Skein of the Crime

by Maggie Sefton

  She’d called Steve on the drive home but had only gotten his voice mail. Hopefully, he’d call her later. They hadn’t talked for days. Ever since that last conversation where he hung up on her. Kelly had left several messages, but Steve never returned them.

  The dough formed into a big, sticky ball, and Kelly carefully lifted it out of the bowl and onto the plastic wrap she’d put on the counter. Wrapping the spicy-scented dough carefully, she put it into the fridge to chill. She’d roll the dough into balls and coat them with sugar while watching television tonight. Baking came after that. Aunt Helen’s gingersnap cookies were an all-evening project.

  Kelly grabbed her mug and her phone before settling into Helen’s rocker. There were some other phone calls she needed to make. One of them had totally slipped her mind. She punched in Patty’s number and listened to the rings.

  “Hey, Kelly. How’re you doing? I haven’t heard from you for a while.”

  “I was out of town for one of Mimi’s fiber retreats. We learned how to felt. It was a lot of fun, I have to admit.”

  “I’ve always wanted to learn how to do that. Maybe next time. Where’d you go?”

  “Up into the mountains above Boulder to this pretty mountain lake resort. Golden Lake.”

  “Oooo, that sounds pretty.”

  “It was. Listen, I’d wanted to update you on what I’ve learned recently. I’d asked a friend of mine to check with the counselors at AA and over at the Mission to find out if any of the guys who sleep beside the river trail saw anything that night.”

  “You’re kidding! Did . . . did one of them see something?”

  “As a matter of fact, an old guy saw a man walking Holly down the trail.”

  Patty took in her breath. “Really?”

  “Yeah, really. He said Holly wasn’t too steady on her feet. The man set her down on a rock then turned and walked away. Apparently, Holly stood up and tried to walk back down the trail, then fell down on the ground. The old guy figured she was drunk, so he went back to sleep.”

  “Whoa . . . I don’t believe it,” Patty said softly. “We were right, Kelly. That man was Eddie. It had to be! He’s the one who gave Holly the pills. Then the bastard dumped her on the trail!”

  “You’re probably right, Patty, but there’s no way to prove it. No way to link Eddie to Holly. There’re no witnesses who saw them together that night. So the police wouldn’t have any reason to find Eddie, let alone question him.”

  “Damn. That is so wrong.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  Fourteen

  “Kelly, thank goodness you dropped by. I can really use your help,” Mimi said the moment Kelly stepped into the Lambspun main knitting room.

  “Sure, Mimi, what do you need?” Kelly dropped her knitting bag onto the library table. No one else was there. In fact, the shop was practically empty.

  “I won’t be able to help Barbara with her felting class this morning because I’ll be on the phone with a vendor. And Connie’s busy with customers. Could you possibly step in again and help? It would only take an hour.”

  “My client accounts can wait another hour, Mimi. I’ll be glad to help Barbara. Of course, I’m pretty new to the felting process myself, so I hope I’ll be helpful.”

  Mimi gave a little wave. “Of course you will be, Kelly. You learned a lot at the workshop. I’m sorry to be asking you to help again, but this vendor has been having problems for several months now. Delaying shipments. Not sending everything we ordered. I need to find out what’s happening. Maybe he’s going out of business.”

  “When’s the class?”

  “About fifteen minutes from now. Barbara is setting up in the classroom.”

  “Tell her to prepare herself for her rookie helper again,” Kelly teased as she dug her coffee mug from her bag.

  Mimi laughed. “You’ll do fine. You’re a natural with students, Kelly. You explain clearly and patiently. Not every teacher can do that.”

  “Well, I guess that’s one benefit of making so many mistakes. I’ve gotten good at correcting them,” Kelly said, walking toward the central yarn room. “Tell Barbara I’ll be right back. I have to have my morning coffee fix. Then I’ll be ready for anything. Felters included.”

  She headed for the hallway leading to the café. The aroma of Eduardo’s strong coffee had tickled her nose since she’d entered the shop. Spotting Jennifer pouring some of the black gold for one of the café’s customers, Kelly waved to catch her attention.

