Knit, Purl, Die

by Anne Canadeo

  “She was desperate, I guess. You might even say obsessed with getting revenge on Gloria,” Dana guessed. “Christine had a record. Petty stuff, shoplifting, bad checks. There had been some complaints filed against Jamie, too, which the police didn’t see immediately because he’d been living in Texas under a different name for a while. He’d never quite been pinned down for fraud but wasn’t above accepting gifts, or even money, from his girlfriends, many of them older than him.”

  “Okay, so he was the perfect man for the job,” Phoebe cut in. “How did he meet Crystal … I mean, Christine Thurman?”

  “She had some medical training and was working as a home health aid for an older, wealthy woman in Boca who was diabetic. Jamie was the woman’s younger boyfriend. Christine Thurman’s obsession with Gloria was pretty much what we imagined. She felt shortchanged by her father’s will and the money that was left for her in a trust fund was depleted by the time she became legally entitled to it. Then her mother died and she felt unhinged even more,” Dana explained. “So she meets Jamie while working at this house and her employer is a woman a lot like the memory of her long lost stepmother.”

  “And Christine gets the inspiration for her plan,” Lucy finished for her.

  “Exactly,” Dana answered. “Or maybe she’d had the idea for a while and was just waiting for a guy like Jamie to come along.”

  By now the knitters had mostly finished their meal and Dana picked up a few plates and carried them over to the sink.

  “So how did they finally … do it?” Maggie asked quietly. “Did he confess that, too? Since Gloria’s body was cremated, there are no remains to exhume and reexamine,” she pointed out.

  “The police got a pass on that one. Jamie told them exactly how it happened. He was supposed to come back from Boston in the middle of the night, meet Christine at the house, and finish off Gloria. He thought that if he didn’t come back, Christine would lose her nerve and wouldn’t go through with it. So he called Christine from Boston on the designated night, and told her he couldn’t return. He didn’t want to go through with killing Gloria and they had to think of a better plan. He thought he had persuaded her to put it off.”

  “That’s why he kept calling Gloria, asking her to meet him in Boston?” Lucy asked.

  Dana nodded. “I guess in a twisted way, he was trying to protect Gloria. He claims he was sure he’d dissuaded Christine from killing her. Didn’t believe she would do it without his support. So he didn’t bother to come home.”

  “But Christine went ahead anyway on her own,” Suzanne filled in. “Boy, she really hated Gloria, didn’t she?”

  “That’s what he says,” Dana replied. “Jamie says Christine came in through the back gate, which was never bolted around midnight and found Gloria asleep in her chaise longue by the pool. She often fell asleep knitting or reading at night, while Jamie was working, so that was part of their plan. She saw a wineglass nearby and thought, all the better, assuming Gloria had been drinking. So she snuck up on her and quickly injected her with a huge dose of painkiller. With her medical training, she knew how to find a spot that wouldn’t be obvious in an autopsy. Probably between her toes. Jamie had already given her the name of a pain medication that was around the house, a prescription Gloria had been given by her dentist a few weeks ago. So they were covered on that end of the story, too,” Dana reminded them. “So the mix of alcohol and drugs in her system rendered her defenseless.”

  “So there was poor Gloria, knocked out on her chaise longue. Totally helpless.” Suzanne described the image they were all imagining.

  “That’s right. Christine rolled the chaise to the edge of the pool and dumped her in,” Dana continued.

  “That’s why the chaise wasn’t in its usual spot when I found Gloria in the pool,” Suzanne cut in. “But of course, the police wouldn’t have thought anything strange about the longue chair being on the far side of the pool, where the sun was so strong.”

  “They had no idea of Gloria’s habits. And their suspicions were not aroused,” Dana replied. “Poor Gloria may have never woken up before she was dumped in the water and drowned. And if she did wake up, she was too disoriented and uncoordinated to save herself in time.”

  “That’s why the police found her knitting in the pool. That beautiful scarf. It was almost completed. She must have had it on her lap,” Maggie said glumly.

