the other day, convinced that Zoe stole her dress design.”

  “Yes, that was . . . well, it wasn’t one of Leann’s better moments,” Mimi said, giving a row of magazines a final pat. “I’m glad to hear that you got to meet Leann as she really is. Good-natured and competent, considerate of others. That’s the Leann I know.”

  Kelly toyed with her next comment, then decided simply to put it out there. First, she looked around, checking to make sure no browsing customers were standing within earshot. “You know, I asked Leann if she really did go to see Zoe at her class that night.”

  Mimi turned quickly and stared at Kelly, wide-eyed. “You didn’t!”

  “Yes, I did. I was curious if she followed through on her threat to confront Zoe. Leann admitted she did go to Zoe’s class, and in her words she ‘yelled at her.’ Then she admitted she’s very sorry she went. She said she felt awful now.”

  Mimi frowned in concern. “I’m sure she does. Oh, dear. I was so hoping that Leann had thought better of confronting Zoe, especially at her class in front of all those students.”

  “The only reason I’m telling you, Mimi, is because Burt updated me earlier today.” Kelly leaned forward and dropped her voice. Mimi approached closer and leaned toward Kelly.

  “What on earth did he say?”

  “Dan told him they were questioning the women in Zoe’s class. That made me curious. If police are questioning those students, then there’s a good chance one of them would remember Leann barging into their class that night.”

  “Oh, no, they couldn’t possibly think that Leann . . .” Mimi didn’t finish the sentence.

  “Those students probably don’t know Leann. They don’t know that she’s a really nice person at heart. They don’t know what she’s really like. All they know is the Leann who accused Zoe of stealing her design. And how angry Leann was.”

  Mimi drew back, face blanched with concern. “Oh, no . . .”

  * * *

  Kelly turned the corner of the shady residential street. She liked traveling on Fort Connor’s older residential streets when she had the time. Many of the homes were built in the early 1900s. There were so many different styles built in those early years and even more built in the 1940s. Gracious designs Kelly was especially attracted to, especially the houses with wraparound porches. They always looked so inviting. Kelly drove slower through the early evening.

  There was enough time to enjoy the scenery while she drove to the ball fields. A sweatshirt lay on the seat beside her. Her trusty first baseman’s glove was in the trunk with an assortment of bats. Most were wooden. But there was an old metal one she brought out for younger kids when she was coaching softball leagues in the summer. Now that it was September and the kids were back in school, they were involved in their schools’ ball teams. Here in Fort Connor, girls softball was a fall sport along with football and volleyball.

  Kelly had always been annoyed when different schools had conflicting sports schedules. She’d enjoyed playing volleyball in school, too, but she was better at softball. Plus, softball was played outside in the fresh air and sunshine. You couldn’t beat that, in Kelly’s eyes. There might be cloudy, chilly days, too, but Kelly forgot those.

  Her cell phone jangled, and she dug it from her bag on the seat beside her. Steve’s name and number flashed on the smartphone screen. Was he back from his Arizona trip? She thought he wasn’t returning to Denver until tomorrow.

  “Hey, there, are you back in Denver or still in Arizona?” Kelly answered as she nosed the car around another corner.

  “Landed in Denver a little while ago. I’m going to grab my bags and head to the office. I want to drop off a ton of materials I picked up at that conference.”

  “I imagine. You’ll have to tell me all about it when we get together next.”

  “That’s another reason I called. I wanted to see if we could have dinner tomorrow night. I thought I’d drive up to Fort Connor to check on Wellesley and Baker Street.”

  Steve’s last building project was in Wellesley, a subdivision north of Fort Connor that Steve had completed over a year ago, and there were still some houses left unsold. Add to that a couple of houses were working their way through bank foreclosure, their owners long since gone. Because of that, Steve had given recent buyers some very sweet deals, and investors made out like bandi
ts. Steve had put a lot of detail work into those moderate-income homes. Marty and Megan had already bought one of the houses, thanks to Steve’s generous wedding present of a discounted price. Greg and Lisa were actually renting one of the houses, and were now planning to buy that house from Steve, too.

  “Oh, darn. I promised Jayleen and Curt I’d join them for dinner tomorrow night. She’s making her famous chili. Why don’t you come, too? I’m sure they’d love to see you.”