  “Save some for me,” she said as she extended her mug.

  Jennifer beckoned Kelly over to the counter beside the grill. “We have a special pot for you, Kelly. Eduardo puts all the old grounds and shoelaces and stuff in there and keeps it boiling on the back of the stove. Don’t you, Eduardo?”

  “Absolutely,” Eduardo agreed with a good-natured grin. “We even threw in some potato peelings this morning. Give it a little fiber.”

  Kelly pretended to flinch as Eduardo poured a dark stream into her mug. “Fiber in my coffee? Oh, no!”

  Jennifer leaned against the counter. “I just had a call from Jayleen. Reminding me to make or bake some brownies. I figure I’ll get Pete to make a double batch, and that’ll take care of both our party donations.”

  Feeling a rare surge of virtue, Kelly gave her a smug smile. “Well, I’ve already made my Megan and Marty donation. Three dozen of Helen’s gingersnap cookies, all wrapped in plastic and tin foil and sitting on my counter.”

  Jennifer’s eyes popped wide. “You’re kidding! You made Helen’s gingersnaps? But it’s not even close to the holidays. What got into you?”

  “Boredom, that’s all. I had yesterday evening free after coming home from the retreat, and I didn’t feel like doing client work, so I made cookies.”

  “I’m impressed. And worried. Those cookies are deadly. I can resist brownies better than Helen’s cookies. You eat one, then another, and before you know it . . . you’ve disappeared into cookie hell.”

  “That’s why I’m taking then over to Curt’s place tonight. He and Jayleen invited me to dinner, so I figured I’d get them out of the house and away from me. I saved a package for Steve the next time he comes home.”

  “How’s he holding up?”

  Kelly took a deep drink of the hot brew while she thought of what to say. She could answer honestly and say, “Not well.” Or, “sleep deprived and short-tempered.” Both would be accurate.

  “He’s surviving, that’s the best way I can describe it. We hadn’t talked in several days, but he finally called this morning. Fred, the guy he’s working for at night, had a special project he was trusting to Steve. He worked till two in the morning. Steve said he was so exhausted he fell asleep in his car before driving to his friend’s apartment.” She shook her head. “If he doesn’t find a minute to call me while he’s driving from one job to the other, then I don’t hear from him at all. It can be days before he returns my calls.”

  “And how’re you doing?” Jennifer asked, concern evident in her voice.

  Kelly shrugged. “I’m doing okay. I’m here in town and get to sleep in my own bed at night. My new clients are challenging, and I’ve got all my friends around. Not like Steve, who’s virtually isolated in Denver except for quick mini-visits home. And he’s barely awake while he’s here.”

  Jennifer reached over and squeezed her arm. “Hang in there. Maybe you and Steve can have some quiet time together this weekend.”

  Kelly gave a wry smile. “We get quiet time whenever he’s back. It’s called sleeping.” She pushed away from the counter. “I’ve gotta go. I promised Mimi I’d take her place helping Barbara with a felting class. Wish me luck.”

  “Luck,” Jennifer said with a wave as Kelly headed down the hallway.

  Barbara was busily arranging small wash tubs, bottles of liquid soap, and sink plungers on the table.

  “Hey, Barbara. I’ve got my coffee, so I’m ready,” Kelly said as she entered the room.

  Barbara gla
nced up. “Glad you could help out, Kelly. We’ve got six people signed up, so it’ll go much smoother with two instructors rather than one.”

  “Well, I’m not sure I qualify as an instructor, but I’m definitely an experienced problem solver.” Kelly grinned. “That comes from making all those mistakes. What can I do to help set up?”

  “I’m about finished setting up, but I’ve got to go down to the basement and bring up some fibers I want to show the students. Can you stay here and greet them and get them situated?”

  “Sure. I can do that.” Kelly decided she’d use this moment to probe a little. “By the way, how’s Tommy doing?”

  Barbara looked up, her expression changing. “I think he’s doing well, but I haven’t heard from him as much lately. Of course, that’s understandable. What with his heavy class load and studies.” She glanced at her watch. “I’d better get downstairs. See you in a few minutes.”