  “That’s right,” Dana agreed.

  “And Jamie claims he had no part in this? He didn’t even want it to happen?” Lucy asked again.

  “That’s what he told the police. He does have witnesses for his entire time that night in Boston. He was out partying in different bars until early morning, well after the time Gloria was killed. So that claim seems true.”

  “What about Christine? He did kill her, right?” Phoebe cut in.

  “Yes, he made a full confession. He says his only regret now is that he didn’t walk away from the beginning, before Gloria could ever get hurt. But he did say he’d never really planned on killing Christine, it happened during an argument. He was still angry that she’d murdered Gloria when he told her the plan was off. She was pressing him to get whatever money he could quickly so they could leave town. She was worried that he was losing his nerve. He says she showed up at the house just as he was packing up to go away without her. They argued and … he strangled her, then dumped her body on his way out of town.”

  “I guess he’d totally freaked out by then,” Phoebe offered.

  “Everything fell apart and he must have panicked,” Dana agreed. “He didn’t even try to hide the body very well.”

  “He never seemed like the sharpest needle in the bag to me,” Suzanne added. She carried a few empty dishes to the sink, helping Dana clear up so they could start their knitting.

  “He did seem too good to be true.” Lucy smiled and sighed. “Just goes to show, you can’t trust a man who cooks, knits, and claims he loves to give pedicures.”

  “Right, the pedicures. That should have tipped us off.” Suzanne laughed. “He just looked so darn cute in his barbeque apron,” she recalled, “and fumbling with his knitting needles.”

  “We were all taken in. Yours truly included. I’m sure now that dire need to paint my portrait was just a ploy to stay close to us. Another excuse to hang around the shop and make sure we didn’t meddle anymore in Gloria’s murder … and to encourage more sympathy,” she added. Maggie opened her knitting bag and took out a thick stack of knitted squares.

  “He was good at that,” Dana agreed. “A real master. He was so close to us, acting so vulnerable and needy, we had no chance of seeing his real colors. Or intentions.”

  “He was an illusionist,” Lucy offered. “Drawing our attention in one direction, while carrying on some dirty tricks with the other.”

  “A con man, you mean,” Suzanne clarified. “And Gloria was the biggest victim of his game.”

  “Yes, she was, poor soul,” Maggie said sadly. “But you know, in spite of everything, I think he really did care for Gloria. I think he may have even loved her. She was the only person in his life who ever took care of him and believed in his talent. That must have counted for something. Of course,” she added quickly, “we’ll never know, will we?”

  “No … we won’t,” Lucy said. But she tended to agree with Maggie. Jamie had been a complete fraud and the worst kind of social parasite. But no one was all good, or all bad.

  If Jamie Barnett had possessed a shred of decency, she tended to believe that he’d come to care for Gloria in a way he’d never expected. Gloria had been his protector and champion and only saw the best in him. Maybe he’d started off acting the part of her true love and surprised himself, by actually falling in love with her.

  “Is this a cautionary tale, about older women and younger men?” Dana asked her friends.

  “Not necessarily. That situation can work out perfectly for some people. It really depends on the couple, don’t you think? But most of us probably have a better shot a
t a good relationship with someone who’s age appropriate,” Maggie added. “Like me and Nick Cooper, for instance.”

  “Nick Cooper?” Lucy was surprised to hear that name again. “I thought he had his chance, and that was that.”

  “He did. But I had second thoughts. We’re going to a jazz brunch at a pub in Newburyport this weekend.”

  “Nice of him to ask you out again. He doesn’t give up easily. I’ll say that for him,” Dana noticed.

  “I’d say that for him, too. But I asked him this time,” Maggie confessed. “I thought about it and decided I’d been a bit … stubborn or something. And I would like to know him better.”

  Maggie turned and headed for the dining room. Lucy glanced at her friends. There was a bit of eye rolling and exaggerated faces, but no one dared to make further comment.

