Skein of the Crime

by Maggie Sefton

  Burt accepted a cup from Julie. “Did you even have breakfast this morning?”

  “Yeah, a bagel and cream cheese.” Kelly took a big sip and headed toward the hallway that led to the knitting shop. “How’s Mimi doing with her caterer calls? I was sitting with Megan and Mimi yesterday and they’ve got a list as long as your leg.”

  Burt chuckled as he followed behind Kelly. “You’re right about that. Mimi was worrying out loud about how expensive everything was nowadays. The last time she helped with a wedding was several years ago, so I think the prices were a big shock.”

  “Well, I gave them a nudge yesterday to come up with their budget first before they start making firm plans. Megan and Marty need to see how much they can afford to spend, then work from there.”

  “You’re an optimist, Kelly. You know most people decide what they want to do first, then they figure out how to pay for it.”

  Kelly plopped her knitting bag on the library table while Burt pulled his spinning wheel from the corner. Kelly settled into a chair closer to him and retrieved Steve’s hat from the bag. Nearly finished. Just a few more rows of reducing stitches and she could tie it off. If it was a hat for someone else, she’d make a fluffy pom-pom to sew on the top. But Steve was definitely not a pom-pom kind of guy.

  Burt settled in his chair and pulled a large plastic trash bag of creamy white fleece beside him. He grabbed several handfuls and began drafting—slowly stretching the fibers so they could be spun properly and wouldn’t bunch.

  Kelly relaxed against her chair and watched Burt’s movements for a couple of minutes before she picked up her knitting. “How’s Barbara doing? Have you seen her since the funeral?”

  “Yes, Mimi and I took a casserole over to her house last night. She’s doing okay. Still worrying about Tommy as usual.”

  “Have you heard anything from him? I got an e-mail the day after the funeral thanking me again for being there. He also asked if Patty had learned anything about the party so far.”

  “I recall you said you were going to talk with Patty the other day. Did she offer to help?”

  Kelly nodded. “Yeah, she was glad to help Tommy. And she was glad we had talked him out of trying to do the party circuit himself.”

  “That would have been a dumb move. Has Patty learned anything?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact. She started asking friends who were at the party. One of them told her an old girlfriend of Tommy’s was there, and she and Holly got into an argument about Tommy. Sounds like it was kind of heated, too.”

  Burt looked up. “Did anyone make any threats?”

  “Well, this other girl, Rachel, tried to hit Holly, apparently. But the girl also said that Rachel was passing out pills that night. So, we may have found the source for Holly’s overdose.”

  “Have you e-mailed Tommy yet?” Burt’s fingers continued working the fibers.

  “Not yet.” Kelly let out a sigh. “You see, Patty says Tommy and Rachel used to date before he got serious about Holly. Apparently this Rachel is still holding a grudge. So I don’t know what to tell Tommy. Do I say one of his ex-girlfriends may be the source of Holly’s pills? I don’t know.”

  Burt drafted quietly for a moment. “I wouldn’t say anything, Kelly. There’s no proof this Rachel gave Holly the pills, so you don’t want to upset Tommy. He might come charging up here again. It’d be better to simply say that you learned that some people were distributing pills, but you don’t have names. After all, that’s the way it usually goes. I guarantee you there were more than a couple of people handing out pills that night, especially if it was a large party.”

  “You know, I’m clueless about this stuff, Burt. I had some friends in college who did drugs, but that was years ago. Now they’re passing around narcotic painkillers.”

  “Take it from me, it’s a real grab bag out there.” He grabbed another big handful of fleece. “You know, you might like to talk to one of our investigators. I’m thinking about a gal who has spent a lot of time in that campus drug scene. It can be a swamp. You might like to talk to her. She’ll give you a quick education. Her name is Gloria Frobischer, and she works with the special drug task force that handles those situations. Tell her I suggested you call her. We worked on a couple of cases together a few years ago. She’s a hardworking cop. You’ll learn a lot from her.” He stopped his drafting and pulled out a wallet from his back pocket. “Here’s Dan’s card. Call him first. He’ll give you Gloria’s number.”

  “Hey, thanks, Burt,” Kelly said, taking the card. “I think I’ll do that.”