  Just as Barbara scurried from the classroom, Kelly noticed two middle-aged women enter from the other doorway. Next, two of the occasional Lambspun knitters wandered into the classroom. Kelly exchanged greetings with them and let them explore. Then two young woman appeared in the doorway. Both looked college-aged.

  “Hey, are you here for the felting class?” Kelly asked as they approached.

  “Yeah, and it looks like we found it,” the tall slender blonde said. Her hair was held back by a scrunchy band. “Do we use those little tubs?” She pointed.

  “You can if you have items that don’t need to shrink much,” Kelly said. “Most of the time, you’d use a washing machine.”

  The tall blonde extended her hand. “I’m Francie. And this is my roommate, Wanda. We both have been interested in coming over here ever since Lisa told me about the shop and all the classes you offer.”

  “You know Lisa? From the Sports Health facility, I’ll bet.”

  Francie smiled broadly. “Yes, she and I have worked over there for about five years. You must be one of Lisa’s friends.”

  Kelly shook her hand. “I’m Kelly, and it’s nice to meet you. Our instructor Barbara is downstairs getting some more materials, so I’m helping out.” Glancing at the other young woman, she asked, “Are you a physical therapist, Wanda?”

  “No, I’m in grad school, studying chemistry. But I’ve been knitting for years and always wanted to try this, so here we are.”

  Kelly turned to the other four women in the room, who were either arranging their supplies or touching the yarns that filled the shelves lining the classroom. “Did you folks bring your knitted items to felt? Take a look around, and you’ll see everything from slippers to hats to placemats.”

  Another woman held up her hand. “Placemat. I figured if I screwed it up, then I could simply throw it out. I’d hate to waste a perfectly good pair of knitted mittens.”

  “Ohhhh, now you made me nervous,” Wanda said, reaching into her purse. She withdrew two royal-blue-and-white-striped mittens. “I was hoping these would felt up well so they’d be waterproof for skiing.”

  “I don’t think we can guarantee full waterproofing, but you’ll get close,” Kelly said. “Of course, I’m not an expert, just a helper. What did you bring, Francie?”

  Francie pulled out a large knit hat with peaked crown. “I thought this would look cool if the felting made the peak stand up straight. That way I’ll look like Merlin when I zoom down the slopes.”

  One of the other women held up two oversized gray knit slippers. “That sounds exotic. I’m sticking with slippers. No one will see them except me, so if they’re ugly, no one else will know.”

  Kelly laughed out loud. “Boy, you folks remind me of me talking about my knitting. And yet all those things look pretty good.”

  Barbara strode into the room, hands full of supplies. “Well, we’ve got all our felters now. Excellent.”

  “That’s right,” Kelly said, gesturing around the room. “Let’s start with names.” When the women finished introducing themselves, Kelly added, “Wanda has the mittens and Francie brought the Merlin hat. Both are skiers.”

  “Oh, those should felt up fine,” Barbara said, approaching the pair. She peered at Francie for a second. “You look familiar. Haven’t we met?”

  Francie smiled. “I was wondering if you’d recognize me, Barbara. I was your physical therapist at the Sports Health facility after you hurt your back. Someone ran into your car, didn’t they?”

  Barbara’s smile vanished. “Yes, they did. Damn idiot was drinking and rear-ended me when I was at a stop light. Totally screwed up my back.”

  “Was your insurance company able to sue or get anything for medical expenses? I can’t remember.”

  “Unfortunately, no. He was one of those uninsured motorists.” She screwed up her face in a frown. “The bane of us responsible drivers.”

  “How’s your back doing now? It’s been over three years,” Francie asked.

  “Oh, thanks to you and Dr. Hensley, it’s gotten stronger and stronger every year. I’ve been doing those exercises you gave me religiously.”

  “That’s great to hear.” Francie beamed. “Always like to hear good news about former patients.”

  “As someone who’s had to rehab from various sports injuries over the years, I confess I swear by the PT exercises,” Kelly offered. “One of my best friends is a therapist over at the Sports Health facility, too. I have to admit, having Lisa as my PT a couple of years ago nearly destroyed our friendship. She’s brutal, I swear she is.”