  As Maggie calmly laid her squares on the table, according to the pattern she’d sketched and now held in her hand, Suzanne, Lucy, Dana, and Phoebe produced their own contributions and then helped arrange them.

  A few minutes later, they saw their nearly completed blanket, practically all the squares filled in, even the special one made in honor of Gloria’s memory in the middle.

  “Wow, that looks great.” Suzanne was the first to deliver a review. “It’s even prettier than I imagined.”

  “It does look good. I like the colors we chose,” Dana said.

  “Me, too. Nice mix,” Lucy agreed.

  “And our squares came out very even. Well, most of them,” Phoebe added.

  “Yes, they did. It’s come together nicely. But I do have one suggestion,” Maggie told the others. “I think we should keep the square I made to honor Gloria. We can make a border for it, and hang it in the shop, to remember her.”

  “Great idea, Maggie. I felt sad about seeing that star go and didn’t realize why,” Dana admitted.

  “I did, too,” Lucy said. She picked up the square with the shooting star and smoothed it out with her hand. “I think we should hang this someplace where we can see it all the time and remember Gloria’s strong spirit. I have a feeling she’s near, watching over us while we knit.”

  And was hovering nearby, while we were figuring out the real story of her death, Lucy added silently.

  “I’m sure she is near, in spirit.” Maggie took the star square from Lucy’s hand and set it aside. “I’ll just knit something new for the middle. Maybe a heart or a flower?”

  “A heart is a good idea.” Suzanne held up a strand of plum yarn to visualize a border. “It sends a message of caring to whoever gets our blanket.”

  “We still need a few more squares,” Phoebe reminded them. “The ones Crystal was supposed to make. I can do that,” she offered.

  “Don’t be silly. We can each do one right now.” Lucy sensed that Phoebe felt responsible for bringing Crystal—Christine, rather—into their group, a wolf in lamb’s clothing. A Goth wolf, rather.

  But how could Phoebe have known? Christine had been using her. Using all of them. They’d all been fooled by her, too.

  “Lucy’s right. We’ll just polish those off tonight and be done with it,” Maggie suggested.

  Maggie stepped back and gazed down at the blanket and then looked back up at her friends again. “Well, this one’s a wrap. But I have a few new ideas to show you.”

  Notes from the Black Sheep Knitting Shop Bulletin

  To All Our Knitting Friends Who Remember

  Dear Gloria Sterling—

  Thank you all so much for your cards and notes. They’ve been a great comfort for those of us who were closest to our wonderful friend Gloria.

  Some of you have asked Maggie about the project Gloria was working on before she passed away, the beautiful mist lace scarf. I was interested in making it also and just finished a version in creamy white merino.

  I easily adapted the pattern, making it slightly wider and longer, so that it’s more of a summer shawl. But you can wear this scarf just about anytime, or anywhere.

  The pattern was designed by Lisa Dykstra for Crystal Palace Yarns and is available for free on the Crystal Palace Yarns website. There are lots of other great patterns there. It’s definitely worth a visit.

  Here’s the link:

  http://www.straw.com/cpy/patterns/scarves/kidm-mist-lace-scarf.html

  http://www.straw.com/patterns

  I’m sure Gloria would be flattered to know that we all admired her good taste and sense of style so much.

  Fondly,

  Dana Haeger

  Hey Everyone,

  Here’s the lowdown (no pun intended) on those socks I just made for Matt.

  I definitely scored some major girlfriend points and they were frighteningly easy to make. (Please don’t tell Matt I said that.) A perfect “quickie” fun project or gift.

  I found the free pattern online at www.wendyknits.net

  Here’s a direct link to my choice, Sprucey Lucy Socks. I couldn’t resist that name, though there are dozens of sock patterns there to choose from:

  http://media.wendyknits.net/media/sprucey-lucy-socks1.pdf

  You can also find some great patterns by this designer, Wendy Johnson in her book, Socks From the Toes Up.