  The familiar jangle of her cell phone sounded then, and Kelly dropped the card into her bag as she grabbed the phone. Recognizing her client Houseman’s number flashing, Kelly rose from her chair.

  “Business calling, Burt. I’ll talk to you later.” She headed through the central yarn room toward the front door and privacy.

  “I can’t believe it. Twice in two days,” Jennifer said as she walked toward the library table. “Didn’t I see you an hour or so ago in the café with Burt?”

  “Yeah, I finished up client work earlier than scheduled so I came over to finish Steve’s hat. And it’s finally done.” She pulled the last few stitches tightly together on the inside of the crown, then tied them off. “Ta-dah!” she announced, flourishing the completed gray tweed hat proudly.

  “Looks good. That matches his scarf, right?” Jennifer pulled the burgundy sweater out of her knitting bag. It looked half finished.

  “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to knit a matching hat since last winter but never got around to it. So, I’m getting an early start for this winter.”

  “Why don’t you felt it? That wool would look good felted. And it’ll make the hat even warmer.”

  “Really? I didn’t know that.”

  “Yeah, felting tightens all the stitches together and shrinks the wool so it’s nice and tight.”

  “Shrinks it?” Kelly looked in horror. “I can’t risk that. It’s the right size now.”

  “Don’t worry. There are techniques to use that won’t really shrink the size that much. Usually you put it into the washing machine with hot water. But there are other methods. Right now, it looks a little bit too big.”

  “You think so?” Kelly turned the hat over in her hands, examining it.

  “Mimi’s doing a fiber retreat next week, and she and Barbara are doing a couple of different felting techniques. You might enjoy it. Plus, it’s up in the mountains at a lake resort. I’ve been there before, and it’s gorgeous.”

  “Wow, that does sound nice. Where is it exactly?”

  “It’s called Golden Lake, and it’s in the mountains between Boulder and Nederland. A little over an hour away. You ought to think about going. You’d enjoy it. It’s Friday through noon Saturday, so you’d be back before Steve came home in the evening.”

  That was true. If it weren’t for softball practice and games and evenings with her friends, Kelly would be rattling around the cottage all alone.

  “Maybe I will. I’ll check my schedule.”

  “They’ve got hot thermal pools carved out of the rocks, overlooking the lake,” Jennifer tempted.

  Kelly could picture that. Sliding into blissfully hot water and soaking while surrounded by gorgeous Colorado scenery. That was hard to resist.

  “Wow, that does sound nice.”

  “Trust me, it is. I went there for a real estate workshop, and I swear, most of us spent every spare moment between meetings in the pools. You can even walk around in your thick fuzzy bathrobe and bathing suit.”

  “Okay. You sold me. That does sound really relaxing, and I could use some heavy-duty relaxation. I haven’t taken any time off from work because Steve couldn’t. I’d feel guilty if I went away for a weekend when he couldn’t go.”

  “Well, Steve won’t be here, so he won’t care. You two can talk on the phone in the thermal pools.”

  Somehow the image of cell phones and thermal pools didn’t match in Kelly’s mind. Sh
e’d leave her phone in the bathrobe.

  As if on cue, her cell phone rang on top of the library table. “Kelly Flynn here,” she said, flipping it open.

  “Hey, Kelly, this is Patty. I’ve talked to someone else who saw Holly at the party that night.”

  “Good. Did they see her taking pills from anyone?”

  “No, this girl was hanging around with some others, but she did say she talked with Holly later that night in the front yard. The girl said she saw Holly get into a dark car and leave.”

  “Really? Did she see who was driving?”

  “Nope. She just saw a dark car pull up. Holly got in, and the car drove off. That’s all.”

  “What do you think, Patty?”

  “I don’t know, Kelly. This summer Holly had been hanging around a lot with some people that I don’t know real well. Someone said they’re from Greeley. I didn’t see them at the party, so maybe one of them came to pick her up.”

  “Maybe Holly called one of those Greeley friends since Tommy was busy studying in Denver. Any idea who they are?”

  “No, but I’m still asking questions. I’ll let you know what I find out. Listen, gotta run.”