  Steve laughed softly, the sound bringing back lots of memories as it came over the phone. “No offense to Curt and Jayleen, but I’d rather have dinner with you. Just the two of us, so I’ll hold out for that. When will you be in Denver next?”

  Kelly paused, remembering how Steve had once gotten angry and demanding if she wasn’t there when he made a sudden visit. That was a year ago, when Steve was in the midst of a career meltdown. A lot had changed since then. Steve had regained his footing in his career, starting over with Sam Kaufman’s company. Even more important, Steve had regained himself. The “old” Steve was back. The Steve Kelly knew. The Steve she fell in love with.

  Now their relationship was changing. It was familiar, yet different . . . and she liked it. Kelly sensed they were both moving to some new “center point.” And they were drawing closer. Almost there.

  “As a matter of fact, I’ll be in Denver this Saturday. Warner’s scheduled a special planning meeting with these new consultants.”

  This time, Steve laughed out loud. “That sounds like him. Man, I’m glad we’re finished with our part of that Thornton project. Those huge meetings sucked the life out of you.”

  “Tell me about it,” Kelly said with a laugh.

  “Well, that’s perfect timing. I don’t have to leave again until Monday. So why don’t I make reservations for us on Saturday night. There’s a restaurant I want you to try. I was there a couple of weeks ago with some others.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll look forward to it.” She turned her car into the entrance drive leading to the ball fields.

  “Me, too.” Steve’s deep voice dropped lower. “I’ve missed you, Kelly.”

  Kelly barely hesitated as she answered. “I’ve missed you, too. I’ll say hi to Megan and Lisa. I’m driving into the ball fields now.”

  “Hit it out of the park for me, will ya?”

  “You betcha,” Kelly promised before she clicked off.

  Eight

  Kelly walked across the driveway separating the cottage and the shop, laptop in her briefcase and empty coffee mug dangling. She didn’t feel like working at home this morning. It was a cloudy day with the threat of an afternoon shower. A perfect day to work inside Lambspun. Surrounded by rich colors and luscious fibers, she could work on her accounts at the knitting table. She’d learned how to block out strangers’ conversations years ago. As long as they weren’t talking to her, Kelly didn’t even hear them.

  Living in Colorado for over three years, Kelly had become addicted to almost daily sunshine. Bright, sunny days were the norm. Consequently, cloudy days were a surprise. Sometimes they were a welcome break, other times, an unwanted interruption.

  Running up the steps to Lambspun’s entrance, Kelly was about to reach for the handle when the door suddenly opened. She jumped out of the way to keep from bumping into Vera.

  “Ohhh!” Vera exclaimed, startled.

  “Sorry, Vera. I’ve got to remember not to move so fast.”

  “That’s all right, Kelly. I’m hurrying, too. I only stopped by to leave the extra fabric for Megan’s sister’s dress.”

  “Are you hurrying to the copy shop or hurrying back to the workshop?”

  “Actually, I’m returning to the workshop. My boss at the copy shop was kind enough to let me reduce my hours so I could catch up with customer projects.”

  Kelly noticed Vera didn’t look as stressed as she had the last few times Kelly had seen her. “How’s that going? Mimi said Leann was helping you catch up with all the customer projects. That’s good. I know that was a huge burden hanging over you.”

  Vera’s pale blue eyes widened. “Yes, it was. Even so, I got very little sleep earlier in the week, trying to work at the copy shop and keep up with the customer sewing. I’m so glad Leann was good enough to help me. Considering her . . . well, her past history with Zoe, I thought that was kind of Leann.”

  “Yes, it was. I finally had a chance to talk with Leann the other day. She was here starting the alterations for Megan’s sister’s matron of honor dress. Megan was frantic when she found out from her sister that the dress no longer fit.” Kelly felt compelled to explain why Megan had not asked Vera. “Mimi knew you were swamped with the other sewing so she told Megan to call Leann.”

  “Yes, I heard all about the dress drama.” A little smile tweaked the edges of Vera’s mouth. “I’ve never had children, but I’ve had to alter several bridesmaids’ dresses over the years for the same reason. And sometimes . . . the bridal gown as well. I’m glad Leann was able to fill in, because you’re right, I was much too busy with the new garments to handle that.” Vera glanced at her watch. “Which reminds me, a customer will be at the shop in half an hour. It was nice chatting with you, Kelly.”