  I now totally understand Phoebe’s foot fetish and will never tease her about it again.

  Lucy

  Everyone has been asking me about the blanket that the Black Sheep knitters just made for Warm Up America! So I thought I’d post this information for you.

  As we all know, the joy of knitting is not in receiving, but giving our handmade work to others. That’s what Warm Up America! is all about. Warm Up America! collects handmade items from knitters like you—blankets, blanket squares, hats, socks, toys, etc.—and distributes them to those in need, such as hospice and nursing home residents, the homeless, or families who have lost their home due to a fire or flood. You don’t need to make an entire blanket, either, but can contribute any amount of hand-knit squares that will be joined with contributions from other knitters.

  Project Linus is another wonderful organization that provides love, security, and comfort to traumatized and needy children with handcrafted donations from “volunteer blanketeers.”

  You can find more information about Project Linus and the Warm Up America! Foundation—and instructions for the blanket squares and many other useful projects that are easy to knit—at the links below:

  www.projectlinus.org

  www.WarmupAmerica.com

  Stay well, count your blessings… and keep knitting!

  Maggie

  Recipe

  Jamie’s Coconut Macaroons

  We’ll Always Have Those Macaroons to Remember Him By!

  Okay, the truth is out. If we only knew then what we know now … and all that.

  Yeah, maybe we should have known that Jamie Barnett was too good to be true.:(I guess his cooking—and other attributes—distracted us.

  I was cleaning off my desk the other day and found this recipe that he gave me for those scrumptious coconut macaroons. Remember the ones he used to bake and bring to the shop all time?

  Just like dear old Jamie, the instructions are deceptively simple …

  Enjoy (and watch out for those charming younger men …),

  Lucy

  Jamie’s Too Good to Be True Coconut Macaroons

  1 pound bag of shredded coconut

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

  Optional: ½ bag semisweet baking chocolate

  Parchment paper

  Cookie sheets (flat without rims are best)

  Heat oven to 375 degrees.

  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

  In a large bowl, mix together coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract until ingredients are completely blended.

  Drop in spoonfuls onto parchment-lined cookie sheets, about 1½ to 2 inches apart.

  Bake about 10 minutes, or until tops are golden.

  Chocolate Dip


  Melt chocolate in a small bowl in microwave or on stovetop, according to package instructions.

  For a Jackson Pollock effect, dip a spoon into the melted chocolate and drizzle over the entire sheet of thoroughly cooled macaroons.

  Or you can dip the top of each macaroon into the bowl and place the tray in the fridge to harden the chocolate.

  Recipe

  Pasta with Roasted Asparagus, Artichokes, and Pesto

  Hey Everyone,

  I keep getting rave reviews for my roasted asparagus pasta and know you all want to try it. Lucy made it for her boyfriend and he practically proposed on the spot. (Only kidding, Lucy …)

  It’s pretty easy to whip up if you have a little spare pesto in the fridge, but it will still taste good without pesto. Just add a little more onions and grated cheese.

  You can buy prepared pesto in the store, but if you can find fresh basil, it’s not hard to make. I put that little recipe at the end for you. Sometimes I mix spinach fettuccine with the regular semolina kind, or whole wheat. The two colors of pasta look pretty on the plate. Italians call that “straw and hay” … or something like that. To make this dish a little heartier, add a few slices of sautéed and crumbled prosciutto or some grilled shrimp or grilled chicken breast. Sounds good? You bet your crochet hook it is.

  If I’m not knitting, I’m eating. What can I say?

  Love and hugs,

  Suzanne

  Pasta with Roasted asparagus, artichokes, and Pesto

  1 pound pasta

  4 tablespoons olive oil

  Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

  Large bunch (1 pound or more) fresh asparagus

  1 can artichoke hearts packed in water

  1 medium onion, chopped

  2 garlic cloves, diced

  4 tablespoons olive oil

  ¼ cup (or more, to taste) fresh or store-bought pesto sauce (recipe below)