  Francie cackled. “Ohhhh, yeah. We give her a hard time about that.”

  “What are these wash tubs and plungers for?” Wanda asked, pointing to the supplies on the table.

  “Glad you asked, Wanda, it’s a great way to start the class,” Barbara announced. “Most of you will use washing machines to felt your knitted items. But we wanted to show you how to felt other ways. Things that don’t need much shrinkage turn out better when you felt them by hand in the tub. And our helper today is an expert in that area. She spent nearly half an hour plunging away, felting her boyfriend’s knitted hat. And it came out beautifully. Did you bring it to show off, Kelly?”

  Kelly withdrew Steve’s newly felted hat from her bag and waved it proudly to appropriate praise.

  “I can also attest that plunging away in that washtub is pretty darn tiring, not to mention boring as all get out. So, you folks may want to use the washing machine.”

  Kelly’s cell phone rang in her jeans pocket, and she stepped away from the chattering felters into the central yarn room. Burt’s number flashed on the screen.

  “Hey, Burt, how’s it going?”

  “Not bad, Kelly. How’d that felting class go? Mimi told me you were filling in for her.”

  “It went fine, actually. I really enjoyed helping other beginners. I have a lot of beginner experience, you know.”

  Burt chuckled. “You’re farther along than beginner, Kelly. Give yourself credit. I’m sure you did a great job.” He cleared his throat. “By the way, I heard from Dan. I’d left him a message with your concerns about Tommy when we returned from the retreat, and I got a phone call this morning.”

  “What’d Dan say? Is he going to give Tommy a call?”

  “Actually, he already has. He and Tommy met at a truck stop in Longmont between Denver and Fort Connor.”

  “Really? How did it go? What’d Dan say?”

  “Dan said Tommy looked really nervous, so he explained about Malcolm’s statement saying there was a man walking with Holly on the trail. Consequently, police wanted to check with anyone who might have been with Holly that night. Since Tommy was Holly’s boyfriend, they were curious as to his whereabouts that night. He asked Tommy straight out if he’d been with Holly that Friday.”

  Kelly moved into the spinning alcove for more privacy. “And what did Tommy say? How did he react?”

  “Dan said Tommy went white as a sheet, then blurted out everything that happened Friday. He told Dan about his argument with Holly and his walki
ng out. He even admitted he’d been with Lynette until late that night before he drove back to Denver.”

  “Did Dan believe him?”

  “Yeah, Dan told me he didn’t pick up on any signs that Tommy was lying. Like I said, Kelly. Tommy’s a real straight arrow. There’s no way he could have deliberately harmed Holly.”

  “You’re probably right, Burt. I was simply raising questions, that’s all. I don’t have any knowledge of Tommy’s character. He certainly appears to be everything you say he is. I was curious, that’s all. People under pressure do things they wouldn’t normally do.”

  “Well, you can relax about Tommy. Matter of fact, I think I’ll call him tonight and see how he’s doing.”

  “Keep me posted, Burt.”

  “As always, Kelly.”

  Kelly took the turn into the Lambspun driveway on two wheels, her stomach in knots. She couldn’t believe she’d screwed up again. She’d spent an enjoyable early evening at Curt’s ranch house, complete with steak dinner and good conversation. Then she’d stopped by Mimi and Burt’s to check if Burt had spoken with Tommy. Of course, Mimi brought out her delicious coffeecake, so Kelly’s quick stop had lengthened considerably. Once again, she’d lost all track of time.

  The problem was her cell phone was in her jacket pocket, hanging on a peg in Mimi’s foyer, far from the family room. And as the Fates would have it, Steve had—once again—found some free time and had driven back to Fort Connor. Once again, hoping to spend some time with Kelly. And once again, Kelly wasn’t available.

  How could she screw up again?

  Kelly jerked her car to a stop, jumped out, and raced over to the cottage front door, bursting into the living room. Steve wasn’t there. His truck was in the driveway, though. “Hey,” she cried. “I’m back. Where are you?”

  Steve stepped around the kitchen corner, a slice of pizza in his hand. “I’m here. Where were you?” He took another bite.