  “Thanks, Patty. Talk to you later.” Kelly flipped her phone closed and tossed it on the table.

  “Okay, you have to explain that conversation. Who’s Patty?” Jennifer asked.

  “I met her at Barbara’s class, remember? She grew up with Tommy and Holly. She was the one who said Barbara wasn’t happy about Tommy dating Holly.”

  Jennifer nodded her head. “Ohhhh, yeah, now I recall your mentioning it that day at the table.”

  “Anyway, after the funeral Tommy told us he wanted to stay in Fort Connor and cruise around parties so he could find out who gave Holly an overdose. Burt and Lisa and I convinced him that was a bad idea. Then I offered to ask questions to see what I could find out.”

  “You’re going to start cruising campus parties?” Jennifer looked shocked.

  “Not me,” Kelly admitted with a smile. “Patty’s doing the campus legwork. She’s over there taking classes and goes out regularly. She knows lots of people. Anyway, she’s asking questions and when she finds out something, she calls me, and I e-mail Tommy.”

  Jennifer eyed Kelly skeptically. “Why does Tommy want to know?”

  “Well, Tommy wants to find out who gave the pills to Holly so his ambulance squad guys can go over and have a little chat with the person. Tell them that people are dying from those pills.” She shrugged. “Tommy says they’ve done it before and sometimes it scares the person enough to make ’em stop selling.”

  “Do you realize how crazy that sounds, Kelly?”

  Kelly laughed softly. “Yeah, now that I’ve tried to explain the situation, I have to admit it does sound weird. But Patty and I are simply trying to help Tommy so he won’t leave med school and come charging up here.”

  Jennifer shook her head. “Trust me, Kelly. You do not want to get involved in that campus party scene. It’s a swamp. I know, because I used to be in it years ago.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m not going over. I’d stick out, and no one would talk to me.”

  “You got that right.”

  “Patty’s got all the connections. Turns out she was at the same party Holly was that night.”

  “Why are we not surprised?”

  “She didn’t see much, other than Holly drinking. But some of her friends saw things. Just now, Patty said someone saw Holly leave the party and get into a dark car that night. No clue as to who was driving, though.”

  “Whoever it was probably gave her the pills,” Jennifer said matter-of-factly as she returned to her knitting.

  “Well, maybe not. Yesterday, a girl told Patty she saw Holly and this other girl, Rachel, get into a fight over Tommy. According to the girl, Holly taunted Rachel, and Rachel tried to hit her, but some guy intervened.” Kelly took a sip of lukewarm coffee.

  Jennifer rolled her eyes. “Boy, does that bring back memories. See why I called it a swamp.”

  “Yeah, it kind of sounds like that. According to Patty, this Rachel Gebbard and Holly had a past history. Tommy used to date Rachel before he got serious about Holly. He dumped Rachel, and now she’s carrying a grudge. And the other day, Patty said someone saw Rachel passing out pills at the party.”

  “Rachel Gebbard, you said?”

  “Yeah, do you know her?”

  Jennifer sighed. “Yeah . . . I’ve waitressed with her on some campus catering jobs. She works over at the Grill every day. And I do remember running into her on the party circuit. I was leaving it and she was revving up, shall we say.”

  “So, you know her? Great. What’s she like? Did you see her handing out stuff at parties?”

  Jennifer gave Kelly a jaundiced look. “Who wasn’t handing out stuff at parties? Believe me, when I say it’s a swamp, I’m not kidding. And you don’t want to wade into it. I had to get out because I was tired of watching kids throw up and freak out. It got way too weird.”

  “What’s Rachel like? You said you worked with her.”

  Jennifer shrugged. “She was like scores of other quasi-students I’ve known over the years. They stop going to college full-time and start working. And then they try to handle work and classes, which is tricky, but doable. But it takes discipline. And the majority of the kids I saw lacked discipline. They’d spend way more time partying than studying, then they’d flunk the classes and have to take them again. They always had really good excuses, though.”

  “Yeah, I’ve met quite a few like that over the years,” Kelly admitted. “Motivation isn’t their strong suit.”

  “That’s about it.”

  Kelly’s stomach growled, and she checked her watch. After twelve noon. No wonder she was hungry. An idea wiggled forward then. She toyed with it for a second, then threw it out to Jennifer.