  Kelly started to open the door until she heard Vera’s voice again.

  “Oh, yes. There will be a visitation for Zoe at Highland Funeral Home this Saturday at noon. I’ve had to arrange everything because Oscar is positively useless. He simply sits in front of his television and drinks.” Vera scowled. “I can’t stand to even talk to him on the phone, let alone go over there. But someone had to step in and take care of arrangements. And he wouldn’t even answer the phone when the medical examiner’s office called him. That’s when they called me. I told them that I would be the responsible party, because Oscar surely was not. He was barely sober when he was at home.” She gave a disgusted sniff.

  “Thank goodness you were there to take care of the nec-essary details,” Kelly said, surprised by this competent, decisive Vera. Previously, Vera had always appeared hesitant and shy, not one to take charge. Clearly Vera was a lot more competent than she’d appeared. She’d taken charge of an emotionally wrenching situation and had become the responsible party. Oscar was useless.

  Kelly gave Vera a good-bye wave before entering the shop. Stepping inside the foyer, Kelly paused to drink in the fall colors. Mimi and the shop elves had been busy. New autumn colors spilled from baskets and bins.

  Kelly indulged herself and sank her hands into the chest on the floor that overflowed with fat skeins of large twist yarns. BABY ALPACA, the wrapper said. Unbelievably soft. Pale pink, turquoise, lavender, and deep rose. This was exactly what she needed this morning. A fiber break. Revel in the sensuous feel of the yarns. She trailed her fingers across the various yarns spread out on tables and shelves as she walked through the central yarn room. Drawn to several bins on the wall with grays and pinks, she found kid mohair, baby kid, and super kid mohair mixed with silk. Even baby cashmere. Softer than soft.

  Jennifer rounded the corner into the room. “Hey, are you coming or going?”

  “Coming. I thought I’d escape looking at the cloudy day by working here. Are you on break?”

  “For about ten minutes. C’mon, let’s catch up.” Jennifer headed toward the main room, where she deposited her bag and sank into a chair.

  “You and Pete working tonight?” Kelly asked, settling into the chair beside her.

  “No, thankfully. We’re booked Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. So tonight we can kick back and relax.” She withdrew a bundle of maroon yarn and needles from her bag. It looked to Kelly like the beginning of a sweater.

  “Wow, I hope Pete is stashing away all those catering revenues,” Kelly said as she pulled her laptop from her briefcase.

  “Yes, he is, Miss Accountant. Pete’s been building his savings slowly and carefully, bless his heart.” Jennifer’s fast fingers worked the knitting needles, stitches forming quickly. “He’s a good influence for someone like me. W
atching him squirrel away little bits of cash at a time convinced me to start.”

  Kelly had to smile. Jennifer was right. Pete was a good influence on her . . . in more ways than simply saving money. Jennifer was more relaxed than Kelly had ever seen her. And happier. Much happier. Pete had been able to give Jennifer something all those other “hot” guys and one-night stands had not. Contentment. Kelly and her friends marveled at the changes that occurred once Jennifer finally responded to Pete’s quiet courtship.

  “Are you doing anything tonight?” Jennifer asked, looking up. “We haven’t been able to get together with you guys for a while because of the busy season.”

  “I’d love to, but I’ve already accepted an invitation from Jayleen and Curt to come up to her ranch tonight for dinner. She’s making her chili. I haven’t seen the two of them for nearly a month.”

  “Well, next time. Tell them hello for Pete and me.” More knitting rows appeared.

  “You should call up Megan and Marty, Greg and Lisa and see if they’re busy. Steve called after he returned from an Arizona builders’ conference yesterday. He wanted to go to dinner since he was coming into town tonight to check on Wellesley and Baker Street.”

  Jennifer’s head popped up. “Really? Hey, maybe he could stop over at Greg and Lisa’s before he drives back. I’ve got some good news about Wellesley.”

  “Another sale? That would be wonderful news!” Kelly exclaimed.

  “Well, it’s looking good so far.” Jennifer held up two crossed fingers. “This is an investor, so he’s putting a large percentage of cash down. Forty percent. So his loan should go through. Regular buyers . . . it’s another story. Lenders have tightened up even more and are requiring at least twenty percent down payment.”