  “Hey, I’m hungry. Want to go to lunch? My treat,” she offered, shoving Steve’s completed hat into her bag along with the phone.

  “I can’t refuse an offer like that.” Jennifer put away her knitting. “Should we go into the café or someplace else?”

  Kelly shouldered her bag as she stood up. “I was thinking we might go over to the Grill and see what they have.”

  Jennifer shot Kelly a look. “What’re you up to, Kelly?”

  “I just thought I’d check out this Rachel girl. See if I can get a read off her.” Kelly headed to the foyer.

  “You’re sleuthing, and you know it. What do you expect to see? Pill bottles falling out of her pockets or something?” Jennifer accused as she followed after Kelly.

  “No, no, I simply thought I’d try to engage her in conversation, maybe. Go from there.” Kelly pushed the wooden door open and stepped out into the gorgeous autumn day.

  Temperatures were still balmy and in the seventies. During the night, however, temperatures were beginning to drop into the high thirties. That was enough to signal the sap in the trees to be ready. Once those freezing nights arrived, then the yearly ritual of changing leaves would begin. Kelly could smell the beginning of crispness in the air.

  “Kelly, I’ve seen you engage your sleuthing targets in conversation, and it’s not pretty. Face it, you’re as subtle as a truck. It’s a good thing I’m with you. Let me take the lead. Maybe she’ll recognize me from catering. We’ll go from there.”

  “I bow to your superior suggestion,” Kelly said with a grin. “Let’s take my car.”

  Kelly and Jennifer stepped into the brightly painted café. Polished metal chairs and tables set off against red and yellow walls and posters of movie stars gave the café an almost vintage look. As if it were mimicking a diner decorated in 1950s style décor.

  “Ohhhh, this is going to be deadly, I can tell,” Jennifer said as they scanned for empty tables. “I can smell the French fries now, and I’m starving. I’d better order a salad before I weaken.”

  “Hey, those salads are working, girl,” Kelly said approvingly. “I can tell you’ve lost
weight. I told you running would help.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let’s grab that one.” Jennifer pointed to a table. “I’ve already spotted Rachel. She’s the one with the short brown ponytail. And it looks like she’s working in that section.”

  Kelly picked out Rachel from the other waitresses as she followed Jennifer to the table. Glancing to the menu board behind the grill, Kelly saw one of her favorites. Philly cheesesteak. Her stomach growled louder. Yes.

  Jennifer glanced at the menu. “Turkey salad, it is. Now, she’d better get over here before I weaken. I just saw a Philly cheesesteak on one of the tables.”

  Kelly rethought her original choice. It would be cruel of her to order one of those tempting sandwiches when Jennifer was trying to eat healthier. Kelly didn’t even bother to open the menu. “Turkey salad sounds good,” she said, ignoring her stomach’s protest.

  Rachel wandered their way, and Jennifer signaled her. “Remember, I’ll start off. And you just stay mellow, okay?”

  “Mellow,” Kelly repeated, smiling. “Not sure I even know what that means, but I’ll give it a shot.”

  “Hey, what can I get you two?” Rachel asked, notepad in hand.

  “Two turkey salads, please,” Kelly spoke up. “And I’ll have black coffee.”

  “Make that two coffees,” Jennifer said.

  “Well, that was easy,” Rachel said with a smile.

  She had a nice smile, Kelly noticed. Jennifer was absolutely right. Rachel looked exactly like hundreds of other twentysomething young women who worked the cafés and shops and peopled the stores and classrooms and filled the university town of Fort Connor. Nothing exceptional, and certainly, nothing suspicious about her.

  “Haven’t you and I worked together before?” Jennifer offered with a friendly smile. “I waitress a lot of the catered jobs in town and around campus, and I think I recognize you.”

  Rachel peered at Jennifer for a moment. “Yeah, come to think of it, you do look a little familiar. We probably have worked together. I waitress at the university for extra money all the time.”

  “Yeah, I still pick up a catering job over there every now and then, when I’m not working extra at my regular job. I’m over at Pete’s Porch near the golf course on Lemay Avenue.”